At Tax Time, RNC Shows Us Creative Ways to Expense Costs

As I work on my taxes, it's good to know, courtesy of the RNC (Republican National Committee), that I can charge off alcohol purchases as office supplies and "...goodies from the girl's playground for trendsetting young women..." as meals according to this. Silly me. I was always careful to go through my receipts and separate out what are actual office supplies from other purchases, and I've never expensed alcohol (although there are occasions when it is perfectly legal to expense alcohol as a meal expense. sigh).

In an article at Huffington Post, Jason Linkins tells us about how in addition to the RNC's little problem with expensing charges at a bondage club in Los Angeles (and hey, I was just in west LA last weekend, great time, but no naked bartenders) and somehow bills from the Boyden Valley Winery in Vermont (over $700 worth) appeared on their disclosure forms under office supplies (the winery says they do not sell office supplies and I have to say, it's not the first place I would think of if I were in search of paperclips) and RNC Deputy Finance Director Debbie Lehardy decided last December that the appropriate column to list her expenses ($453 worth) at Bendels on 5th Avenue in New York was under meals. Not sure if you know what Bendel's is, but the "playground for trendsetting young women" captures it (clothes, jeweley, makeup), and no, they do not sell food any more than Boyden Valley Winery sells office supplies.

For those of you who want to say that "well, the Democrats do it, too" (as if that excuses anything), last night on Keith Olbermann's show, Karen Finney of the DNC talked about working under Howard Dean when he headed the DNC. She reported that while in New York, he was so careful of expenses that he finally let staffers use the subway rather than walk.

Chairman Steele certainly leads a charmed existence, for the Democratic Party. Clearly, after his antics of the past year without being fired, he's here through at least the 2010 election. The Democratic Party thanks him.

Thanks for stopping by. Come back soon.
k