GOP Strip Club Fundraisers--why the double standard?

Thanks to the Sessions Watch reader who brought this story to our attention; it's not exactly news that Pete Sessions organizes fundraisers at Las Vegas strip clubs, but it's noteworthy GOP leadership has said nothing about it. Why are Republican leaders calling for Michael Steele to resign over the "strippergate" scandal and not demanding the same of Pete Sessions?

Lone Star Project wants to know Why is Pete Sessions getting a pass? (The link takes you to the article and a video with footage from one of the Las Vegas strip clubs Sessions patronizes--the video is not family friendly or "work safe," but it doesn't auto-start, so the link is okay if you don't press that "play" button).

Libertarian candidate John Jay Myers has also jumped into the fray, making his own YouTube burlesque video; it's pretty tame compared to the Lone Star Project video, but I'll still just post the link instead of embedding: Dear Pete Sessions, John Jay Myers fan Christina takes on Pete.

NRCC fundraising down under Sessions' leadership

From Politico:

If Republicans hope to make a play for dozens of Democratic-held House seats, they’ll need a well-stocked campaign account to fund all their candidates. But right now, after spending money in two contentious off-year special elections, the National Republican Congressional Committee has a long way to go to raise enough money to compete across the national map.

The National Republican Congressional Committee ended September with just $4.3 million in the bank, less than one-third of the $14.7 million banked by its Democratic counterpart. So far this cycle, NRCC Chairman Pete Sessions hasn’t improved the fundraising fortunes of the committee — he’s raised $10 million less than his predecessor, Rep. Tom Cole, did at this same point in the past election cycle.

And the committee took an additional financial hit in the New York 23rd District special election, spending nearly $1 million on a race in which the GOP nominee, Dede Scozzafava, ended up quitting and then endorsing the Democratic candidate. Worse, the NRCC’s decision to support Scozzafava’s campaign has played a role in alienating conservative donors.

In related news, Florida Republican State Senator Eric Eisnaugle has decided not to run against Alan Grayson for his seat in Congress (FL-8). The other Republican contender in that race is Armando Gutierrez, who is causing the GOP to be "concerned":

But GOP operatives in Washington and the district say he is running a destructive primary campaign, and national and local leaders are doing just about anything they can to avoid having him as their nominee.

“He’s offending a lot of people,” said attorney Will McBride, who opted out of the race last week. “He’s rubbing people the wrong way. He needs to be a little more professional in his approach to reaching out to local leaders in our party.”

Numerous others confirmed the widespread bristling at Gutierrez’s early maneuvers.

“He’s pissing people off a lot,” said a leading local GOP operative...

Pete Sessions fundraising idea: Win a Dinner with Newt!

From Washington Post:

Taking a page out of the Democratic fundraising machine's recent playbook, Republicans, too, are offering one of their lucky donors a free trip to Washington.

But the GOP contest differs in a few stark ways. It's charging contestants ten times more than the Democratic entrance fee, to start with. And, of course, the GOP isn't promising a night with Barack Obama, as Democrats are.

Instead, the lucky Republican winner gets dinner with GOP poster-boy Newt Gingrich, the former House speaker who is positioning himself as a 2012 presidential contender.
"If you've ever watched Newt on TV and thought 'I'd like to meet this guy,' this is your chance!" reads a fundraising solicitation e-mailed today from Rep. Pete Sessions (R-Texas), chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee.

Sessions says he has reserved two seats at Gingrich's table at the June 8th Senate House fundraising dinner for the winner and his or her guest. All it takes to enter the drawing is a contribution of $50 or more.

The Democratic Party fundraising letter asks for $5.00, and a chance to win a dinner with Barack Obama. It'll be interesting to see which party comes out ahead in this fundraising contest.

Another Risqué Fundraiser For Pete Sessions

From The Sleuth:

Sessions, the Sleuth has learned, held a fundraiser in February at a racy venue in Las Vegas whose Web site features come-hither looking women scantily clad in lingerie slithering all over each other...

