Republican National Committee chairman Michael Steele appeared on MSNBC this afternoon and found himself defending the RNC’s decision to hold a recent meeting in Hawaii, maintaining that there’s nothing “lavish” about the way the RNC operates. He also dismissed questions about a visit to an unsanctioned visit to a bondage-themed nightclub, saying it’s “what happens in a business.”
When host Andrea Mitchell asked why the RNC would choose to hold a meeting in Hawaii in a recession — a location she called “lavish” — he was aghast.
“Lavish? What evidence do you have of lavishness at our winter meeting in Hawaii?” he said.
The RNC has been under fire for its spending practices: holding its winter meeting in a remote locale, spending thousands on private flights, meals and booze, and one instance where an RNC employee expensed a $2,000 visit to a bondage-themed nightclub in L.A.
“We do not live a lavish lifestyle at the RNC,” he maintained. He added that they used private jets in “one instance” to transport speakers, at a cost comparable to first-class tickets.
“And that little side trip to the lesbian bondage club?” Mitchell asked.
“You mean to tell me not on employee of your organization has done something that the management has not been proud of? So that happens. It’s what happens in a business,” he said. “That is not how we operate here. That is certainly not how I manage any organization I’m involved with. I was not there.”
