Wadhams Defends RNC Lesbian Voyeurism

by: Colorado Pols

Thu Apr 01, 2010 at 12:29:18 PM MDT

The Republican National Committee and its chairman, Michael S. Steele, were engulfed in controversy again Monday after new financial reports showed that the party used tens of thousands of donor dollars for luxe hotels, private jets and other questionable expenditures...

Although it is not unusual for either party to spend money in tony settings to cater to wealthy donors, the RNC's latest filings captured widespread attention for one expenditure at a risque nightclub: $1,946.25 for "meals" at Voyeur in West Hollywood, which features topless dancers wearing horse bridles and other bondage gear while mimicking sex acts.

The committee fired an unidentified staff member as a result of the disbursement and emphasized Monday that Steele had not visited the club and was not aware of the expenditure. The reimbursement went to Erik Brown, a Southern California GOP donor who has spent time with Steele in the past and whose marketing firm has earned more than $160,000 from the RNC and other Republican committees...

Mark DeMoss, a major RNC donor during George W. Bush's presidency who heads a Christian public-relations firm in Atlanta, said that spending so lavishly during an economic downturn is "mind-boggling." "Virtually the entire country -- from big businesses to small business -- had to make cutbacks," he said. "To think the Republican Party wouldn't do the same thing, I think, suggests either a tone-deafness or just that they don't care, which would maybe be worse."

But others defended Steele and his financial record and pointed to GOP success in recent elections in Massachusetts, New Jersey and Virginia. "You do have to spend money to raise money," said Dick Wadhams, chairman of the Colorado GOP. "I'll give Chairman Steele the benefit of the doubt on spending on major donors." [Pols emphasis]

An RNC investigation of the incident found that the Voyeur party was attended by a group of young Republicans who had been at an official party "Young Eagles" event at the Beverly Hills Hotel the same night, according to an internal memo obtained by The Washington Post. The Young Eagles is an RNC program to cultivate 30-to-40-year-olds as major future donors. [Pols emphasis]

Really? If ever there was a time to say "No comment," this was it for Wadhams. If you honestly can't say that this was not a good idea, then just don't say anything at all.

UPDATE: We've really got to shoehorn a mention of the Hooters Girls at the "Tea Party Express" yesterday somewhere, and this seems to be as good a place as any.