the new chief of staff of the rnc will be the man who ran michael steele's unsuccessful senate campaignif that is supposed to inspire confidence, consider that after that campaign was over, and mr. steele lost mi by more than ten points, his campaign finance chairman said the campaign gave $37,000 in campaign funds to a company that was run by michael steele's sister. the steele campaign finance chairman said that to the feds right before he was sentenced to nine years in federal prison for a multi million dollar fraud unrelated to the campaign. but wait, there's more. in addition to elevating his old campaign chairman, michael steele has also brought on board at the rnc a special assistant for finance, is the title. a special assistant for finance. at a time when it might really behoove the rnc to be hiring people with spotless reputations, as fiscally responsible stewards of its money, who does the rnc pick for its special assistant for finance? they picked a man who was recently fined thousands of dollars for using donor funds to pay for his own personal expenses. as "the washington

i thank you for being a part of this. >> no shout-out for this guy, gop michael steele. n contributor gop advisor saying the party needed to change direction because chairman steele has lost the trust of any party's lifeblood major donors. the latest gap, rnc money spent at a hollywood bondage theme called voyeurs, called itself an art club. let's talk to krrcnn contributo ed rollins and david forum. should michael steele step down? >> i think nor the good of the party, he should step aside. he can't be effective in the very important six months we have left and be the voice of reason. >> has he become too much of an distraction? >> he's absolutely a distraction. we have spent the last two weeks discussing things that shouldn't be relevant to the american public, what should be the president signing not a very good treaty with 3 russians and health debate going on and we're talking about sex clubs. that goes against our base. i think niany donor today will think about jets and wasted money spent well on a candidate. >> david, do you agree he should step down? >> i do not

that is something very precious michael steele brings. michael steele is also a little bit the victim here of the difficulty of breaking a media narrative. on my website we broke a story the democratic national committee spent not $1900 but $6,000 at a d.c. strip club called josephines, putting it all over our front page and that doesn't get as much traction. are there calls for the head of the dnc to step down? michael steele didn't make that strip club decision, it was made by somebody who has since been disciplined. it was a big mistake and there are a lot of problems inside the rnc but michael steele should not be made the victim and fall guy for everything that goes wrong. >> i had no idea. ed, is so much money always traditionally spent at strip clubs by republicans or democrats? >> first of all -- i have great respect for david, a great speechwriter for president bush. i oversaw when i was at the white house for the rnc, the man at the top has total control of that place. we have had four or five scandals in the fund-raising today

the and for michael steele? >> i do not think his job -- is this the end for michael steele? >> i do not think his job is in jeopardy. further, and this is important, it is march of an election year. they are not going to push out their chairman. >> you think this could affect the midterm elections at this point? >> if they do not have the money to invest in house and senate races this fall, that could be a fact, and our donors turned off enough by the rnc to not write checks? that could hurt them. >> we did see one conservative group telling donors not to donate. we will be watching. obama. he was optimistic this week. there was a good jobs report. unemployment hovering around 9%. do you see him focusing more on jobs now and health-care i over? >> yes. -- now that health care is over? >> yes. what are you doing about that central issue? i think that will be the chief focus from now until the election. turning around the economy, i am not sure there is much they can do in the short term. jobs are actually added.

. >> more trouble for michael steele. >> more trouble for michael steele. but now it can make you more connected to your doctor through e-mail. test results from home. check records. change appointments. now doctors, nurses, techs, pharmacists are all digitally connected to each other. and ultimately connected to you. at kaiser permanente, we believe that if knowledge is power, shared knowledge is even more powerful. kaiser permanente. thrive. >>> hello. i am the daredevil of the big apple circus. if you think your commute is bed, check this out. good morning, washington. >>> and welcome back. d.c. is preparing to mark the 40th anniversary of earth day. sting and john legend are said to be there. it will be a series of events to mark the holiday. there are plans to open a large swath of the east coast and other areas to offshore drilling. >>> 6:40. your traffic and weather together every 10 minutes. >> let's begin with the weather. it is shaping up to be gorgeous. >> between the easter egg roll at the white house and the nationals opening day, there will be

michael steele is under attack from the base. i think michael steele is under attract from contributors. at the end of the day, the only way this story might end is for michael steele, himself, to move on. >> what should the democrats be talking about right now? i just want to do a spare comparison here. a year ago today the market -- today the market closed under 11,000, 3,000 points better at 10,973. why isn't that good news for conservatives? that's their 401(k), retirement, that's education, that's savings, whatever you want to make it. obama, of course, and his economic policy team don't get any credit for this at all. what should the democrats be selling on the road right now with so many of their people allegedly in election trouble? >> i think the first thing the democrats should be selling is look at what we inherited and look what we did with it. the stimulus package wasn't popular with everyone. there's no question about that. it isn't working as quickly as most people would like. the fact of the matter is the dow was

