Has Michael Steele just run out of lives as RNC chair?
NOTE: Two updates below:
I wonder whether this will finally be enough to force the Republicans to dump their embarrassment of a party chairman.
The Daily Caller writes about Michael Steele’s free-wheeling ways with party money, focusing on his use of private jets to ferry him about the country and his rather hefty hotel bills.
“According to federal disclosure records, the RNC spent $17,514 on private aircraft in the month of February alone (as well as $12,691 on limousines during the same period). There are no readily identifiable private plane expenses for Democratic National Committee chairman Tim Kaine in the DNC’s last three months of filings.
The RNC explains that Steele charters jets only when commercial service is unavailable, or when his tight schedule requires it. “Anytime the chairman has taken any private travel has been a either to a route that doesn’t exist or because of connections and multiple travel to where he just wasn’t able to do so,” Heye said. Yet Steele’s office repeatedly refused to explain in specific terms the circumstances of the February charter flights.
Once on the ground, FEC filings suggest, Steele travels in style. A February RNC trip to California, for example, included a $9,099 stop at the Beverly Hills Hotel, $6,596 dropped at the nearby Four Seasons, and $1,620.71 spent [update: the amount is actually $1,946.25] at Voyeur West Hollywood, a bondage-themed nightclub featuring topless women dancers imitating lesbian sex.”
An RNC chairman blowing two grand at a bondage-themed Hollywood nightspot featuring topless lesbian acts? In journalism, putting that sentence so far down in your story is called burying your lede. Sure, it’s only two thousand dollars, but it’s the kind of expenditure that can crystallize the discontent felt by many top Republicans about Steele.
It’ll be interesting to see how this plays out. Personally, I’m surprised Steele has managed to survive as long as he has.
Here’s how a review from Clubplanet.com describes the place:
“In Los Angeles, it takes a lot to shock and awe. When you walk into Voyeur on Santa Monica Boulevard in West Hollywood, you might not be completely shocked at the almost naked women writhing on each other but you will undoubtedly be in awe.
Voyeur is an intimate space, provocative and sexy, sophisticated and interesting. Inspired by Eyes Wide Shut and London lounge, Annabelle’s of London, Voyeur transports you to a world of risqué sexuality and eroticism. In fact, even if you tried to escape looking at the naked women all around you, you would ultimately fail. But then again, why would you even try?
Of course the guests are sexy, but the walls are also lined with black and white pictures of beautiful naked girls from decades past while temptresses wearing nothing more than pasties and a black thong “stretch” on tables or in large glass boxes. Yes, the women don’t strip or show off their outdone go-go girl dance moves. Instead, they hold onto ropes on the walls and literally stretch, like yoga class but much sexier (and probably more naked).”
UPDATE:
“The RNC said in a statement Monday morning that it was investigating the Voyeur West Hollywood expenditure, which it said was “a reimbursement made to a non-committee staffer.” The committee also said it was requesting that the money be returned and emphasized that Steele was not at the event.
“The chairman was never at the location in question, he had no knowledge of the expenditure, nor does he find the use of committee funds at such a location at all acceptable,” the RNC statement said.”
For Steele personally, that distancing is no doubt useful. For Steele as chairman of the RNC, I’m not sure it’s going to help him much.
UPDATE II:
Washington (CNN) – A California-based political consultant who charged the Republican National Committee nearly $2,000 for a night out at Voyeur – a risque West Hollywood nightclub now at center of the latest controversy surrounding RNC chairman Michael Steele – will return the money to the party, a committee spokesman told CNN Monday.
Erik Brown, president of the Orange County-based Dynamic Marketing, Inc., was re-imbursed in February for $1,946.25 worth of charges at the nightclub, according to the RNC’s latest filing with the Federal Election Commission.
It’s not clear why the RNC re-imbursed Brown for the charges or who else was with him at the club. A spokesman for the RNC said Steele was not at the club when the charges were made.
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379 comments Add your comment
Bosch
March 29th, 2010
4:43 pm
SoCo,
Yeah, Golden Grain makes a great cleaner – I need some to scrub my brain to get that image out that I fear will forever be seared in there.
