In early October, The Lodge, a Dallas strip club, was reported to have received an Entrepreneur award from Newt Gingrich's American Solutions for Winning the Future (ASWF) group, only to have it taken away. When one wins such an award, a $5,000 donation is necessary, and that was refunded, and the cash was redirected to a different cause: an animal shelter.

Dawn Rizos, owner of The Lodge, redirected the money to Animal Guardians of America's sanctuary for rescued dogs in Celina, about 35 miles north of Dallas. The new shelter, called “Newt’s Nook: A Home For Pit Bulls” is now open. For some reason, Gingrich didn't attend the opening of the shelter.

It's another example of poor vetting by Gingrich's organization. You'll recall that earlier ASWF informed Allison Vivas of Pink Visual that she had been chosen for a 2009 Entrepreneur of the Year award by his Business Defense and Advisory Council. Unfortunately, Pink Visual is an adult DVD superstore.

Originally on SNAFU-ed