the rnc has been in the news lately, michael steele as well. staffers spent a couple thousand dollars on a visit to a lesbian bondages strip club. michael steele had nothing to do with it. >> he did not go. >> oh, come on, how small minded can you be? these guys wanted to relax after a hard day at the office. >> the staffers were fired. >> it is amazing to me that michael steele survive all this but at what point will they tell them -- >> they all survived -- >> it is not easy. >> it takes a large number of state chairmen to come together -- >> let's give him a break. you have for virginia, new jersey, but the big senate race -- >> and it happened because of michael steele? i don't think so. the question is, will he get the message that a lot of people don't want him there? i think is going to be hard for him to give it up. he has never had it so good. this is the best job he has ever had. >> he might want to start riding in the back of the airplane. >> give him another six months -- >> he is a good politician. he might have been okay if he rem

it prompted calls for rnc chairman michael steele to step down with over six months until the mid-term. but it may not be over for steele. chris cillizza is here to tell us how steele may be able to hold up under the heat and pressure and keep his job. chris is the author of "the fix" on washington post.com he joins us from the nation's capital. chris, good to see you. >> thanks for having me. >> you bet. give us the comeback plan here. >> sure. >> what do you think michael steele has to do? >> let me give you a couple points. the first one, any time i can quote al davis the owner of the oakland raiders i try to. his famous credo, just win, baby. that is what michael steele needs to do. in some ways, ed, i think michael steele is in this job still because of virginia and new jersey governor races and the massachusetts special election. three big wins for republicans in the last year. you've got two house special elections coming up, one in pennsylvania, one in hawaii on may 18th animae 22nd. the best antidote is to win there. the other big one, money. remember, money is what drives all

and i think that to replace michael steele they ought to get o.j. simpson to run because every -- host: all right. we're going to move on. my apologies for that. this is an open format as as many of you know, and we don't screen our phone calls and we don't have a time delay. but we do ask that the conversation stay civil and appropriate. an when it doesn't, we're just going to move on, cut you off and move on. earnest on the independent line, massachusetts, good morning. caller: i want to say thank you for c-span. it's wonderful that you do the service that you do. i have a question about the mass media, the electronic media in competition with the press. and what i want to know is, is the press going to start investigating, do some true investigating of the c.e.o.s who are making billions of dollars and see token things like martha stewart getting sent to prison for a small amount of money when you have these c.e.o.s making billions of billions of dollars and they have ruined our economy. and i think that's a thing that really has to be looked at.

can michael steele survive? that and the rest of the week's politics on our roundtable with george will, matthew dowd, democratic strategist karen finney and robert reich of the american prospect and as always "the sunday funnies." >> republicans spent more than $2,000 on a sex club. now there's your stimulus package. >>> good morning, everyone and happy easter and passover. you have to go back three years to march 2007 to find the last time the u.s. economy created as many jobs as were created last month, 3 years. and yet the 162,000 new jobs did not put a dent in the unemployment rate which remains at 9.7%. 15 million americans were still looking for work in march and of those, 6.5 million have been unemployed for more than 27 weeks and the broadest measure of unemployment, those who have given up looking for a job or cannot find a full time job bumped up do 16.9%. joining me now the president's top economic adviser, dr. larry summers. dr. summers, thanks so much for joining us. >> good to be with you, jake. >

i have a sense that ken is running for this job. >> he ran for it before, michael steele edged him out. >> he's speaking very politely in the way that he would run the job. >> the mouse under the table we haven't talked about is the fact that one reason why steele stayed in the job according to insiders, is that there's not a polite, easy way to fire the first african-american chairman, especially -- >> first ever. >> in the age of obama. and you know, i'm sure ken blackwell is saying -- by the way, i could qualify for that i could ease this guy out by easing myself in. >> right. but like howard said, it takes 16 states to call a meeting, it takes two-thirds to vote him out. >> is there a big deal in the republican party, a male or female boss from the old school. bob strauss for example from the democratic party, who could come forward and say, i want to have dinner with you tonight, young fellow and we're going to talk about this and bring in somebody else. is there any higher authority in the party than michael steele? >> the bush family, father and son, chose to not play that role.

a group that could starve michael steele's rnc of money. get for the grand old party? that's our top story tonight. >>> plus, all this embarrassment, confusion and running away comes at an odd time for the republicans. polls have them moving past the democrats now, who just got the lowest ratings ever recorded in a cnn gallup poll. is there anything that the democrats can do to keep 2010 from looking like 1994, the year they lost both houses of congress to the republicans? >>> also, remember the anti-gay church group that believes american war deaths are god's punishment for the tolerance of gays here at home? well the father of a fallen marine who is suing that group for protesting at his son's funeral has been ordered by a federal appellate court to pay the group's legal fees. talk about blind justice. the father will be here tonight. >>> and the gop sex scandal gets a little sexier. check this out, an rnc fundraising letter just went out directing people to a phone number of the kind that young single men are sometimes known to be drawn

does michael steele deserve points for honesty here, chris? well he deserves points for honesty, yes. but he also deserves negative points, i think it cancels itself out. because the line that steele has been putting out there is that he's a victim in this because of his race and that the problems that he's had -- >> you're referring to the strip clubs? >> everything. in the colossal mismanagement of the rnc. we saw another story today about no spending controls at the rnc. it goes on and on. the republicans are holding their heads. they can't believe how poorly run the rnc has been under steele and he's used race repeatedly to try to evade that issue with his party. let's face it, michael steele has obtained an advantage from his race, vis-a-vis becoming the chairman of the republican party it hasn't been a hindrance. and i think for him to continue to cloak himself in this issue is a little distasteful. >> chris, quickly? >> well i sometimes think michael steele works for the democratic party. >> and joe biden works for the republicans, that