Bosch
March 29th, 2010
4:44 pm
First!!!!!!!! on page four………..
AmVet
March 29th, 2010
4:44 pm
“You mean the ones that fought against Hitler…”
FDR and Truman were right wing zealots?
(Just using you own stupid shtick against ya.)
Who dat?
March 29th, 2010
4:44 pm
Tim Geitner cheated on his taxes……Liberals are silent.
Charlie Rangel gets caught cheating on his taxes…….Liberals remain silent.
Eliott Spitzer cheats on his wife and has to resign……..Liberals remain silent.
William Jefferson gets caught with stolen cash……..Liberals remain silent.
The list goes on and on and on…..
RB from Gwinnett
March 29th, 2010
4:45 pm
Jewcowboy,
The original writer and Jay both wrote these pieces in a manner to intentionally lay this on Steele personally. The original writer knew the truth and misled everyone with his piece. I don’t know what you call it when someone intentionally misleads you, but I call it a lie.
Who dat?
March 29th, 2010
4:45 pm
“FDR and Truman were right wing zealots?”
Don’t remember either of them fighting in Normandy.
To quote you: (Just using you own stupid shtick against ya.)
Bosch
March 29th, 2010
4:46 pm
Who dat@ 4:44 –
You’ve obviously been living on a desert island the past couple years – cause there has been plenty of say so on those subjects.
theyeshaveit
March 29th, 2010
4:47 pm
Who dat said, “…yeah, and Palin had an 80% approval rating as governor.”
And, let’s not forget Palin is a quitter. Really impressive stuff, not to mention how responsible that exit was. Would Michael Jordan have quit after an MVP season? Should the New York Yankees be broken up?
Who dat?
March 29th, 2010
4:47 pm
“And that illustrates the popularity of the Libertarian movement how exactly?”
Uh, hate to break it to you pal but libertarians were left off on purpose. Same reason Ralph Nadar got screwed a few times by Democrats.
Steve
March 29th, 2010
4:47 pm
Should the AJC dump Bookman?
Jackie
March 29th, 2010
4:47 pm
@NIF
It is obvious John Edwards had an affair with the woman and had sex as the rumors flew about the woman and the child., prior to 2008.
http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/john-edwards-admits-fathered-rielle-hunter-child-affair/story?id=9620812
Southern Comfort
March 29th, 2010
4:48 pm
Bosch
Maybe you could market a Golden Grain based brain cleaner along with your screen cleaner. I could see branding potential there.
jefferson
March 29th, 2010
4:48 pm
Cheating on sicken wife — Newt they may be talking about you again…
Who dat?
March 29th, 2010
4:48 pm
“And, let’s not forget Palin is a quitter.”
So is Obama. He quit his post.
“Would Michael Jordan have quit after an MVP season? Should the New York Yankees be broken up?”
Sure why not.
Bosch
March 29th, 2010
4:49 pm
SoCo,
Dude, whaddayathink is in the monitor cleaner?
Who dat?
March 29th, 2010
4:50 pm
“Should the AJC dump Bookman?”
Well, the way GA’s economy is going………..
jewcowboy
March 29th, 2010
4:50 pm
Who dat?,
“Uh, hate to break it to you pal but libertarians were left off on purpose.”
Conspiracy? Were the Illuminati involved? How about the fleet of black helicopters?
Bosch
March 29th, 2010
4:51 pm
jewcowboy,
“Were the Illuminati involved?”
You must have watched “Angels and Demons” like I did this past weekend.
Who dat?
March 29th, 2010
4:51 pm
“You’ve obviously been living on a desert island the past couple years – cause there has been plenty of say so on those subjects.”
Where and by who? Not a peep from the major news channels or papers. None of it was reported until the freaking National Enquirer broke the story.
Who dat?
March 29th, 2010
4:52 pm
“Conspiracy? Were the Illuminati involved? How about the fleet of black helicopters?”
It was Halliburton. No wait, it was Blackwater.
AmVet
March 29th, 2010
4:52 pm
Right wing zealots fought in Normandy?
(Just using your own stupid shtick against ya.)
Who dat?
