Steele defends spending to RNC members
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/37087991/ns/politics-more_politics/Michael Steele leads the RNC's State Chairman's meeting at the Gaylord National Hotel and Convention Center on May 11 in National Harbor, Md.OXON HILL, Md. - Republican National Committee chairman Michael Steele on Tuesday defended his organization's lavish spending as he sought to contain the damage from a donor event at a sex-themed nightclub and the use of private jets and limousines.
Steele, whose tenure as Republican leader has been marked by controversy, told state party leaders that the spending was necessary for him to do his job and it didn't affect GOP candidates. Steele's PowerPoint presentation at a closed meeting included photos of jets and limos followed by a line-by-line justification for the spending.
"After he explained it, we understood," said Saul Anuzis, a committeeman from Michigan. "Everything was justified."
The RNC chief of staff, chief consultant, finance director, deputy finance director and a liaison to young Republicans have all lost their jobs as donors grew frustrated with what they considered extravagant spending. A January outing — that Steele did not join — to the Voyeur nightclub in West Hollywood featured topless woman simulating lesbian bondage. The event proved to be a breaking point for a party out of power and without a unifying leader.
Steele acknowledged the problems in his report to his committee, participants said. He called spending an "ugly gorilla" and "the giant elephant in the room."