Michael Steele

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RNC, DNC Pig Out on Donor Bucks

Lavish dinners, digs, fishing guides eat up millions

(Newser) - Nearly two-thirds of donations to the national committees of both the Republican and Democratic Party are spent on staffers and to pay for luxuries like lavish dinners, limousines and mysterious "tips" to lure more donations, reports the Washington Post . In the last spending period, administration and fundraising expenses gobbled...

Steele Fails to Lure Minorities To GOP
 Steele Fails to Lure 
 Minorities To GOP 
ANALYSIS

Steele Fails to Lure Minorities To GOP

Controversy hampers RNC leader's efforts

(Newser) - African-American voters haven't budged an inch in the GOP's direction despite Michael Steele's pledge to win over minority voters, a Washington Post analysis finds. Some 78% of black voters have an unfavorable view of the party, a figure unchanged since Steele became the party's first-ever African-American chairman. Analysts say the...

9 Surprises From GOP Conference
 9 Surprises 
 From GOP 
 Conference 
mark halperin

9 Surprises From GOP Conference

Among them: Little support for a Sarah Palin candidacy

(Newser) - With the Southern Republican Leadership Conference wrapped up, Mark Halperin rounds up nine surprises from New Orleans on his Time blog. A sampling:
  • There was almost no mention of the Supreme Court fight.
  • Attendees showed little enthusiasm for a Sarah Palin presidential run.

Michael Steele: 'I've Made Mistakes'

RNC chief tells half-empty room he wants to 'move on'

(Newser) - Michael Steele today sought to put to rest the recent troubles of himself and the Republican National Committee, reports Fox News . "I'm the first here to admit I've made mistakes, and it's been incumbent upon me to face facts, shoulder that burden, make the necessary changes—and move on,...

Rudy, Newt Back Steele
 Rudy, Newt 
 Back Steele 

Rudy, Newt Back Steele

But calls for RNC chairman's resignation are mounting

(Newser) - With the cries for Michael Steele’s resignation growing ever louder, two notable allies jumped to his defense yesterday. Rudy Guiliani told CNN last night that Steele “should remain exactly where he is,” noting that Republicans had won elections in Virginia, New Jersey and Massachusetts on his watch....

Scandal Wins GOP a Convert in Porn Star Stormy Daniels
Scandal Wins GOP a Convert in Porn Star Stormy Daniels
MAYBE SENATE CANDIDATE, TOO

Scandal Wins GOP a Convert in Porn Star Stormy Daniels

RNC event at bondage club 'finally tipped the scales'

(Newser) - In addition to apparently helping raise money , the Republican National Committee’s sex-club scandal has won the party a high-profile convert: porn star Stormy Daniels. The gathering “at Voyeur, an LA-based, lesbian-bondage-themed nightclub, finally tipped the scales,” said Daniels, who is mulling a challenge to the Louisiana US...

At Least RNC Got Good Bang for Bondage Bucks

Raised $5K for every $1 spent—way more than Dems

(Newser) - Though the Republican National Committee is taking heat for the $1,946 a staffer spent at a West Hollywood sex club, the RNC looks to have earned it back in spades from donations—to the tune of more than $5,000 into the party coffers for every dollar spent at...

Sex-Club Flap Claims RNC Chief of Staff

It's unclear if Ken McKay's resignation was voluntary

(Newser) - The sex-club scandal that has rocked the Republican National Committee claimed its highest-ranking official yet today, with chief of staff Ken McKay resigning. An RNC rep wouldn’t say if McKay volunteered or was pushed, but did tell Politico that the move was directly related to the $2,000 spent...

Latest Steele Hire Bilked DC Group for $70K
 Latest Steele Hire Bilked 
 DC Group for $70K 
WHOOPS! DEPT

Latest Steele Hire Bilked DC Group for $70K

New RNC fundraiser Neil Alpert was ordered to repay 'grandiose' expenses

(Newser) - Under fire for recent flaps over RNC spending, Chairman Michael Steele has hired a new “special assistant for finance”—and possibly walked into another gaffe. Neil S. Alpert, the 31-year-old wunderkind whose new job it will be to “help raise money” and “find new funds,”...