March 29th, 2010
4:52 pm
“You must have watched “Angels and Demons” like I did this past weekend.”
Liberals have such bad taste in movies.
jewcowboy
March 29th, 2010
4:53 pm
Bosch,
“You must have watched “Angels and Demons” like I did this past weekend.”
Nah…I watched Season 1 of Star Trek: The Next Generation. But the Illuminati invade all of our dreams and thought processes…
Southern Comfort
March 29th, 2010
4:53 pm
Hmmmmm, no wonder everybody swears by it!!!
Who dat?
Not a liberal, unless you ask mike or whiner, but those mentioned in your 4:44 got the same treatment from me as anyone else. Accusations are just that, accusations. You can be tried and found guilty in the court of public opinion, yet go to court and be found completely innocent. I try to reserve judgement on anyone until all the facts are laid out for all to see.
jewcowboy
March 29th, 2010
4:54 pm
Who dat?,
“It was Halliburton. No wait, it was Blackwater.”
Then it was a no-bid contract?
Who dat?
March 29th, 2010
4:54 pm
“Right wing zealots fought in Normandy?”
Not that you’d know this AmVet, but I have been to Pearl Harbor, Normandy and Washington and have seen/read first hand plenty of Christian soldiers who fought against Hitler. Both my grand dads fought in WW2 and they were both protestant Christians who professed their faith in God.
Again: (Just using your own stupid shtick against ya.)
Southern Comfort
March 29th, 2010
4:55 pm
None of it was reported until the freaking National Enquirer broke the story.
NE broke the story about Edwards, not the one’s mentioned in your 4:44.
jewcowboy
March 29th, 2010
4:55 pm
AmVet,
“Right wing zealots fought in Normandy?”
They were called Nazi’s.
Who dat?
March 29th, 2010
4:55 pm
Southern Comfort
Agreed.
Who dat?
March 29th, 2010
4:56 pm
“They were called Nazi’s.”
So all the Christians who fought for America in WW2 were Nazis?
Who dat?
March 29th, 2010
4:57 pm
“NE broke the story about Edwards, not the one’s mentioned in your 4:44.”
The only story I mentioned by the NE was the John Edwards story.
jewcowboy
March 29th, 2010
4:58 pm
Who dat?,
“No wait, it was Blackwater”
And get it right…Xe Services…another example of soiled brand.
Who dat?
March 29th, 2010
4:59 pm
I wonder if any of the jews on this blog realize that most of the world hates them more than any other group of people?
jewcowboy
March 29th, 2010
4:59 pm
Who dat?,
“So all the Christians who fought for America in WW2 were Nazis?”
Nooooo…the Right wing zealots who fought in Normandy were Nazi’s…sheesh.
Who dat?
March 29th, 2010
5:00 pm
“Nooooo…the Right wing zealots who fought in Normandy were Nazi’s…sheesh.”
I wrote Christians, and you referred to them as Nazis.
jewcowboy
March 29th, 2010
5:00 pm
Who dat?
“I wonder if any of the jews on this blog realize that most of the world hates them more than any other group of people?”
Tell us…how does it feel?
jewcowboy
March 29th, 2010
5:02 pm
Who dat?,
“I wrote Christians, and you referred to them as Nazis.”
jewcowboy
March 29th, 2010
4:55 pm
AmVet,
“Right wing zealots fought in Normandy?”
They were called Nazi’s.
Link Report this comment
Yes…I can see how you thought AmVet meant Who dat?
Who dat?
March 29th, 2010
5:02 pm
“Tell us…how does it feel?”
You should ask a real Jew that question.
jewcowboy
March 29th, 2010
5:02 pm
As fun as this is…I must bolt. Play nice everyone.
Hillbilly Deluxe
March 29th, 2010
5:03 pm
Off topic:
Sometimes it’s as simple as looking at how somebody else lives.
http://jobs.aol.com/articles/2010/03/25/undercover-boss-finds-herschend-parks-can-be-very-entertaining/?ncid=webmaildl4
Who dat?
March 29th, 2010
5:04 pm
jewcowboy
March 29th, 2010
4:55 pm
AmVet,
“Right wing zealots fought in Normandy?”