. >>> michael steele speaking of someone who has a lot of depending to do.s been defending his spending habits, but it's what the republican chairman is saying today about race. and i don't mean political race, that's drawing new attention. john harris up next with the latest. you're watching "andrea mitchell reports" only on msnbc. [ screaming ] hey. pbht! [ luke ] unless, of course, you've got at&t, the nation's fastest 3g network, which means you can surf the web and download videos in a snap. there you go, dad. hey. ♪ thanks. [ chuckles ] this is good. [ male announcer ] at&t. a better 3g experience. get 50% off all messaging phones after mail-in rebate, like the pantech reveal. only from at&t. but we've got the ammunition she needs: omnaris. (troops) omnaris! to the nose. (general) omnaris works differently than many other allergy medications. omnaris fights nasal allergy symptoms that occur from allergic inflammation... relieve those symptoms with omnaris. side effects may include headache, nosebleed and sore throat. her nose is at ease. we have lift o

they are calling for the ouster of michael steele, the parti's share -- party's chair. is happening on the right as you see it? >> let me talk about michael steele, who has made many steps in -- missteps. i will defend him. i think the republican party needs him. it need him as a voice and a symbol. we just had a sharp reminder of why that is so. gov. bob macdonald of virginia, someone who ran as a pragmatist, someone who is leaving behind his hard conservative origin, he just issued a proclamation for confederate history month. he was actually trying to avoid controversy, and it was not written in the inflammatory way george allen did a decade ago, but running through the proclamation, it completely take for granted that all of virginia in1861 was white. all of virginia was for secession, and all of virginia was fighting for a self-ruled. that is not true. a third of virginia was black. much of virginia was loyal to the union, and they were fighting to on other people. if you have someone for whom that history was more than they had read in the book, we would be having

did michael steele's speech help rally the party faithful? joining us republican congressman bill cassidy of louisiana. great to have you, sir. first of all, michael steele, he's been -- we refer to him as embattled. packed house, not so much for him today. although he did get some laughs and get a lot of applause. one of the things he said we need to drain the kool-aid from their veins. meaning from america's veins. that some laughs. how did he do? >> i thought michael did fairly well. obviously michael has a record of lawyerment. we've won in virginia, new jersey, we've won in massachusetts. he actually came in early with dollars. clearly there was concern regarding his level of control in a conversation earlier he had with others that i was part of he mentions strengthening controls. clearly some people left i think he's doing what he has to do. >> what is the mood in new orleans not in the french quarter, i'm talking about in that room? >> the mood is energized, passionate and it is of tremendous concern about our country's future. it isn

today michael steele says he's under pressure because he's african-american.ame guy who that says -- >> a lot of folks have a different margin. it's a different role for me to play and others to play. and that's just the reality of it. >> line of the day, robert gibbs, quote, i think michael steele's problem isn't the race card, it's the credit card. >>> the florida urologist who puts politics ahead of patients. who says if you voted for obama you should go see a different doctor. >> it was just fun for me. it's like a provocative billboard. >> not fun for a would-be patient who complains to the authorities. congressman alan grayson facilitates. he's our special guest. >>> beck compares what he's doing to what rosa parks did. seriously. >>> and the tiger woods apology tour, stop number two.

privately people have admitted that, you know, this is not the first time michael steele has been an embarrassment, privately people have admitted part of the reason in addition to the technical aspects of two-thirds vote to vote him out he's an african-american and you have to be very careful about what signal does that send if you

the biggest one concerning lightning rod party chairman michael steele. >> i know people want to makef it than there is. the 71% on capital hill, the unnamed republicans who don't like me, well i understand that. i'll continue to work hard and try to win moraises to get a majority in the congress this november. >> thank goodness he understands it. >> the two distractions, the tea party conservatives and michael steele, which is the biggest one? >> steele may be the easier one to deal with in a way. most of the republicans i have talked with say he's probably all right in terms of holding on to his job. that doesn't mean he'll effective, they could get around him. the big question mark and the fascinating story with republican politician now is the tea party. and the question there is, can the republicans harness that energy or do they get consumed by it? and i think it is the best political story to watch in the coming year. gwen: is there such a thing as the tea party or is it just a handy plate way of describing people unhappy about different things. much as what happened on the lef

