I’ve been watching the trouble brewing with the Republican National Committee with a bit of amusement.

The party that blasts the daylights out of those big-spending Democrats — with good reason — now has been caught spending a bit lavishly as well. RNC Chairman Michael Steele likes to live large. He travels in pricey limos, rakes in big money with speaking fees, sleeps in posh hotels and lavishes donors with lots of perks and goodies.

And all the while, his party preaches moral rectitude as part of its political platform.

And then comes the latest: It seems that a staffer arranged for some donors to visit a strip club in Los Angeles that features lesbians and “bondage.” Hoo boy.

I’m not concerned much with how the Republican political leadership spends its donors’ money. None of it comes from my pocket. (Full disclosure: I don’t give to the Democrats, either.)

What does pique my interest is how one major party can portray itself as the protector of family values and fiscal responsibility while behaving in a manner that is quite contrary to the message it is delivering to the masses.

We toss the word “hypocrite” around a lot these days. Many politicians of both parties have been branded with the word: John Edwards, John Ensign, David Vitter and Newt Gingrich are four who come immediately to mind. Gingrich is my favorite hypocrite, having blasted President Clinton for his dalliances while at the same time cavorting with a much-younger House staffer behind his own wife’s back.

The RNC has some serious housecleaning ahead of it, starting with what to do about a chairman on whose watch all this nonsense has occurred.

A real leader would accept responsibility — and then quit.