Is Grace Napolitano (D, CA-38) playing a grift?

Via RedState Reader dld717 we are alerted to this somewhat sordid tale of Rep. Napolitano and her perpetual loan to herself:

Feb. 13 (Bloomberg) — During a decade in Congress, California Representative Grace Napolitano has pocketed more than $200,000 of political contributions by charging as much as 18 percent interest on money she loaned to her own campaign.

The suburban Los Angeles Democrat made the $150,000 loan in 1998, when she was first elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. Through Dec. 31, her campaign committee has used donations to pay Napolitano $221,780 of interest while reducing the principal by just $64,727, a review of her Federal Election Commission filings shows.

Alas, the article makes this clear that this is probably legal, if more than a bit rude: the interest level was considered high, but the FEC in 1999 said that she could do it.  So, shake your fist at this profitable scheme (apparently, it’s made her a profit where standard S&P investment would have lost her 7% over the same time period) and curse slightly: Rep. Napolitano has set herself up quite nicely to weather the economic crisis.  It’s a nice gig, really: take the money that corporate PACs give you for your campaign (Napolitano doesn’t actually need the money, by the way: she got 82% of the vote in the last election); use it to pay off the interest on a debt that you made to yourself; lather; rinse; repeat.  For years and years.

Two Americas, I’m telling ya.  Two Americas.

Moe Lane

PS: Shoot, when even CREW can’t manage to not miss a Democrat’s shenanigans, they must downright stink.  Love your blogroll, guys: every site on it did their part in making sure that the Democrats got their exclusive – and highly enthusiastic – turn at the Wheel of Corruption.

Um, oops?

Crossposted at RedState.