i think michael steele's problem isn't the race card, it's the credit card. that point that mr. steele hired a former lobbyist, his former fund-raising aide, misusing substantial amounts of funds at his previous group. a political action committee, another a non-profit, was ordered by the city government to repay nearly $70,000 in unauthorized expenses and unaccounted funds as well as fined $4,000. on the heels of his arrival comes the resignation of two key rnc players, ron maccay and sam fox. a republican source telling politico mr. fox had lost confidence in mr. steele and was deeply troubled by the pattern of self-inflicted wounds and missteps. joining me now, melissa harris-lacewell, professor at princeton university. professor, good evening. >> thanks. good to be here. >> let me start, big, big picture here. in a weird way, has michael steele become good for the republican party because the more time its critics spend talking about him the less time they're talking about the more substantive problems with the gop? >> i mean, sure. sex is easier to talk about, liquor and dru

>> michael steele is probably going to be fine. it takes -- it takes two-thirds of a vote of the rnc to kick him off. and he was put up there with such fanfare a year and a half or whatever it was ago that it would be a real -- it would look -- it would be a pr nightmare for them to be ousting michael steele at this point. they're only a few months away from the mid-term elections. maybe if that doesn't go very well, at that point they could revisit it. but he's going to be fine for the short term, at least. >> i want to play what newt gingrich had to say today on the "today" show. kind of similar, actually, to what you're saying. and we don't have it. anyway, he said, u think it's toolish for republicans to focus on michael steele as a person. we ought to focus on defeating the democrats so maybe once in your life you agree here with newt gingrich on a topic. he's saying, listen, back off of him. is michael steele a damaged brand? >> hey, if newt says so, you know. no. he is a damaged brand, but what you're seeing is that the repu

tonight we are coming to you live from new orleans tonight. [ cheering ] >> [ inaudible ] michael steele, welcome! [ cheering ] >> who dat! >> sean: your reaction to just -- justice stevens. >> it gives the president an opportunity to show he is serious about the supreme court. do we have an activist left leaning court or a court focused on governing, not governing, but leading the people through legislation. >> sean: the bottom line is barack obama showed no signs except to be the rigid ideologue that he is. why would america expect anything other than than an extreme justice? would you want the republicans, if he appoints a radical left winger to oppose -- >> absolutely we will be engaged very closely, very effectively in this debate. this is an opportunity to change the direction of the court. i know a lot of folks want to lay this off, you are going to replace a liberal with a liberal that is not the idea this is the difference between a court that is going to focus on the rule of law and working that way or activist court that is going to try to legislate from the bench. the rnc wil

michael steele is already under attack for his handling of party finances and lackluster fund- raising. he is facing a new threat to his leadership. it is an independent gop group spearheaded by some party luminaries that will compete for campaign dollars. back to the phones. we're talking about the obama administration and its nuclear arms policy. nebraska, brian, good morning. caller: good morning. host: what is on your mind this morning? caller: i do not know. i think president obama should turn iran into a sheet of glass. host: why is that? caller: because it is either them or us. host: indiana, frances. caller: oh, president obama, i am so proud of you, but what i want to tell you is that i heard a senator say on the senate floor when the bidding the farm bill that only six farmers in indiana got almost all the money from 55,000 -- now i want senator luger to stand at obama's side and tell the truth about these gigantic weapons that russia and the u.s. have, and 10,000 or more each host: what is the truth? caller: the truth is that we have weapons that are 1,000 tons > those used

but that seems to be how michael steele is using it here. we need to be really careful.ause there have been, again, other moments when conservative african-americans have attempted to use race to explain the negative situation in which they find themselves. the key example here would be clarence thomas during his confirmation hearing saying that what was going on was a high-tech lynching. what we saw was a dramatic increase among african-american supporters when he described what he was experiencing as a lynching. even though as a matter of history, no black man has been lynched by white men for something he allegedly did to a black woman. so it was a poor use historically, reasonably, in terms of what we were looking at. in this case, we similarly have to say that what michael steele is talking about, you know, he's being persecuted or that he has a slimmer area to make mistakes in, i think that's not accurate. that's a bit like tiger woods saying his scandal broke because of race. >> given the plausty of african-american representation, certainly the management or offi

. >>> and we did homework on michael steele and found out he is a huge hypocrite when it comes to playing the race card. hey, michael, we're going to take you down memory lane here at the bottom of the hour. all that plus -- >>> you know, a band of gun-loving militia gear guys in the midwest are coming up. we're going to tell you what that's about. national car rental knows i'm picky. so, at national, i go right past the counter... and you get to choose any car in the aisle. choose any car? you cannot be serious! okay. seriously, you choose. go national. go like a pro. that's for oreo cookies only. dad, there are no rules when it comes to dunking. i shoot from the hip. i'm hip. [ cellphone rings ] what up, dawg! it's your mother. [ male announcer ] dunk or don't dunk. choose your side. >>> up next, we're hearing the deadly mine accident that killed 25 and trapped 4 more was prevent bl. the mining company was cited for at least a dozen safety violations in the past month. and its workers were nonunion. i want to know who, if anyone, was fighting for their safety. [ inhales deeply ] that's

