Steele controversy continues

Although the $2000 tab at the West Hollywood Voyeur club has garnered the most attention in the controversy over Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele's lavish spending of party funds, there are many other items that have supporters equally outraged, such as the February expenditure of $17,000 for private jet service and $35,000 for upscale hotel rooms. "February is a short-ass month, and this wasn't even a leap year," groused GOP strategist John Weaver. "I understand that Chairman Steele believes $35,000 isn't that much when you count in room service, but it still seems more than a little extravagant to me. If he keeps this up, people are going to start thinking that we're wasting their donations." "Uh huh, uh huh," Steele replies dismissively. "What Mr Weaver doesn't understand is that's exactly who I'm spending that money on, big donors. They come up to my room, what am I supposed to serve them, coffee and doughnuts? Get real." One expense that raised eyebrows was a payment to Andre Young, AKA Dr. Dre, on February 17th for $22,000. "There's nothing out of the ordinary about that," says Steele. "I said when I took this job that the Republican Party needed to update our image and principles, and apply them to an urban-suburban hip-hop setting, and now everybody wants to act like this is some sort of surprise. I want a theme song that'll make us vital, and I figured Dr. Dre was the right man for the job. What we're doing is beyond cutting edge, but Dre don't come cheap, baby, so I'm gonna need some serious cash to finish the job." "All he got was a beat," Weaver says angrily. "A bass drum and something that sounds like a metronome. That's not going to get anyone interested in the Republican Party. I can't believe Steele spent $22,000 on a bass drum and a metronome." "It's called a click track, dawg," replied a clearly perturbed Dr. Dre. "It's giving you the tempo and then you build on it, the same as you need a foundation before you can have a house. But I'll tell you one thing that your man Steele was right about. Dre don't come cheap, and that was about all the work I could do for twenty-two thousand. Me, I don't rush things. Shit, I didn't even have time to get the sound right on the motherfuckin bass drum." "People always like to focus on the controversy, and not on the good news," said Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell. "Listen, Steele helped to win the governors races in Virginia and in New Jersey, helped to win the Senate race up in Massachusetts. That's a pretty good track record. And you know who else has a pretty good track record? Dr. Dre. I think if he says he needs to work on the sound of that motherfuckin bass drum, then by all means, we should let him do it."