They were called Nazi’s
You were saying?
AmVet
March 29th, 2010
5:09 pm
Who dat, can you see Russia from your porch?!
“…plenty of
Christianatheist, agnostic and countless other non-Christian soldiers who fought against Hitler.”FYT.
AmVet
March 29th, 2010
5:12 pm
Seeya, jewcowboy.
Happy Pesach and good luck at becoming a “real” Jew!
I Report (-: You Whine )-: Impeach Drunken Fool obozo! Just sayin....
March 29th, 2010
5:13 pm
They aren’t even naked? WTF Michael?
Who dat?
March 29th, 2010
5:14 pm
“Who dat, can you see Russia from your porch?!”
No but I can spot a person posing as a soldier from my computer chair.
““…plenty of Christian atheist, agnostic and countless other non-Christian soldiers who fought against Hitler.””
Just curious, why such disdain for Christians?
I Report (-: You Whine )-: Impeach Drunken Fool obozo! Just sayin....
March 29th, 2010
5:16 pm
I can’t freaking believe this, you cut loose of $1800 that girl better already have her britches off.
Doesn’t this clown Steele know anything?
Who dat?
March 29th, 2010
5:16 pm
AmVet
Do you attend Temple, hold the Sabbath as a Holy day and do you abide by the Torah? Me thinks you’re a pretend Jew in name only.
AmVet
March 29th, 2010
5:16 pm
Just curious, why such disdain for everybody but Christians?
Again, fyt.
AmVet
March 29th, 2010
5:17 pm
Just curious, why such disdain for Jews?
(Fixed my own typo!)
Southern Comfort
March 29th, 2010
5:17 pm
Who dat?
March 29th, 2010
4:44 pm
Tim Geitner cheated on his taxes……Liberals are silent.
Charlie Rangel gets caught cheating on his taxes…….Liberals remain silent.
Eliott Spitzer cheats on his wife and has to resign……..Liberals remain silent.
William Jefferson gets caught with stolen cash……..Liberals remain silent.
The list goes on and on and on…..
Bosch
March 29th, 2010
4:46 pm
Who dat@ 4:44 –
You’ve obviously been living on a desert island the past couple years – cause there has been plenty of say so on those subjects.
Who dat?
March 29th, 2010
4:51 pm
“You’ve obviously been living on a desert island the past couple years – cause there has been plenty of say so on those subjects.”
Where and by who? Not a peep from the major news channels or papers. None of it was reported until the freaking National Enquirer broke the story
I must have misread your response, because it seems like you were saying none of those stories were reported until the NE broke the story. If so, I appologize for that.
I Report (-: You Whine )-: Impeach Drunken Fool obozo! Just sayin....
March 29th, 2010
5:18 pm
Meanwhile, back on Earth-
CHICAGO (AP) – Health insurance premiums for young adults are expected to rise about 17 percent once they’re required to buy insurance four years from now. That estimate is from an analysis by Rand Health.
Couple that^^ with fewer benefits, wow, how’s that hopeandchange working out for you?
Who dat?
March 29th, 2010
5:19 pm
“I must have misread your response, because it seems like you were saying none of those stories were reported until the NE broke the story. If so, I appologize for that.”
Again, I was referring NE for the John Edwards story only.
Who dat?
March 29th, 2010
5:21 pm
“Just curious, why such disdain for Christians?”
FYT
Paul
March 29th, 2010
5:21 pm
Hey there, SoCom
This morning I was critical of the Democratic Congress’s legislating ability, given they blew the language guaranteeing coverage for children with preexisting conditions. A blogger informed me I was critical because I’m a Republican.
Then I was critical of something Republicans had done (forget what, exactly, there’s just sooooo much to keep track of). So then I thought I must be back to being a Democrat. Went looking for a scorecard. Then AmVet posted something about Nader I agreed with, so now I can’t be a Democrat OR a Republican.
Political life is so confusing…..
Who dat?