the truth here is there's a lot bigger issues than michael steele.s is a lot bigger issue than the republican national committee. this goes to their leadership in congress. it goes to their previous governance when president bush was in office, when they were running congress. tamron, they know how to oppose things like health care and the jobs bill and the recovery act but they can't run thins. they couldn't run the government when bush had it. they went from surplus to deficits. they can't run the republican national committee but they want to be entrusted with the leadership of the government and congress. >> they would argue when you look at some of the numbers out there, they are poised for something big in the midterm elections. even some of the best polsters out there said this could actually be their year despite the laundry list of things you've named and despite this so-called scandal with spending. >> i think historically you would expect the republicans to have gains. i think they have gone so far as to say they are going to take the hous

. >> schieffer: republicans didn't have much of a week last week with michael steele the head of the republican national committee getting stuck with the tab and the republicans seemed to have the strategy down and have not coalesced around it and i guess it's early for this. any one leader, nancy, who do you think will emerge that's leader of the reboun republican. >> you don't hear them clamoring for michael steele to step down or be are replaced because it's not clear to them who they would replace him day and one spokesman said anytime i can mention lesbian bondage club and republicans is a great week for me and they're trying to declare a party of financial responsibility and you have the rnc spending money hand over fist for things like this -- >> schieffer: let's talk about candidates. mitt romney is he a leading candidate or wind up sarah palin? i don't believe it will be but some do. >> it will would be hard for sarah palin because so far she's not come out with much of an agenda. >> schieffer: making a lot of money. raising a lot i should say >> mitt romney comes from a rep

tonight we are coming to you live from new orleans tonight. [ cheering ] >> [ inaudible ] michael steele, welcome! [ cheering ] >> who dat! >> sean: your reaction to just -- justice stevens. >> it gives the president an opportunity to show he is serious about the supreme court. do we have an activist left leaning court or a court focused on governing, not governing, but leading the people through legislation. >> sean: the bottom line is barack obama showed no signs except to be the rigid ideologue that he is. why would america expect anything other than than an extreme justice? would you want the republicans, if he appoints a radical left winger to oppose -- >> absolutely we will be engaged very closely, very effectively in this debate. this is an opportunity to change the direction of the court. i know a lot of folks want to lay this off, you are going to replace a liberal with a liberal that is not the idea this is the difference between a court that is going to focus on the rule of law and working that way or activist court that is going to try to legislate from the bench. the rnc wil

is michael steele's leadership under more scrutiny because h is black? the chair of the republican national committee says yes. and that other african-american leaders face a similar situation. steele is embroiled in a controversy involving rnc funds being improperly spent. within the gop, many have hammered steele's lavish spending. $13,000 for chauffeured cars and limos. now, an accusation that a staffer spent money at a sex club. many members are furious because they believe this money should be used to win races. steele refuses to step down, leaving some to worry that the chairman's public relations problem will turn away big donors and voters. despite criticisms, the rnc says it's raised more money than its democratic counterpart, and won big races, including ted kennedy's massachusetts senate seat. >>> a major snowstorm is moving across the western u.s. heavy snow made for utal driving conditions in the mountains of northern california. there were multiple spinouts and crashes along roadways.r california drivers as the snow is moving out. and it wil

how troubled are you by the situation there and should rnc chairman michael steele step down? >> i'm not in the position of the people who elect michael steele to say if he should step down or not but this kind of thing has got to stop or they won't get any contributions. the people who contribute to the committees, both democrat and republican, want to know that their money is well spent for the cause and it needs to be that way. >> chris: senator kyl, senator specter, thank you so much for talking with us today. please come back, gentlemen. >> thank you. >> thank you. up next, the man responsible for writing the version of the gop contract with america. we will ask congressman kevin mccarthy about his plans for taking back the house. i'm an adult with adhd. i'm getting treatment but sometimes i still have a hard time focusing and paying attention. it feels as though my thoughts are spinning. distractions can make my day even more challenging, especially the mornings, when i really need to be organized. now there is an action guide just for adults with adhd that may help. cal

we see michael steele back there.can we expect in the coming weeks when it comes to -- when it comes to the -- mr. stevens? >> reporter: i think what you're seeing is already the republicans and the democrats pushing back and forth, sort of trying to set the table for the president's choice. obviously the real activity is going to be behind the scenes at the white house where the president is making his selection from a list of ten. but i can assure you that republicans on capitol hill and democrats on capitol hill are making their preferences known to whoever the white house is listening to, because that's the jockeying for position. while we're waiting for who the pre president is picking, a lot of people are trying to influence that pick by saying, this is a great person, or this is someone we couldn't possibly support. >> after the health care debate, senator john mccain and others said there would be no more support of anything, that they would battle the democrats tooth and nail. listen, there has been some ques