...The establishment - the Tao nightclub and restaurant on the Strip - isn't as risqué as the fundraiser Sessions held last year at the Forty Deuce burlesque club in Vegas. Still, Tao isn't exactly a paradigm of conservative family values. And it's doubtful such a fundraiser is what GOP leaders have in mind when they talk about rebranding the party...

...The Web site also boasts: "Tao Las Vegas is frequented by celebrities on a regular basis, such as Paris Hilton, Jessica Simpson, Tommy Lee, Britney Spears, Jamie Foxx, Janet Jackson, Bono andMadonna."

Who could have predicted five years ago, after Sessions scolded Super Bowl half-time entertainer Janet Jackson for forcing her "liberal values upon the rest of the country" that he and the pop star would wind up hanging at the same hot spots in Sin City?

Sessions' strip-club story goes national

From Washington Post:

We had never heard of a member of Congress holding a fundraiser at a Las Vegas burlesque nightclub... until now.

And the culprit is card-carrying conservative Rep. Pete Sessions (R-Tex.). The same Pete Sessions who scolded Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake for forcing "their liberal values upon the rest of the country" after their infamous 2004 Super Bowl halftime striptease.

The article goes on to tell (again) about how Pete Sessions was a streaker in 1974:

Sessions himself has been known to have an exhibitionist streak -- streak being the operative word.

In 1974, as a college freshman, he participated in a mass streaking rampage across the campus of what was then called Texas State University. As the Sleuth, in a previous incarnation, reported in this subscription-only Roll Call newspaper column in 2004, Sessions bragged about his streaking abilities to the San Antonio News. At the time, he was two weeks shy of his 19th birthday.

"Just taking off your clothes and running around is kind of a free spirit thing," Sessions said.

Okay, I'm old enough to remember streaking. Here's the way it's supposed to happen--you take your clothes off, run like hell, and disappear without getting caught. Hence, the "streak." It defeats the purpose to give interviews afterwards, using your real name! That's what I've always loved about Pete Sessions' streaking story, that he was actually quoted in the paper afterwards saying, "Just taking off your clothes and running around is kind of a free spirit thing."

Americablog has pictures of the "tasteful strip joint" where Pete Sessions held his fundraiser. Good lord--is that an American flag behind the stripper pole?

This year's Las Vegas fundraiser was held at a much more family friendly venue, the 40/40 Lounge, owned by hip-hop artist Jay-Z, who happens to be an avid supporter of Barack Obama!

Pete Sessions fundraiser in Vegas strip club

When the "family values" crowd wants to party, they call Monica Notzen. She's a Republican consultant whose job it is to invite lobbyists to parties, like the one she threw for Pete Sessions at the Las Vegas strip club, Forty Deuce.

Sessions: That's right, we do a Las Vegas fundraiser every year and not only raise money, but see Las Vegas. It's a beautiful town.

Henn: Forty Deuce is a strip club.

Sessions: You know, I've never seen that. It is what I would call a burlesque show where there's a woman who comes out and has a dress on... Uh, she never gets naked. There's no nudity, there's no nudity in there...

Yeah, right. This is how the club's owner, Ivan Kane, describes his brand of burlesque.

Ivan Kane: The key component would be to have girls who were dancers taking their clothes off, not just girls taking their clothes off.

According to Marketwatch, Pete Sessions spent $5,000 at the strip club and another $2,100 at his hotel. Pete's PAC explains that the evening was "tame" and that "none of it violated a single law."

Hmmmm...not to cast aspersions on Pete's "tame" evening, but I know of at least one activity that's legal in Vegas but would get you thrown in jail if you were caught doing it in Dallas!

I thought this part was interesting, too:

Officially, Pete Sessions' leadership PAC picked up the tab, but just days before the party at Forty Deuce, casino interests donated $5,000 to his PAC. Payday lenders threw in another $2,500.

So, if you're wondering why Pete Sessions votes against the interest of his constituents most of the time, just remember who he really works for--people like the casino lobbyists and predatory lenders who bought him $7,500 worth of fun in Las Vegas.