March 29th, 2010
5:22 pm
Obama’s Treatment of Israel is Shocking
By Ed Koch
President Obama’s abysmal attitude toward the State of Israel and his humiliating treatment of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is shocking. In the Washington Post on March 24th, Jackson Diehl wrote, “Obama has added more poison to a U.S.-Israeli relationship that already was at its lowest point in two decades. Tuesday night the White House refused to allow non-official photographers record the president’s meeting with Netanyahu; no statement was issued afterward. Netanyahu is being treated as if he were an unsavory Third World dictator, needed for strategic reasons but conspicuously held at arms length. That is something the rest of the world will be quick to notice and respond to.”
I have not heard or read statements criticizing the president by New York Senators Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand or many other supporters of Israel for his blatantly hostile attitude toward Israel and his discourtesy displayed at the White House. President Obama orchestrated the hostile statements of Vice President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, voiced by Biden in Israel and by Clinton in a 43-minute telephone call to Bibi Netanyahu, and then invited the latter to the White House to further berate him. He then left Prime Minister Netanyahu to have dinner at the White House with his family, conveying he would only be available to meet again if Netanyahu had further information – read concessions – to impart.
I Report (-: You Whine )-: Impeach Drunken Fool obozo! Just sayin....
March 29th, 2010
5:23 pm
Federal authorities have arrested a Philadelphia man and charged him with threatening to kill House Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-Va.) and his family.
Norman Leboon will be charged with two federal counts: threatening to kill a member of Congress and interfering with his federal duties, and posting video online containing such threats. He is scheduled to appear in federal district court in Philadelphia on Monday afternoon.
How about that, not only do we have real evidence, we also have a suspect, something you whiney democrats are, uh, unable to say.
Just sayin….
Paul
March 29th, 2010
5:24 pm
Report/Whine
Four years?!!? I thought 50,000 people were gonna die this year ’cause they don’t have health insurance?!!? Lessee, times four years that’s…..
But at least those 200,000 lives got CBO’s score to come out correct, eh?
Paul
March 29th, 2010
5:26 pm
Report/Whine 5:23
Where’d you read that? Huffpo? MediaMatters? See it on MSNBC? Olbermann? Mathews? NBC? All of the above?
AmVet
March 29th, 2010
5:27 pm
Paul,
YOU WILL BE PIGEON HOLED.
YOU WILL BE LABELED.
There is no other way…
Who dat?
March 29th, 2010
5:28 pm
“Where’d you read that? Huffpo? MediaMatters? See it on MSNBC? Olbermann? Mathews? NBC? All of the above?”
I read that on CNN.
AmVet
March 29th, 2010
5:29 pm
“Where’d you read that? Huffpo? MediaMatters? See it on MSNBC? Olbermann? Mathews? NBC? All of the above?”
Who ever knows.
Italics are license to plagiarize…
jefferson
March 29th, 2010
5:31 pm
If the insurance companies don’t watch out, it will be a public option or a single payer… they better start “rolling” them prices back or they will be working at Costco (Sam’s is going down)
Paul
March 29th, 2010
5:31 pm
AmVet
Just tryin’ to make it easier for them -
Y’know, I figured initially that as I’d praised the legislation’s intent to mandate coverage for kids, yet at the same time criticized the competence of the majority party and their staffers, someone would’ve called me a Repubricrat or a Demopublican.
I Report (-: You Whine )-: Impeach Drunken Fool obozo! Just sayin....
March 29th, 2010
5:35 pm
Paul- None of the above, go figure.
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0310/35152.html
Paul
March 29th, 2010
5:39 pm
Report/Whine
[[Leboon does not appear to be particularly politically active, but he does appear to have donated to President Barack Obama. On back-to-back days in June 2008, a man who called himself “Norman Leboon Sr” from Philadelphia gave $255 and $250 to Obama for America. The Democratic National Committee will donate $505 to charity if it was the same man that threatened Cantor.]]
Wanna bet it’ll be a Democratic-affiliated charity?
getalife
March 29th, 2010
5:46 pm
S&M gate.
He is a freak but the gop should keep him.
He can pal around with Vittter, Ensign and Sanford.
The party of pervs.