is michael steele getting off easy or a problem or what? >> it's an em bart no doubt for the rnc. juan, the press tack time to smack down in the press. >> it's a conservative group, the daily talker, the conservative website revealed it. it wasn't like an a liberal attack on the republicans, no, revelations found in accounting and it wasn't they were just trying to pick a fight because it's a conservative group. >> i think he means the daily caller. >> kim mak, m-a-k, said that they spend the 5858 at a nightclub josephine where they have pole dancers and i don't think i see the amount of outrage three times as much from the democrats. >> i need a woman's point of knew. >> i'm not going to touch this with a ten foot pole. >> we've got it. the suicide of phoebe prince, she committed suicide because of constant bullying for other students in massachusetts. how is the media covering this tragedy. how did they do? >> well, look, there's great reticence to do anything on these kinds of stories. everybody is afraid. they've dismantled the playgrounds because they're afraid of lawsuits, f

conservatives whom they look to for financial support. >> reporter: is only the latest embarrassment for michael steeledely criticized as a big spender. >> what a crowd here. you sound like a bunch of republicans partying in west hollywood. >> reporter: steele got tepid support today from potential presidential candidate tim pawlenty. >> something that should not have happened. it's on michael's watch, but he's taken responsibility for it. >> reporter: the sex club caper happens after steele held a lavish party meeting in hawaii. he surprised party big wigs freelancing with a book and paid speeches. bad management say republican critics. >> are the procedures in place to spend money on elections, not to spend money on jets and trips to bondage clubs. >> reporter: most damaging of all for steele is the bottom line. in the past decade the republican party vastly outraised democrats. this year the democrats are running even with the gop. and even have more cash on hand. many republican donors tell nbc news they are bypassing the national party, sending their checks to their governors' association or direc

>> reporter: i know that you have said that you are not going to criticize michael steele. you, yourself, were in his position during a very advantageous time for republicans, last time they won the full house and the senate. do you think looking at the situation around michael steele that he can survive as head of the party? >> i expect him to be head of the party for the rest of his term? >> reporter: not just let's keep him through his election and at the end he ought to go. >> his term ends in january of next year. i was chairman of the rnc. i served two, two-year terms. there are people critical of me. that's part of it. but, no, i expect that michael steele will serve out his term. >> reporter: one of the things that the chairman said when he was talking on another network was that he thought he was being held to a higher standard because he is black? do you think that is true? >> no. that's like me saying i think i am held to a higher standard because i'm a fat redneck with an accent like this. the fact of the matter is, people in that job are just about results. tha

>> i know you have said you're not going to criticize michael steele.you, yourself, were in his position during a very advantageous time for republicans, when you -- the last time they won the full house in the senate. but do you think looking at the situation around michael steele that he can survive? as head of the party? >> i expect him to be head of the party for the rest of his term. >> until not one of those, let's just keep him through the election, you know, and at the end, he really ought to go? >> well, his term ends in january of next year. i was chairman of the rnc. i served two two-year terms. there were people critical of me. that's part of it. but, no, i expect michael steele will serve out his term. >> one of the things that the chairman said when he was talking on another network is that he thought he was being held to a higher standard because he's black. do you think that's true? >> no. that's like me saying i think i'm held to a higher standard because i'm a fat redneck with an accent like this. the fact of the matter is, in that job

gop national chairman michael steele also did some damage control this weekend speaking before a halfconference hall. >> democrats also know's they have some explaining to do. and they love nothing more than for us to keep pointing fingers at me and others instead of their radical un-american agenda. i'm the first here to admit i've made mistakes. it's been incumbent on me to take responsibility, shoulder that burden, make the necessary changes and move on. >> steele has faced fierce criticism over his management of the republican national committee and questionable spending including the latest up roar over a $2,000 tab at a sex-themed nightclub. steele taking heat over his response when asked if he thinks race is a factor in all this criticism of his leadership. >> do you feel that as an african-american you have a slimmer margin for error than another chairman would? >> the honest answer is yes. >> why is that? >> it just is. barack obama has a slimmer margin. a lot of folks do. it's a different role for, you know, for me to play and others to play. that's just the reality of it. >

i think michael steele has real problems.ent and the big fund raisers before this. so this episode -- obviously got kind of the sexy angle -- really crystallizes existing problems. so, yeah, the rnc has problems witness its ranks. whether's larger implications than that, probably not so much. >> jon harris, thanks so much as always. >> thanks, john. >> politico. and democratic national committee certainly not immune to big spending on the hotels and the jets. no voyeur clubs. >> strip clubs. >> not that we've seen yet. >> not this week. >> right. love it. that's where we're going. >>> okay. chris, you've got some e-mails and one pertaining to our conversation about the story out of massachusetts and whether or not i would say you ought to check your kids' facebook pagings even if they're in their teens. know their pass words. >> gene in wichita agrees with you but as the mother of a 19- and 21-year-old, kids make up fake facebook pages just for their parents. >> isn't that unbelievable? that's incredible. really, it's so hard

