from the Joe Walsh for Congress campaign
Melissa Bean has been as steadfast in refusing to return $28,000 she received from deposed House and Ways Chairman Charlie Rangel, now facing expulsion from Congress on various ethics charges, as she has been silent on the matter.
A closer look at Rep. Bean's fundraising perhaps reveals why she is so reticent to return Rangel's dirty money.
In the 2nd Quarter of this year, Bean raised only $17,620 from residents of the 8th Congressional district. That's less than 6% of the money she raised during that time. By comparison, Republican Joe Walsh raised $72,452 in district, more than 70% of his total during the same period.
"The fact Melissa Bean only raised less than 6% of her money locally makes perfect sense," said Walsh. "She votes with the DC special interests and the corporate welfare recipients 95% of the time. That's who should be funding her because that's who she represents-she certainly doesn't represent the economic interests of 8th district families."
In March when the investigation into Rangel became public, Joe Walsh called on Rep. Bean to return the money or donate it to charity as other Illinois Democrats including Bill Foster and Dan Seals did.
Rep. Bean refused to do at the time say saying the money had been spent, an explanation Jim Geraghty from National Review Online called a "particularly lame excuse".
This week two more Congressional Democrats--Pennsylvania Rep. Kathy Dahlkemper's (D-3) and Indiana Rep. Brad Ellsworth (D-8)-announced they would be donating the illicit Rangel campaign cash they received to charity.
"There are Democrat congresspersons of good conscience who do not want to be seen as benefiting from the ethically-challenged Charlie Rangel but not Melissa Bean," added Walsh. "Of course she's keeping the money. She benefits from Washington's culture of corruption. My 4:1 fundraising advantage locally is a good indicator of the disfavor Melissa Bean has fallen into with the 8th district residents she was elected to represent."
