City Council Speaker Christine Quinn (second from left) stands behind Rep. Charles Rangle after giving her endorsement for his Congressional re-election bid.

City Council Speaker Christine Quinn backed Charlie Rangel in his tough re-election campaign, lauding the longtime Harlem pol's reputation as a fighter on the forefront of battling discrimination and supporting equal rights — and LGTB rights in particular.

"Go back and look at the record. Who was one of the first leading African American officials in this country to speak out in full support of marriage quality for the LGBT community? Charlie Rangel. Who has always been there for the LGBT community? Charlie Rangel," Ms. Quinn said.  The congressman, she added,  was among the guests at her wedding in March to long-time partner Kim Catullo.

Ms. Quinn is right. Mr. Rangel has indeed been active in supporting the LGBT community in New York and beyond. He stood firmly with Nancy Pelosi in repealing Don't Ask Don't Tell. He is a co-sponsor of the Respect for Marriage Act, the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, and the Student Non-Discrimination Act. And he recently issued a press release commemorating June's National LGBT Pride Month, drawing parallels between the fights for civil rights regardless of race and sexual orientation "Sixty years ago, draconian hate laws made interracial marriage illegal in this country," the statement said. "Today, similar laws bar LGBT individuals from expressing their love to one another."

Moving beyond Mr. Rangel's support for LGBT rights, Quinn painted a picture of Rangel more certain to woo his 15th district voters — Mr. Rangel as an American hero, a veteran who "put his life on the line to protect our freedom in the Korean War, literally almost losing his life. It is that kind of heart and soul that we need to keep in Congress."

The Speaker then finished her speech with a list of wide-ranging reasons to support the Democratic candidate.

"At a time in Congress when doing nothing seems to be okay. We have real challenge. We need immigration reform, we need support for cities like New York so we don't face the horrible budget cuts that are still looming, we need support in the fight against HIV/AIDS in urban America as well as other parts of this country, we need to get the employment nondiscrimination act passed, we need to get the Defense of Marriage Act taken off the books," she said. "That and million other reasons is why we need to send Charlie Rangel to Congress."

But she didn't leave the podium without a touch of humor. "I am so excited to be here to day, and even more excited for the victory party."

Rangel stood at a podium today before a small group of supporters in City Hall Park, where he was accepting the endorsement of another key New York player, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn.

"The reasons why these endorsements mean so much to me is because of the serious time we are having in our nation," Rangel said. "If I thought the Governor and the Mayor did not believe that my returning to Congress to protect the advancements we have made did not make sense, well, come on, we'd have to talk about that."

But there was something to talk about, because one of these endorsements doesn't make sense. Though Mayor Bloomberg and former Mayor Ed Koch have both stepped forward to endorse Rangel, the governor has not.

Before Rangel signed off, he signed onto the Cuomo endorsement once again. "Thank Mayor Bloomberg, the Governor, public officials for putting their reputation on the line in saying that as far as they're concerned I deserve a renewal," he said, "As we say in the army, re-up, re-up for another two years."

A reporter quickly piped in, "You mentioned the governor, and I don't know if we've missed something, but has the Governor endorsed you?

"Well, that's a good question. I assume that he had. But, um, well he always does and I just happened to think that he had."

He then beat around the bush for a few moments, and talked about a fundraising event for his campaign this evening at the Sheraton.

Another reporter then asked, "Do you expect him to go?"

Once again, Rangel was stammering.

"I don't know. Um, It was my impression that all of the ex-mayors, Koch, Bloomberg, and the governor will all be on the same page. But I'm glad that you mentioned this, because sometimes you can get ahead of yourself."