Republican National Committee spends $2k at West Hollywood topless club

avatar for Slothrop
Slothrop
Florida
"The Republican National Committee spent thousands of dollars at hotels and clubs in February, the Daily Caller reports.

According to FEC reports, the RNC spent $1,946.25 at Voyeur West Hollywood, which the Caller describes as "a bondage-themed nightclub featuring topless women dancers imitating lesbian sex." Voyeur is an exclusive, expensive club frequented by celebrities and, for example, hosted Heidi Klum's Halloween party last year."

RNC's reply:
"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."

12 comments

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avatar for samsung1
samsung1
15 years ago
I can not find this strip club on tuscl.net
I have never been to a bondage strip club before. I know kahoot's has a fetish party once in a while but I have never bothered to go to it.
avatar for o2bRainf3
o2bRainf3
15 years ago
Interesting. Wonder what the California Democrats are doing? So, who wants to bet whether the $1946.25 included the tip, or not? Its a little light for a night out for the whole committee + tip, if you ask me, but then I'm not a Republican. If these guys are into bondage, I'll bet the Democrats got something really juicy going. I may HAVE to become a Democrat, but that's not a commitment, just yet. Let's see what they got going first.
avatar for steve229
steve229
15 years ago
Damn, how many times do we have to say it - no credit cards at the strip club!
avatar for samsung1
samsung1
15 years ago
Cash is king. From my experiences, strippers who provide extras prefer cash as payment.
avatar for sanitago
sanitago
15 years ago
damn, the better part of two grand dropped in one night in a SC? someone must have enjoyed themselves, LOL!!!!
avatar for SuperDude
SuperDude
15 years ago
Here's what I think happened. (No proof, of course.) The RNC received a request from a major donor for reimbursement of expenses he dropped at this club. He hosted quite a party hustling new donors and, because it was for the benefit of the RNC, he wanted his tab covered. A staffer got the request and presented it upstairs for approval. He was told that it was a problem, so don't do it. This high roller put some pressure on the staffer or the boss and the expenses were paid. Another more conventional party was being held nearby on the same night for the "Young Eagles," the 30 to 40 year old crowd being recruited for the next generation of Eagles--who donate 10k annually to the RNC. (Did you hear about the party across the street at that wild club?) Conservatives who didn't like it or some GOPers who didn't get invited were annoyed. When they found out that these expenses were paid, they let it be known that they objected. (Well, so what are we supposed to? We can't stiff this guy.) When the report was filed, the nerds who were not invited told Tucker Carlson about it and he went public with it. This is not Michael Steele's fault. He has many other problems. As far as we know he was not there and did not approve the reimbursement. BUT--some of his conduct--private jets, limos, expensive hotels, speaking fees, policy statements, cash burn and injudicious use of street slang--have cost him support inside the GOP. It's not this specific anount of money, but the sleaze that it represents. Someone just could not say no to the big donor who insisted on the bill being paid, even if the inevitable disclosure might be embarrasing. And the chairman of the GOP is supposed to raise money, recruit candidates and keep the troops ready for the next election. And not allow or create problems. Black conservatives have all but called for Steele to resign. The skids are well greased.
avatar for sanitago
sanitago
15 years ago
here's one story on the subject:

"A Republican National Committee staffer who approved an expense reimbursement of nearly $2,000 for "meals" at a Los Angeles bondage-themed club has been fired.

In announcing the termination Tuesday, the RNC distanced itself from the after-hours outing to Voyeur West Hollywood by the Young Eagles, the invitation-only club for young donors to the Republican Party.

"This was not an RNC-sanctioned event and was not associated in any way with any RNC official event," the committee's chief of staff, Ken McKay, wrote in a statement to Politico.

The staffer "was aware that this activity was not eligible for reimbursement and had been previously counseled on this very subject," McKay wrote.

McKay did not name the staffer, but she was identified by The Huffington Post as Allison Meyers, director of the Young Eagles program since February 2009.

Erik Brown, the donor who footed the bill at Voyeur and was later reimbursed by the RNC, has agreed to pay back the $1,946.25, McKay told Politico. Brown, the owner of a Southern California direct-mail firm, has worked for Republican candidates and committees.

The expense was revealed Monday in an investigation into lavish RNC spending published Monday at The Daily Caller, the conservative Web site founded by pundit Tucker Carlson. Reporter Jonathan Strong originally contended that the RNC chairman, Michael Steele, was at Voyeur, which was strongly disputed by the committee.

"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 said in a statement Monday."



http://www.politicsdaily.com/2010/03/30/…
avatar for MisterGuy
MisterGuy
15 years ago
LOL...how did I know that this would be highlighted here on TUSCL?

Here's some more on this issue:

"RNC Outreach to GLBT Community?"
http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archive…

"RNC spent $1946.25 at sex-themed nightclub Voyeur West Hollywood"
http://thinkprogress.org/2010/03/29/rnc-…

The RNC in West Hollywood of all places. This sounds like an attempted hit job on Steele, which he will likely survive. The longer he stays RNC Chairman, the better IMO.
avatar for samsung1
samsung1
15 years ago
RNC staffer at strip club was...a woman

A woman did it.

Turns out the Republican National Committee staffer who accompanied a group of donors to Voyeur, a bondage-themed nightclub in West Hollywood, and then turned in an expense account seeking reimbursement for the nearly $2,000 tab, is one Allison Meyers, director -- make that former director -- of the RNC's Young Eagles program of donors under the age of 45.
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/postpar…
avatar for steve229
steve229
15 years ago
But the RNC suffered another blow Thursday, when POLITICO reported that one of the party's fundraising letters mistakenly directed would-be donors to call a telephone number belonging to a phone-sex operation.

Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/041…
avatar for samsung1
samsung1
15 years ago
LMFAO!
avatar for georgmicrodong
georgmicrodong
15 years ago
It wasn't *really* a mistake; they were hoping for a cut of the call profits. :)
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