and they're not going to pile on michael steele.unate for them that the north carolina party chairman went after him this week. i talked to one member that told him to resign, that's it so far. >> dave weigel, having a very good time in new orleans, i can see it on your face. thanks for joining us tonight. have a great weekend. >> thank you, you too. >>> all right. c street residents are not happy that everybody keeps talking about the issue of subsidized rent at the c street house in washington. these guys say they are not getting rent subsidies, they are paying what everyone pays for a place like that. that's an impeerically checkable fact, isn't it? let's check. that's coming up. it's not always easy living with copd, but i try not to let it hold me back... whether i'm at the batting cages... down by the lake or... fishing at the shore. i'm breathing better... with spiriva. announcer: spiriva is the only once-daily inhaled maintenance treatment for both forms of copd, which includes chronic bronchitis and emphysema. i take it eve

let's remember there are a lot of people who want michael steele to fail.s in the country, but he got elected on the sixth ballot when he ran for chairman. most of republican delegates who voted on that, committeemen and committeewomen didn't want him in the first place. >> they didn't think he had the fighting weight? >> a lot didn't think he had the substance, thought he had good style, was good on tv but wouldn't bring what he needed to to the job. >> this is not a presidential year. a lot of the big money would go to the senatorial and house committees. there's other places for republican money to go. he is the chairman and just not going to be replayed. >> exact senator kyl coming out against him and people like that? what's that mean? >> senator kyl and the congress mab from california who came out against him or said changes had to be made as a result of the scandal, the charges at a strip club, wasn't his charge, but lower-level person. think it is something that demonstrates exactly how republicans are feeling about him right now, that they don't l

. >>> a contrite michael steele addressed delegates at the conference last night. the chairman of the republican national committee has been getting a lot of attention. he acknowledged making some mistakes and vowed to learn from them. >> i'm the first here to admit i've made mistakes. and it's been incumbent on me to take responsibility, shoulder that burden, make the necessary changes and move on. we've all had to do that from time to time. but the one mistake, the one mistake we cannot make this november is to lose. >> steele's comments drew a standing ovation in the room. the party chairman's been dogged by disclosures of questionable spending of the money, including paying to reimburse a noncommittee staffer for a $2,000 tab at a sex-themed california nightclub. donors have questioned huge increases in spending on private jets, limo trips and meals. all that led some top advisers to cut ties with steele and north carolina state party chief to call for his resignation. >>> anti-government protesters in thailand refusing to back down after deadly clashes with so

when we talk about michael steele.omo esta. >> what happens in the bondage club stays in the bondage club. >> i've seen a couple stories with michael steele this week where they use the word embattled. it's never good when the word embattled is before your name. >> embattled and bondage. >> never, never good. but i agree. i don't think that he's in danger of losing his job at this particular time. he's very glad that he's easter weekend i think. he's thinking i need a resurrection. it's been a difficult week. >> another story, pat, you were telling us about on your last hit with us, this republican position on the irs or the expansion of the irs under the new health care reform law. what's the big concern for republicans there? >> the big concern is that when you have this $950 billion piece of legislation and there's two primarily organizations that are going to work on this the department of health and human services and the irs. the question is how many workers especially on the irs front are going to be hired to so

michael steele is in hot water. >> who? michael steele. the national republican committee chairman. one of his staffers goes to a risque nightclub in california and the rnc ends up paying for it. they're all down in new orleans this weekend and bobby jindal knows bourbon street is up the street. he knows what is going on and decides to have a little bit of fun. >> enjoy our great food, our great culture. spend a little extra money in our great hotels and restaurants. we would appreciate it. a word of warning to rnc staffers. you may want to stay away from bourbon street. >> my son is in school. he could tell him where to go. >> humor sometimes deflates tough moments in politics. does this help make it go away? >> it's too bad that guy is not the front-runner and sarah palin is. >> no, i mean, i think the steele issue, the money issue, that's an inside the beltway. i don't think people really care about it. republicans are going to be able to raise the money. it may not be rnc directly, but it will be affiliated committees. our candidates will have enough. >> so it's okay to have fun

. >> the question is not michael steele, the question is the management of the building and are the proceduresn place to spend money on elections and not to spend money on jets and trips to bondage clubs? >> the latest on the mailer that had the wrong number, your report is that the rnc is saying that they got one number of the area code wrong? >> yeah, this mailer was a census form looking thing to get people to open it. it was a 1-80on 1-800 number inf a 202 area code. the real issue is the money. the late night fodder as far as the bondage club, but if republicans have like tony perkins out there saying don't give money to the committee, that could dry up some of their fund-raising and that imparlz how many seats they could work. >> we have talk to the rnc and we are trying to get michael steel or a spokesperson to address this. tony perkins will be on the 3:00 show with david shuster, so we will see that. they are still raising a lot of money. you can argue about the spending level, they don't have as much cash on hand, though. >> four years ago, it's the best comparison, it's less. and th