Steele: I Won't Step Down

Chairman says he has a slimmer margin of error because he's black

(Newser) - Michael Steele says he won’t be stepping down as the chairman of the RNC, and thinks the concern over his spending has been blown out of proportion. “A lot of our major donors are used to a particular type of event. We’ve been scaling those back,”...

5 Hopeful Signs for Democrats in Midterms
5 Hopeful Signs for Democrats in Midterms
Analysis

5 Hopeful Signs for Democrats in Midterms

No need for Pelosi, Reid to panic—at least not yet

(Newser) - Democrats didn’t get the bump in the polls they were hoping for after health care reform passed. Are they doomed in November? Maybe. But they have reasons for optimism, writes Jay Newton-Small for Time , including:
  • Michael Steele: He’s “the gift that keeps on giving,” and his
...

Steele Must Stop Trying to Be Shadow President

GOP needs him to do his job, the 'boring' fundraising

(Newser) - The headlines about the Republican National Committee's embarrassing week will fade, but the party has a bigger problem, warns Kimberley Strassel. "Michael Steele has yet to figure out his role." The RNC chief is acting like a glitzy "shadow president" instead of doing what a party chief...

Oops: RNC Letter Had Phone Sex Number

Fundraising mailer makes embarrassing mistake

(Newser) - Not the best of weeks for the Republican National Committee and sex themes: A letter mailed out soliciting funds includes a phone number for a sex line. A recipient in Minnesota discovered the glitch when he called the number—not to contribute but to complain that the letter was designed...

Race Is All That's Saving Steele
 Race Is All 
 That's Saving 
 Steele 
OPINION

Race Is All That's Saving Steele

Republicans don't want to fire their first black leader

(Newser) - Michael Steele is pretty obviously lousy at his job, so why don’t Republicans just fire him? There’s just one reason, argues Gabriel Winant of Salon : race. Steele, you’ll recall, came to power directly after Barack Obama’s election—the Republicans, essentially, wanted their own black guy. Dumping...

RNC Cancels Events Over Sex Club Scandal

Young Eagles program sent to the corner and told to be good

(Newser) - The RNC is punishing those dirty boys and girls at the Young Eagles program, canceling all upcoming events scheduled for the group. The $1,946 the RNC spent at an LA bondage club appears to have been for a Young Eagles event, Politico reports. Some of the program’s other...

Conservative Chief Tells Group Not to Give to RNC

Bondage club incident further shows 'tone-deaf' brass

(Newser) - The influential head of a key conservative group is urging that group’s members to avoid donating to the Republican National Committee in the wake of its most recent scandal. “This latest incident is another indication to me the RNC is completely tone-deaf to the values and concerns of...

Steele Drives Away RNC Donors

Bondage club fiasco exacerbates problem for committee

(Newser) - 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...

RNC Staffer Fired in Bondage Flap Was Female Recruiter

Allison Meyers ran 'Young Eagles' program

(Newser) - The RNC staffer fired for reimbursing a consultant for a $1,946 night at a bondage club has been revealed: It was Allison Meyers, director of the “Young Eagles” program, sources tell Politico . It was her job to recruit donors under 50 years old. The now-infamous trip to Voyeur...

Steele's Other Expenses Come Under Fire

RNC staffer fired over bondage club visit on party's tab

(Newser) - The RNC staffer who ensured donor Erik Brown was reimbursed for footing the tab for a visit to a bondage-theme club has been fired, but the controversy is just beginning for Michael Steele. Non-bondage related expenses recently disclosed by the RNC include lavish spending on private jets ($17,000 in...

Bondage Club Patron ID'd as RNC Member, Not Steele

Erik Brown will return $2K reimbursement

(Newser) - The Republican Party official reimbursed for nearly $2,000 spent at an LA fetish club was a member of the RNC, not committee chair Michael Steele. The mystery patron who hit up the RNC for the $1,946 he spent at Voyeur West Hollywood is marketing exec Erik Brown, reports...

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