The GOP has released a statement about high flyer Michael Steele and whether he had any knowledge of the money spent by the RNC at the high priced bondage-themed club.
RNC “Investigating” Party Funds Spent On Bondage-Themed Nightclub:
“We are investigating the expenditure in question. The story willfully and erroneously suggests that the expenditure in question was one belonging to the Chairman. This was a reimbursement made to a non-committee staffer.
“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.
“Good reporting would make that distinction crystal clear. The committee has requested that the monies be returned to the committee and that the story be corrected so that it is accurate.”
Tamryn Hall and the HuffPo's Ryan Grim discussed why this story is still bad news for Michael Steele even if he wasn't there. If they don't get rid of him after this I'll be surprised.
Grim: What kind of shop are they running over there is the question that voters are going to ask. They're trying to take over the government, take over control of trillions of dollars worth of spending yet even within their own political committee they can't tell who spent this money at this strip club. You know that's just not going to fly I'm sure with most voters.
Hall: And you also, you brought up fiscal responsibility; this is also the party that says that they're in touch, that the liberals, the progressives, the Democrats are not in touch with middle America, some of those folks who are right now on the trails rallying with the Tea Party. I don't know if this bondage thing is something that might be relatable to middle America.
Grim: Just spending those amounts of money on hotels and other luxury events for yourself when you're traveling just doesn't wash with people. [...] There are cheaper ways to travel than to get your own private plane. There are cheaper places to stay than in these Beverly Hills resort hotels and it's just not something that they seem to be interested in and so how long can you have this mix of these Tea Party activists, many of whom are on government support and these Republican activists, many of whom are on donor support remains to be seen.
