Posted on 02/23/2010 10:02:00 AM PST by NormsRevenge
Republican National Chairman Michael Steele is spending twice as much as his recent predecessors on private planes and paying more for limousines, catering and flowers – expenses that are infuriating the party's major donors who say Republicans need every penny they can get for the fight to win back Congress.
Most recently, donors grumbled when Steele hired renowned chef Wolfgang Puck's local crew to cater the RNC's Christmas party inside the trendy Newseum on Pennsylvania Avenue, and then moved its annual winter meeting from Washington to Hawaii.
For some major GOP donors, both decisions were symbolic of the kind of wasteful spending habits they claim has become endemic to his tenure at the RNC. When Ken Mehlman served as the committee chairman during the critical 2006 midterm elections, the holiday party was held in a headquarters conference room and Chic-fil-A was the caterer.
A POLITICO analysis of expenses found that compared with 2005, the last comparable year preceding a midterm election, the committee’s payments for charter flights doubled; the number of sedan contractors tripled, and meal expenses jumped from $306,000 to $599,000.
“Michael Steele is an imperial chairman,” said one longtime Republican fundraiser. “He flies in private aircraft. He drives in private cars. He has private consultants that are paid ridiculous retainers. He fancies himself a presidential candidate and wants all of the trappings and gets them by using other people’s money.”
Louis M. Pope, who chairs the RNC’s Budget Committee, defends Steele’s expenses, arguing that a bump in costs is unavoidable for a party that lacks control of any of the levers of government. “Michael Steele does travel more, but he’s in far more demand. He’s a huge part of the fundraising apparatus,” said Pope. “Nobody is living it up at the RNC. There are a number of upscale events, but those are all profitable.”
But disclosure reports document the exodus of prominent donors who have decided to shift their giving to other party committees. In 2005, the RNC raised $46 million from donors who gave more than $250 and $55 million from small donors. In 2009, Steele’s RNC brought in just $24 million — nearly half as much — from big donors and $58 million from small donors.
When Steele took over the chairmanship last winter, he inherited a $23 million surplus. Since then, the former Maryland lieutenant governor has raised $10 million less than the party collected in 2005 and has spent $10 million more. By the end of 2009, the committee’s surplus had shrunk to $8.4 million, according to campaign finance reports.
Just last week, RNC officials touted a January fundraising haul of more than $10 million. But after hosting the sun-filled winter meeting in Hawaii, paying for the holiday party and taking care of other bills, the committee spent almost all of it. Consequently, the RNC added only $1 million to the committee’s $8.4 million in cash, the reports show.
Pope acknowledged the falloff but said some of it was caused by frustration and exhaustion after the 2008 election and that things are turning around. “Major donor events were up in the latter part of the year, once the party learned to raise money better without a president,” and Obama’s agenda rallied the base, he said.
Next time you better ask for some champagne and a driver.
Steele is taking the absolute wrong approach. The Party should be on a war footing - lean, spartan, disciplined, mindful of the times, strategically deploying every expenditure. Sacrifice comfort now for victory in November.
Same here -- too many, too often. The other thing that ticks me off is that their direct mail format inserts your personal name throughout the three- or four-page letter, meaning you have to shred the entire thing instead of just the top of the first page. Pain in the asterisk. And not "green."
And where is Politico’s coverage of Nancy Pelosi spending thousands on alchohol? Flowers, food, planes...
That’s right, not mentioned...
He sounds like a Limousine (right-wing)Leftist going from one ivory tower to the other.
Hey if I don’t give to RNC what do I care? I give to the candidates I like. If the RNC NEVER wins another election I don’t care. They deserted us long ago
Yo.
I walked the most part of a mile from Union Station to the RNC Headquarters rather than hack the parking expense and just stayed there for 12 hours a day for the last 3 days of the race -- like many other volunteers.
I met some awesome people from every walk of life and every ethnicity, including Asians, blacks, hispanics as well as whites; males, females, middle aged, very old, very young -- all dedicated and knowledgeable of conservative principles. How I wish the GOP would act the same way the People do.
yup! he’s special.
Is there ANYTHING good about Steele? If so, I have yet to see it.
“Michael Steele does travel more, but he’s in far more demand. He’s a huge part of the fundraising apparatus.”
Hilarious. In fact, Steele’s the biggest obstacle to RNC fundraising.
I won’t give a cent to this outfit until they (i) get rid of Steele, and (ii) stop backing weak-kneed, panty-waist, smushy candidates.
It's shocking. He is a native of the Eastern Shore of Maryland, which was a nearly rural fishing-based community when he was growing up there. Many African-Americans from there are descended from freemen or former slaves and have deep roots in Maryland. He really should know better. I guess it has all gone to his head.
I liked the man personally before this and supported his run for U.S. Senator against the disgraceful hack Ben Cardin. Steele was, I think, Jesuit educated and at one time studied to become a priest. I think he is sincere but misguided and in over his head. He has really let us down with his waffling on the issues, and now this. I have always privately thought he was an affirmative action appointment to counter Obama's image, and now I'm just saying it.
Shape up, Michael.
I read about Mitt flying back from the Olympics in coach class and smoke comes out of my ears whenever I think of Steele tooling around like a pimp on steroids.
At least he's not doing it on my money any more. I just hope he doesn't have authority to borrow in RNC’s name from banks. That would just add to the list of “troubled” financial institutions.
He’s a pig. He’s just like the greedy pigs squatting in the WH. Steele MUST go.
I was wondering the same thing. When I get their surveys, letters asking for donations, etc., I send them a nasty letter instead. Same one, every time and I use their prepaid envelope. :)
Steele is “getting jiggy wit it, baby!” on campaign dollars. Shameful and he should resign before he becomes a futher embarassment for the RNC.
Send them bricks. lol.
Just another small reason why I shall continue my post-Reagan tradition of not contributing to the stupid party.
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