HYPOCRITE ALERT: Bachmann and Paulsen Take Dollar Bills Raised at Seedy Vegas Strip Club Fundraiser
DCCC Press:
HYPOCRITE
ALERT:
Bachmann and Paulsen Take Dollar Bills Raised at
Seedy Vegas Strip Club Fundraiser
Event raised
money for the Leadership PAC of Right wing Texas
Representative
A March 2007 evening at a Las Vegas strip club is creating a great deal of controversy throughout the country, including in Minnesota. The event raised money for the leadership PAC of Republican U.S. Representative Pete Sessions of Texas. Sessions was joined by casino executives and payday lenders at Ivan Kane's Forty Deuce nightclub, located in the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino.
According to Sessions, the club is a harmless burlesque. Kane, the club's owner, shared his definition of a burlesque to NPR: "The key component would be to have girls who were dancers taking their clothes off, not just girls taking their clothes off."
Sessions' leadership PAC, People for Enterprise, Trade and Economic Growth picked up the tab for the event. NPR noted in a report that "just days before the party at Forty Deuce, casino interests donated $5,000 to his PAC. Payday lenders threw in another $2,500."
The PAC has contributed $5,000 to the congressional campaign of Erik Paulsen and $2,500 to Rep. Michele Bachmann's reelection campaign.
"Michele Bachmann and Erik Paulsen have spent their entire careers pushing an extreme right-wing agenda that has been out-of-touch with the views of everyday Minnesotans. Yet at the same time as they say they are pro-family, they take money raised from Casino owners partying at a strip club," said Carrie James, regional press secretary at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. "The hypocrisy of this is astounding- a do as I say, not as I do approach to leadership."
What Happens in Vegas Helps Fund Agendas Back Home
March 2007 fundraiser at a Las Vegas strip club raised funds for the leadership PAC of Rep. Pete Sessions of Texas. According to an NPR report, "Sessions spent more than $5,000 at Kane's [Forty Deuce] club that night in March, according to federal disclosures. Those reports show Sessions spent another $2,100 on his hotel." [NPR, 7/22/08]
The owner of the Forty Deuce club, Ivan Kane notes that the key components to his business are dancers taking off their clothes. Kane told NPR's Steve Henn that he has a specific definition of what a burlesque is, noting, "The key component would be to have girls who were dancers taking their clothes off, not just girls taking their clothes off." [NPR, 7/22/08]
According to opensecrets.org, Sessions' leadership PAC has donated to the congressional campaigns of Michele Bachmann and Erik Paulsen. [Opensecrets.org, accessed 7/31/08]
How is it that all republicans are so consistent? They all hammer on the same talking points, seem to be able to tap into the most tasteless money raising, talk family values and seem to have little direct experience with same, never seem overly worried about how their actions affect their country, and are able to claim “I didn’t say or do that” even when they appear on video. I understand they are on the money/power train, but the rank and file GOP voters will never, ever benefit from this corruption—so why do they support this group that is focused on tearing down government and the rule of law?