Steele Drives Away RNC Donors

Bondage club fiasco exacerbates problem for committee
By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff
Posted Mar 31, 2010 9:46 AM CDT
Steele Drives Away RNC Donors
In this April 16, 2009, file photo, Republican National Chairman Michael Steele answers a a question during a news conference at a fundraising dinner in Evansville, Ind.   (AP Photo/Darron Cummings, File)

The RNC’s bondage club incident has been yet another blow to an organization that’s been struggling to pull in big donors ever since Michael Steele took over. At least eight of the RNC’s top individual donors haven’t donated in the past 14 months, according to FEC filings, opting instead to give to the National Republican Congressional Committee or individual campaigns. Many have blamed Steele and his free-spending ways.

“These are people who are longtime, loyal donors,” one major GOP donor told the Daily Caller, “and to be in the front page of newspapers because someone put a chit in for going to a sex club, it’s just dumb.” Critics say the bondage club visit is merely indicative of the larger problems with Steele’s RNC. “There does appear to be a real issue with the RNC’s discipline,” said one Republican consultant. “This damaging story could have been avoided.” (More Michael Steele stories.)

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