Republican Pete Sessions Held Fundraisers at Burlesque Clubs

Look at all the fun things you find when you start poking around. Background here from Down With Tyranny.

What they've turned up is a couple of fundraisers held by Texas Rep. Pete Sessions a while back. He currently runs the National Republican Congressional Committee, the top fundraising and candidate recruitment operation for House Republicans.

(snip)

At worst, one of the fundraisers, held in 2007, was at a Vegas burlesque club, Ivan Kane's Forty Deuce. FEC papers show Pete PAC spent $5,378 at the burlesque club, which also that year hosted porn-star Jenna Jameson's 33rd birthday party.

Our old pal Mary Ann Akers who writes the Sleuth column for the Washington Post's website also wrote about another more low key event at a racy Vegas club called Tao held in February 2009.

Is there a theme here? Democrats snicker yes and plan to make it a campaign issue in the fall. "Considering that NRCC Chairman Pete Sessions himself and Michael Steele's RNC have chosen to use strip clubs as their fundraising base, Republican congressional candidates can expect to be asked if they will accept stripper raised money from either," says a Democratic strategist.

CA Republican Erik Brown return RNC money; RNC cultivated young donors at Voyeurs

By GottaLaff


Michael Steele is toast. His sexcapades at the bondage-themed Voyeur club (that features topless dancers simulating sex acts), where he blew nearly two grand to hang with the who's who of voyeuritude, is getting blowback. (Fun with words!)

A California-based political consultant who charged the Republican National Committee nearly $2,000 for a night out at Voyeur - a risque West Hollywood nightclub now at center of the latest controversy surrounding RNC chairman Michael Steele - will return the money to the party, a committee spokesman told CNN Monday.

Erik Brown, president of the Orange County-based Dynamic Marketing, Inc., was re-imbursed in February for $1,946.25 worth of charges at the nightclub, according to the RNC's latest filing with the Federal Election Commission. [...]

Brown's firm, which also has an office in Washington, D.C., has done direct mail and consulting work for GOP candidates in California including Assemblyman Chuck DeVore, now a candidate for Senate, and Steve Poizner, the state Insurance Commissioner now running for governor.

Erik and Mikey are bff. Well, they're at least f:

In October, Brown tweeted: "Enjoying the football game with RNC Chairman Michael Steele. (Eagles vs Redskins at FedEx Field)."

Brown closed his Twitter account after the Voyeur story broke. His Gen Next page was also scrubbed. Sadly, I accidentally closed my tab while it was still up. But luckily, Democratic Underground copied the text and his photo (click on images to enlarge):

Erik Brown is Chief Executive Officer of DMI, Dynamic Marketing Inc. a direct marketing/media production company with offices in California and Washington DC. DMI provides services for corporations, political campaigns, issue advocacy groups, fundraising professionals, and various private concerns. Recipients of the prestigious AAPC Pollie Award in 2008, DMI’s portfolio includes work for notable candidates as well as a several prominent elected officials and public policy organizations.

A graduate of the University of California Irvine with a degree in Political Science, Erik has been an active member of The National Honor Society, Young Republicans, Friends of the NRA, Claremont Institute, and the Sheriff's Advisory Council. Apart from a passion for politics and a driving commitment to advocate on behalf of founding principles, Erik is a sportsman and a mentor to young athletes. As an ice hockey coach for over 12 years, his teams have won acclaim as State, District, and National Champions.

Erik is married to Alison Brown, a graduate of Chapman University and an MBA student at UCI’s Merage School of business. Alison has served as President of the Illuminating Engineers Society of Southern California, a mainstay of her industry. A former director of the Sunday school, Alison and Erik reside in Las Flores, California and are actively involved in the ministries of their local church.

Here's what is there now:

But wait! There's more!

What exactly was going on at that little Voyeurpalooza?

A $1,946.25 bar tab at a bondage-themed Hollywood nightclub financed by the RNC was part of a night of cultivating young Republican donors [...]

The California blog Red County reported that the outing at Voyeur West Hollywood was an after-party for a number of young Republicans who attended a Young Eagles event that night at the Beverly Hills Hotel.

Those would be the same under-40s who are pallin' around with Blackwater for a fundraiser in April. I wrote about that earlier here.

The Party of No is morphing into the Party Party.

H/t: Windy City Watch, Gr8RDH

Michael Steele spent $1946.25 watching "half-naked ladies simulating oral sex on each other"

By GottaLaff

This is how Michael Steele rolls!

Presenting the face-- the chair-- of the RNC:

[...] Michael Steele considered buying a private plane, because he spends so much time flying to nightclubs and Hawaii, but he decided not to. Instead he found many other creative ways to waste money.

Once on the ground, FEC filings suggest, Steele travels in style. A February RNC trip to California, for example, included a $9,099 stop at the Beverly Hills Hotel, $6,596 dropped at the nearby Four Seasons, and $1,620.71 spent [update: the amount is actually $1,946.25] at Voyeur West Hollywood, a bondage-themed nightclub featuring topless women dancers imitating lesbian sex.

Now, Voyeur is not really a "strip club" so much as a terrible-sounding nightclub with bottle service, long lines, Lindsay Lohan, and, yes, half-naked ladies simulating oral sex on each other.

Hey, whatever floats your... floaties. Or maybe he went invested because he needed someone, or something, to inflate them again.... on his party's dime.

Here are some commenters' reviews of the club, via Yelp:

[...] There are topless "dancers" acting out S&M scenes throughout the night on one of the side stages, there's a half-naked girl hanging from a net across the ceiling and at one point I walked to the bathroom and pretty much just stopped dead in my tracks to watch two girls simulating oral sex in a glass case.

Really understated elegance here.

Also, Lindsay Lohan was at our table at one point.

***

As good as it gets in terms of places to be in LA. I can say this place is full of nothing but incredily attractive women, rich guys, and celebrities. Voyeur is very very exclusive and unless your a 8 or above ladies or willing to get bottle service ( 2 bottles =$1,100) fellas, be prepared to be turned away. I think this is one of the hottest places that I've been to in my many years in LA. The half naked models and topless dancers alone is worth the price of admission.

***

The layout of the club is terrible, and decor is not that inspiring... but Naked chicks + live porn + celebs. What more could a girl ask for?? A+ in my book. Beware of the ladies hanging above you in nets - they whip the occasional unsuspecting drunkie. Scared the bejeezus out of me. Also beware if you're ugly you won't get in.

[Note: Edited for accuracy; some text removed]

Family values are alive and well in the Rushpublic party. So is hypocrisy.

And they fired David Frum for simply opining about that hip, good-looking, sexy, jet-setting party that Steele represents. Go figure.

Voyeur Club photo via Yelp

Kristol: Dating a stripper is ‘important for your character.’

But it's the Democrats who are sexist:

Speaking at the Republican National Convention last night, former senator Fred Thompson mentioned that as a young man, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) “did drive a Corvette and date a girl who worked in a bar as an exotic dancer under the name of Marie, the Flame of Florida.” Thompson said this experience helped him “survive” his POW experience. Fox’s Bill Kristol and Brit Hume laughed conspiratorially at the idea of dating a stripper.

Are they that shameless? Yes. Yes they are.