. >> among those worshiping, the rnc chairman michael steele. >> we should all be mindful this is a human institution. >> pope benedict has been blamed for his lack of action and covering up sex abuse is back when he was a cardinal, involving hundreds of children and two revered priests. >> what, when, and what did he do about it. >> this card became visibly upset when abc news tried to ask about the case. >> there is a question of whether -- >> not yet. >> archbishop wuerrl said to look at the pope's thinking in real time. live in northwest, john gonzalez, abc 7 news. >>> pope benedict xvi has a busy schedule, presiding over stations of the christ -- stations of the cross at the coliseum, and also will celebrate a late night easter vigil on easter sunday. >>> the chief of staff for council member jim gramm faces new charges, the grand jury adding additional counts of bribery, conspiracy to commit bribery, making false statements, and a distortion. prosecutors say he offered more than $30,000 of cash, it gives, and trips for favorable legislation. >>> the county's board of election in mar

whom they look to for financial support. >> reporter: it's only the latest embarrassment from michael steelethe embattled gop chairman, widely criticized as a big spender, wild fodder for late-night comedians. >> sounds like republicans partying in west hollywood. >> reporte >> i hope they have learned from this, it's something that should not have happened. >> reporter: the sex club caper comes after steele hosted a lavish party in hhiawaiihawaii. >> are the procedures in place to spend money on elections not to spend money on jets and trips to bondage clubs. >> reporter: most damaging of all for steele is the bottom line, in the past decade the republican party has vastly outraised democrats, but this year is democrats are running even with the gop and even have more cash on hand. in fact many republican donors tell nbc news they are by passing the national party, sending checks to their governor's directly to candidates. for "today" andrea mitchell, nbc news, washington. >> if conservatives and republicans are so upset with michael steele, why not just oust him? >> well, look, the chairma

that's not going to happen. >> no motel 6s for michael steele or tim kaine. thank you, bob shrum.uch, reid wilson. thank you very much. good to see you. >>> coming up next, mike pence on why he has the financial reform bill is really a wall street bailout. >>> msnbc is now on sirius xm satellite radio. tune in to sirius channel 90, xm channel 120. you gonna ask him this time? about what? our erectile dysfunction. shh...no...i don't want to talk about it. look, you're not alone, millions of men with ed have talked to their doctors. i don't know... we can do this. okay... (announcer) talking to your doctor about ed may be the last thing you want to do, but it's definitely a conversation worth having. twenty million men have had their viagra talk. when you're ready for yours... you'll find helpful tips on talking to your doctor at viagra.com ask your doctor if your heart is healthy enough for sex. don't take viagra if you take nitrates for chest pain as it may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. side effects may include headache, flushing, upset stomach, and abnormal vision. to a

keep people like michael steele and the controversy about funding and rnc and palin because she is a rod for the left, keep them out there as long as possible and help them fund raise and galvanize their base. tammy. >> may i add something? >> laura: yeah, quickly. >> i want to add that certain people like the obama administration have tried to laugh this off or dismiss her. you dismiss sarah palin at your own peril. and when november rolls around, this year and november of 2012, we will see who is laughing then. >> laura: tammy, i want to move on to the fact that people are saying oh, well, republicans don't have a frontrunner yet. and i have been saying hey, let republicans get through november of 2010, then they can start worrying about whether john thiewn has the magnetism or chris christie, george will writing about him today or chris christie or somebody like a romney again or huckabee or palin. whoever. you have got to get through november. do you not? >> well, here is what is thrilling about it unlike the democrats, the republicans like sarah palin really have the entire fiel

. >>> gop chairman michael steele admitted he has made mistakes and vows to learn from them.during a republican leadership conference in new orleans. he told the group it was time to move on, referring to the rnc's recent spending splurge at a club in california. he also commented on president obama's agenda and the upcoming midterm elections. >> our children are not for sale! >> teachers, parents, and students from all over rally outside the department of education, upset with education secretary to r. a. duncan's raced to the top initiative. it awards states that create conditions for education, innovation, and reform. however, the protesters believe the funds could. it should be given to states based on need. >> cut a security scare at the census bureau near baltimore turned out to be a bit false alarm. it's started this morning when a white powder substance was discovered on a piece of mail. as a precaution, workers were moved to another area and one person was taken to the hospital. officials determine the powder was coffee creamer. the workers returned to work a couple

but is the controversy over chairman michael steele taking a financial toll on the national party?march the republican national committee raised $11.4 million, while the democrats took in $13 million. our senior political analyst, gloria borger, is here to talk about this. for politicians, like for so many others, gloria, money talks. >> money talks. and if you just looked at the numbers you showed, wolf, you'd say, gee, the republican party did pretty well, didn't raise as much money as the democrats. but consider what happened during that month, the republican base was all riled up because of health care reform, very mad about big government and there are lots of folks that i've been talking to in the republican party who said that number should have been bigger given the public outcry, and it helps -- >> here's another number that's worrying some republicans. >> right. >> cash on hand. how much money you have to actually spend, in january of 2009, more than a year ago, the republican national committee had $22.8 million, right now it's down to $11.3 million. >> you look at that