Political Parties Spending Big Bucks . . . on Themselves

The two major political parties spend significant time pestering donors to support their candidates, but it turns out a lot of the dollars are going to the care and feeding of the organizations' staffs and prized donors -- and also to efforts to raise even more money.

The Republican National Committee, for instance, spent $340,000 in January for its semi-annual meeting near Waikiki in Hawaii, with at least 33 RNC staffers in attendance, as well as committee members (and presumably some contributors), according to Hotlineoncall.nationaljournal.com, which pulled the information from Federal Election Commission reports. The figure includes rooms and office space for the party employees.

The RNC's counterpart, the Democratic National Committee, spent $60 million in the election cycle beginning January 2009 on administration and fundraising -- in other words, money that did not go directly Democratic candidates. That number comes from the Washington Post, using an analysis done by the Center for Responsive Politics. For Republicans, over a comparable period, the amount for similar expenses exceeded $74 million.

The two party organizations are non-profits, but spend more on overhead than the typical not-for-profit group. In part, this is because they cater to well-heeled donors who expect to be treated well for the thousands of dollars they pour into the efforts of the respective parties, But money also goes to the humdrum daily activities: The Post said the RNC spent $773,000 through February on "office supplies" alone -- supplies that included liquor, wine, and jellybeans for RNC Chairman Michael Steele's office.

In March, the GOP organization suffered the embarrassment of a $1,946 credit card expense for an unauthorized donor outing at a bondage-themed strip club in Los Angeles. The reimbursement request was ultimately turned down, but Center for Responsive Politics Executive Director Sheila Krumholz said the incident demonstrated that both parties need better oversight of their budgets. Neither party committee seems to have clear internal spending guidelines, the newspaper said.

The Federal Election Commission requires public disclosure of how the parties spend their supporters' money, but the FEC does not typically dwell on accountability for how those funds are used, the Post said. Some of the dough goes directly to campaigns and also the mundane overhead, but it also goes for polls, advertisements, chauffeured limousines, expensive meals, tickets to sporting events and thank-you gifts to generous donors.

Party spokesmen declined to comment in detail on the expenditures. The DNC, chaired by former Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine, said through a spokesman that "fundraising is a core function of a national party."