Members of His Staff Allegedly Spent $1,946 at a “Bondage-Themed Strip Club” in Hollywood
Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairman Michael Steele is under fire for lavish spending for unnecessary and questionable travel and entertainment by his staff.
Since Steele has taken over as Chairman, RNC cash reserves have gone from $22 million to less than $10 million. Expenditures include $17,000 for private jet travel, $13,000 for limousines, and more than $9,000 for hotels in Beverly Hills, California. The straw that “broke the camel’s back,” was $1,946 spent for entertainment at a party at a West Hollywood bondage-themed strip club.
Steele, a former Maryland lieutenant governor, has made things worse by playing the “race card.” Steele told ABCs Good Morning America that he is being singled out for ridicule because of racism.
Robert Gibbs, the Obama White House spokesman, had a field day Monday making things even worse for Steele. Gibbs said Steele’s problem “was not the race card but the credit card.”
Republicans in the Congress have failed to call for Steele’s resignation, however Sen. Jon Kyl of Arizona would not call for Steele’s resignation, but told a Sunday television anchor that “This kind of thing has got to stop or they will not get any contributions.”
Former Bush advisor Karl Rove and Dick Morris have called on donors to stop sending money to the RNC. They were joined by Tony Perkins, Family Research Council chief.
Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell, who was in a tight race with the chairman of the SC Republican Party Kayton Dawson, and threw his support to Steele in order to defeat Dawson, supports the retention of Steele as RNC Chairman.
Steele is refusing to voluntarily step down and by doing so he is rendering a disservice to the Republican Party during a tough political year when they have a chance to take back the House of Representatives.
Republicans at the National level will have no credibility talking about family values and fiscal responsibility as long as Steele remains chairman.
