Steele RNC Scandal: 60% Of Public Hasn't Heard About Nightclub Gaffe

Perhaps the only saving grace for RNC Chairman Michael Steele concerning the committee's nearly $2,000 expenditure at a bondage-themed nightclub is that few voters actually are aware of the incident.

A survey by Pew Research Center reveals that only 40 percent of Americans say they have heard about the RNC's expenditure controversy -- including 24 percent who said they had heard only "a little." Sixty-percent said they had heard nothing at all.

Compare that figure to those Americans who have followed stories about changes to federal student loans. Roughly two out of every three respondents to the Pew survey said they had heard something about the new structure in loan grants to students that the president passed into law. Only 34 percent said they heard nothing at all.

Digging into the numbers a bit more and Steele gets even more good news. Of the 16 percent of respondents who said they had heard a lot about the RNC expenditure scandal, 21 percent said they were Democrats and just ten percent Republicans.

The findings are a reflection of how much the story has been trumpeted by traditionally progressive media and how narrowly it has been disseminated to the general public. The problem, of course, is that the audience with the largest stake in the nightclub blunder seems likely to be the same people closely following the saga. Republican insiders are going to play an influential role in determining Steele's fate at the RNC -- not the larger GOP populace. They undoubtedly have followed the controversy from the beginning. And they don't seem likely to be all that relieved just because fewer people than expected know about it.

Comments

[elektra mourns]

10:52 AM on 04/12/2010

and www.thedailycaller.com discusses how a young GOP staffer sepnt 1.3 million on luxury items

[GrammieJ]

08:48 PM on 04/08/2010

don't know where u got that number, but i would bet someone from FOX/FIX sold it to you!
get a life, everyone knows about steele and his mis-use of GOP funds,,,more like "fun"ds to him

[blueskybigstar]

08:26 PM on 04/08/2010

That is because the media is controlled. The CIA brags about it.

Former Directory of the CIA, William Colby, before he was offed for talking too much:

"The Central Intelligence Agency owns everyone of any significance in the major media."

[ManuOB1]

08:15 PM on 04/08/2010

I'd bet a majority of Americans never heard of Michael Steele. Jay-Walking wanna try this?

[LeeCalif]

06:45 PM on 04/08/2010

Both the AP and ABC mischaracterized and downplayed what really took place.

They termed the locale as a night club or adult club.

[mjl422]

05:10 PM on 04/08/2010

That's not good news! That just means most people don't care what GOP does.

[LeeCalif]

06:46 PM on 04/08/2010

No, it means mainstream media (MSM) has two sets of rules when it comes to covering politics.

See my comment.

[Measy23]

03:18 PM on 04/08/2010

That is because the media doesn't know how to do its job! If Palin did something we'd all know about that stupidity

[Uproar]

03:01 PM on 04/08/2010

Correction. Most Republicans don't care for ethics, so they will brush any wrongdoing under the carpet. That doesnt' mean they didn't hear about it. They heard about it, the same way they heard about Mark Sanford and his affairs, then pretended not to.

[FunkyMaverick]

02:48 PM on 04/08/2010

''America isn't easy...America is advanced citIzenzhip. You've got to want it bad. ''

Mr. President :

You are still doing your best. You are still trying to bring America back from the brink of destruction. You are still trying to make America great within this political climate of h8 and fear.

Many people can remember a time when jobs were plentiful and secure..can remember a country not at war...can remember not feeling uneasy as their kids actually walked to school.

Many people can remember sitting out on the porch and saying hi to their neighbour..taking in a breath of fresh air within a slower time.

The election cycle begins anew with many people on the right (pundits, professionals or politicians) proclaiming that if you JUST vote them back in ...that all of the above will come true again. They go about trying to convince you of that by screaming as loud they can about how scary today and tomorrow will be if you don't.

These peoples' 15 minutes of fame are up. The American people shall fear no longer.

Mr. Obama, YOU ARE the President and you are bringing about a better day for all, and a more prosperous tomorrow.

We NEED SERIOUS people ( and YOU ARE SIR:) for the SERIOUS problems America faces.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mWRVbWMvi7c

Sincerely ,
Your Irish friend..

[gurukalehuru]

02:26 PM on 04/08/2010

It was not a "gaffe." They did not mistakenly walk into a lesbian bondage club thinking it was a Howard Johnson's. They did not accidentally pay for it with donor's money.
Whatever happened to words such as event, incident, happening, occurrence, affair or even case.

[RSRob]

01:29 PM on 04/08/2010

Wow, so basically the theory of the head of the GOP is that "it doesn't matter what we do as long as no one knows we are doing it"? That is in touch with the American people. It also shows the problem with the MSM. If this had been a group of Dems, it would have been run on Fox and every other network twice an hour.

[bleeplander]

01:16 PM on 04/08/2010

Just wait until November, they will.

[Javan Hamilton]

01:05 PM on 04/08/2010

Yet the right talks about "uninformed" Americans. WTF? I can't go one day without hearing about this...but at the same time, I divide my day among CNN, HLN and MSNBC, so there you go.

[SouthernBubba]

12:03 PM on 04/08/2010

Well, I am speechless. As a "news junky", I can not comprehend that so few people heard of this story. My estimation is that the Main Stream Media has utterly failed in their duty to actually cover a news story of this proportion. One can understand the mediocrity of Fox but where are their competitors? Big Question for the PC crowd--Did Steele get a pass because his skin color was more important than his political party?

[RoveRoveRoveYourBoat]

12:18 PM on 04/08/2010

....please get out more,
meet some neighbors and workmates.
You watched g.w. reinstalled and you think people are informed?!?!?!?

[SouthernBubba]

01:41 PM on 04/08/2010

Yeah, you are right. Round two for Bush was a really big clue. Back then, I did get out a lot more and tried everything possible to get a complete "redo" of the Florida vote but to no avail because "Big Al" played the coward. What a shame.

[justoverit333]

11:58 AM on 04/08/2010

yup, that's right, most of our followers don't even watch
the news. They don't know what's going on in the country.
They're busy making signs that say "we want our nation
back" or they're out in the garage polishing up their rifles.

[Rmath]

12:03 PM on 04/08/2010

And the signs are misspelled..

[RoveRoveRoveYourBoat]

12:18 PM on 04/08/2010

....da sines is miss pelled?