Soothsayer
March 29th, 2010
5:47 pm
Am I the only one who senses it might be America’s turn to go nuts? I don’t mean a family squabble, like the Boomer-Hippie-Vietnam uproar that was essentially an adolescent rebellion against bad parenting in the national household. I mean a genuine descent into madness, with the very high probability of persecution, violence, murder, and mayhem — all more or less sponsored by various authorities and institutions.
The Republican Party is doing a great job in provoking such a dangerous episode by making consensual governance impossible in a time of awful practical problems and challenges. They’re in the process, right now, of transforming themselves from the party of “no” to the party of no decency, no common sense, no ideas, no conception of the public interest, and no respect for the traditions that they pretend to stand for, like due process of law. In the days since the passage of health care reform, they’ve gone as far as inciting mobs to violence against their fellow congressmen and senators — bricks thrown through windows, death threats made, coffins placed in the yards of their adversaries. One day soon, somebody with a gun or an explosive device, someone with a very sketchy sense-of-self, and perhaps a recent record of personal failure and humiliation, is going to sacrifice himself to become the Tea Party’s first martyr by shooting up a shopping mall in some blue district.
Southern Comfort
March 29th, 2010
5:47 pm
Paul
Well, mike labeled me a liberal the other day on the thread that disappeared. That guy has some serious anger management issues, but that’s for another day. So, wear your label(s) with pride.
Who dat?
I’ve been waiting on people to say something about that visit. For so long, people have called Obama soft. He does something that takes major cajones to do, and you get nothing. Whether it was done to friend or foe, I have yet to hear a peep from any of his praisers or detractors.
Normal
March 29th, 2010
5:52 pm
Erik,
St. elsewhere, posted above too
AmVet
March 29th, 2010
5:55 pm
A pox on both their houses, Paul…
OK, off to Passover Seder. (Google it who dat, it is not a party.)
And even the Uppity Muslim sans Birth Certificate is having one tonight:
http://content.usatoday.com/communities/theoval/post/2010/03/obamas-white-house-continues-new-tradition-with-passover-seder/1
Later, all…
Jackie
March 29th, 2010
5:57 pm
It seems that the newly enacted health care bill is not like by 56% of those responding to the survey. However, if one reads further in the article, those included in that overall disapproval number include those who felt the bill did not go far enough in dealing with the health care crisis. It is always good to read the entire piece.
midtownguy
March 29th, 2010
6:31 pm
I think Creflo Steele should carry on.
DITTOHEAD:AJC Truth Detector
March 29th, 2010
6:56 pm
LORDy……..LORDy……..LORDy……A pointy .headed liberal worries about the ChM of the RNC spending a few $$$$$$…………….Compare that to OBAMA spending $10,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,ooo
Who dat?
March 29th, 2010
7:24 pm
“OK, off to Passover Seder. (Google it who dat, it is not a party.)”
Don’t have to, I’m going to one as well.
TnGelding
March 29th, 2010
7:30 pm
Please keep him until the job market improves! We need free spenders.
theyeshaveit
March 29th, 2010
10:33 pm
Jackie said, “It seems that the newly enacted health care bill is not like by 56% of those responding to the survey. However, if one reads further in the article, those included in that overall disapproval number include those who felt the bill did not go far enough in dealing with the health care crisis. It is always good to read the entire piece.”
Yes, Jackie. Also in the survey is this: 27% felt that there should be MORE government involvement in health care.
Joel Edge
March 30th, 2010
6:10 am
And if he was a democrat he would be using tax payer money.
Jaye
March 30th, 2010
8:06 am
Steele needs to go. He’s supposed to be a leader, but his spending habits, and behavior, are unacceptable. Final straw for me. I’m leaving my dad’s Republican party, both here in Ga. and nationally.
NJ
March 30th, 2010
8:02 pm
Why?
Those sound like traditional conservative family values to me.
Republicans have always been doing this stuff. Its only the new electronic media that allows them to be caught so easily and so much more frequently.
The stuff Sean Hannity was up to is also typical Republican business practicing. It cost them 3 million dollars in administrative fees for every 900 dollars they got to troops injured in Iraq.
Anyone surprised. Thats the “Free market” in action. Its up to the buyer to beware….