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By Jeanne Cummings| 10/22/08 12:35 AM EDT

The Republican National Committee has spent more than $150,000 to clothe and accessorize vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin and her family since her surprise pick by John McCain in late August.

According to financial disclosure records, the accessorizing began in early September and included bills from Saks Fifth Avenue in St. Louis and New York for a combined $49,425.74.

The records also document a couple of big-time shopping trips to Neiman Marcus in Minneapolis, including one $75,062.63 spree in early September.

The RNC also spent $4,716.49 on hair and makeup through September after reporting no such costs in August.

The cash expenditures immediately raised questions among campaign finance experts about their legality under the Federal Election Commission's long-standing advisory opinions on using campaign cash to purchase items for personal use.

Politico asked the McCain campaign for comment, explicitly noting the $150,000 in expenses for department store shopping and makeup consultation that were incurred immediately after Palin’s announcement. Pre-September reports do not include similar costs.

A review of similar records for the campaign of Democrat Barack Obama and the Democratic National Committee turned up no similar spending.

Source: http://snipurl.com/4l84h [www_politico_com]

Kumicho wrote:

A review of similar records for the campaign of Democrat Barack Obama and the Democratic National Committee turned up no similar spending.

Source: http://snipurl.com/4l84h [www_politico_com]

That is because Obama has not stuck to campaign financing as he promised to. He is running on personal financing and fundraising. He is the first presidential candidate to do so since Richard Nixon.

every politician gets a 400 dollar haircut. ick.

How much money did Obama take from the Democratic party after the convention...?

And how can I believe...That McCain isn't an elitist...Or that he's all about a damn spending freeze...When he's spending the year salary of me and my wife in a department store in a month..? In the midst of a damn economic recession no less..?

Simple question here...

Do you or don't you condone the activity...?

CDR! Solid Call,Ja.

I definitely do not condone this activity. It takes away from the claim that Palin is "one of us" when they buy her clothes from the most high-end stores. I can't believe it...

Hockey Mum my arse!

Are you shitting me?

Who is paying to fill up O Force One to fly down to Hawaii? Campaign finances.
Who paid 500,000 dollars to refurbish the entire plane? He still hasn't said.


Here is the REAL deal:

The Palin's had a donor who bought them clothes that would make them presentable. Most have never left the belly of Palin's plane. The time she got dressed up to the nines was the meet the fricking UN world leaders. The clothes budget were a tax-deductible donation for exactly this same stuff.

Also, asking how much money obama got from the dems is impossible to say being that he is taking money from anyone and everyone, and not properly vettign his campaign finances, and has more cases of documented fraud than ever before because of lapses in verification including turning off filters for fake postal codes. the validation system for his finances are intentionally disabled. The most anyone can donate is 2,300. there is an internal lock that has to be broken.

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/the-tr ... donor.html

Here is one donor who was recorded for a online donation of 175,000 - 25,000 more than Palin's wardrobe sponsor, who had the money sittign in a RNC trust for some time before the election season.

I went to the Obama campaign website and entered the following:
Name: John Galt
Address: 1957 Ayn Rand Lane
City: Galts Gulch
State: CO
Zip: 99999
Then I checked the box next to $15 and entered my actual credit card number and expiration date (it didn’t ask for the 3-didgit code on the back of the card) and it took me to the next page and… “Your donation has been processed. Thank you for your generous gift.”
This simply should not, and could not, happen in any business or any campaign that is honestly trying to vet it’s donors. Also, I don’t see how this could possibly happen without the collusion of the credit card companies. They simply wouldn’t allow any business to process, potentially, hundreds of millions in credit card transactions where the name on the card doesn’t match the purchasers name.
In short, with the system set up as it is by the Obama

Same card was rejected by mcCain's site.

Obama has not rejected money from cards in england, germany, australia, new zealand... and has had fraud in at least three international cases with no passport information, or accurate postal code. that is a felony. Jawas don't make shit up (screenshots!~): http://mypetjawa.mu.nu/archives/194544.php

as far as i am concerned - the fact she needed to have someone go buy clothes for her and her family to be on TV was a sign they are really not that affluent. and if they get donated, they prolly go to a auction and the money gets used for charity.

all good, and totally typical for campaign finances in public financing. obama's private financing is the first time this happened since Nixon.

OK, so raum supports the spending...Nuff said...

NO,

I think it is misrepresentation of the truth. Her wardrobe coordinator bought a bunch of stuff she is not even going to wear. After election it is auctioned off. This is typical. But I think someone also skimmed some money... like the 4,800 dollar tux Todd Palin supposedly got is not on record where they said it was bought. Alot of stuff is simply not adding up with the RNC shedule F, which still paid more for postage or office supplies than for her wardrobe. And 22,000 of it was for a personal stylist that her campaign finances hired for her, that she would not need if she were a man.

I mean she wore PAYLESS shoes for 19.99 to the RNC, for pete's sake@!
http://www.payless.com/Catalog/ProductD ... lor=Merlot

and it is a minor expenditure compared to chartering and refurbishing a private 757 becuase a 737 was too small... and not disclosing who is footing the bill, even if your campaign is paying for it.

and the source of the funds for her wardrobe is at least identified. What is missing is who is embezzling the money. Her clothing and her family's is clearly not worth 150,000.

Obama's camp won't even file a Schedule F. RNC bit the bullet and did it, and is getting fried for it.

Fact of the matter, Biden's taxpaid AMTRAK rides to DC are costing taxpayers more than Palin's wardrobe cost a single donor, even with part of it embezzled.

Fact of the matter, Obama's property value increase in Rezko scandals profited him more than Palin's wardrobe.

Fact of the matter, people who are pro- either candidate are not capable of equillibrating the facts.

I am pro POLICY, not PARTY.


cato.org FTW

Defending wardrobe is not defending policy. done now.