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You are here: Home / At Least They Weren’t Earth Tones

At Least They Weren’t Earth Tones

by John Cole|  October 22, 20089:38 am| 115 Comments

This post is in: Clown Shoes

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This election keeps getting better and better:

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.

Ambinder says Republican donors are PISSED. I may have been wrong about my Peak Wingnut theory, but I am reasonably sure we will reach Peak Schadenfreude on 5 November.

BTW- Has anyone asked Joe the Plumber what he thinks about this spending spree? Would he approve? We need answers, folks.

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Reader Interactions

115Comments

  1. 1.

    Jeff

    October 22, 2008 at 9:40 am

    I don’t know why they’re pissed when that is only half of one Cindy McCain outfit.

    Cindy McCain
    Oscar de la Renta dress: $3,000
    Chanel J12 White Ceramic Watch: $4,500
    Three-carat diamond earrings: $280,000
    Four-strand pearl necklace: $11,000–$25,000
    Shoes, designer unknown: $600
    Total: Between $299,100 and $313,100

  2. 2.

    Far Left American Hater Incertus

    October 22, 2008 at 9:44 am

    But once the election is over, the clothes will be donated to charity, so poor people will presumably get to wear them next. Oh wait…

  3. 3.

    SamFromUtah

    October 22, 2008 at 9:46 am

    Butbutbut Edwards! $400,000 on one haircut!1!1!one

    /wingnut

  4. 4.

    DonnaInMichigan

    October 22, 2008 at 9:47 am

    Extreme Makover: VP Edition.

    I guess to give her that "hockey/walmart mom" look, takes 75,000.00 shopping spree at Neiman Marcus, 50,000.00 at Saks, and 25,000.00 for hair/makeup.

  5. 5.

    The Dangerman

    October 22, 2008 at 9:51 am

    Does this mean the "she’s just like one of us" ship has finally sailed?

  6. 6.

    fuddmain

    October 22, 2008 at 9:53 am

    Some of that money purchased a scarf with donkeys on it and the word vote -> link.

    That’s so full of win.

  7. 7.

    rachel

    October 22, 2008 at 9:56 am

    @Jeff: Jeff, at least Cindy McCain spent her own money on that.

  8. 8.

    Atanarjuat

    October 22, 2008 at 9:59 am

    Absolutely, let’s all focus on Governor Sarah Palin’s attire with the intensity of a 200mW green laser (green, as in envy) in order to ignore the indisputably positive messages that she’s been trying to get past the in-the-tank-for-Obama liberal media.

    Does it really matter what Palin chooses to wear and who payed for it? Among decent people (read: not leftists), it’s of no great import. But hey! Sarah Palin is Caribou Barbie, so let’s jump on her fashion choices (though I suspect you’d all like to jump on her, violently and bone-crushingly so).

    Just another awesome example of "woman-empowering" objectification to which liberals are hopelessly addicted.

    Country First.

  9. 9.

    rachel

    October 22, 2008 at 10:00 am

    @fuddmain: That settles it; the McCain Campain is sabotaging itself.

  10. 10.

    jake 4 that 1

    October 22, 2008 at 10:01 am

    RealAmerican’s(TM) don’t object to blowing the price of a nice home in many RealAmerica(TM) towns on clothes that will only be worn for a couple of months before they are auctioned off on eBay!

    The McPOWlin Xpress is well on its way to making the Hindenburg disaster look like a lit fart.

  11. 11.

    The Other Steve

    October 22, 2008 at 10:02 am

    They’ve never heard of TJMaxx?

  12. 12.

    Halteclere

    October 22, 2008 at 10:03 am

    Palin is nothing more than a freeloader. Spending $150,000 of the RNC’s money on clothes for her and her family shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone considering how she forced her children in to various events just so Palin could claim their travels as "state business".

  13. 13.

    Punchy

    October 22, 2008 at 10:05 am

    Math?
    OK, I undystand that NM and Suks5Ave is expensive, but just how much shit does one have to buy to get to $150K? Wouldn’t that have to be at least 200-300 outfits (probably a lot more)? Starting in Sept, there wasnt even 100 days until the election. So they purchased 3 new, unique outfits a day, for every day, until the election.
    Next question — what were the construction costs on the closet upgrade necessary to house such a fucking ridiculous amount of threads?

  14. 14.

    Paul L.

    October 22, 2008 at 10:06 am

    What’s next? A channel on Dish Network.
    Thanks John for giving me a reason to donate to the Mccain campaign.
    So when will the "outraged Republican donors" grow a pair and go on the record?

  15. 15.

    Jeff

    October 22, 2008 at 10:07 am

    @rachel: I agree. But. then don’t pander to me as understanding the middle class.

  16. 16.

    rob!

    October 22, 2008 at 10:08 am

    heck, every buck they spend is one less dollar going to attack ads, GOTV efforts, etc.

    i say encase Palin in an armored suit made of gold! dip her brood in platinum!

    i read a comment from some knucklehead at Ambinder complaining that no one mentions the expenditures Obama has, failing to recognize that when your campaign is bringing in $150 mil A MONTH, you can "spread the wealth" around a bit like that. but thanks for playing!

  17. 17.

    rachel

    October 22, 2008 at 10:10 am

    @Paul L.: C’mon Paul L. ! Sarah needs a new pair of Manolo Blahniks*!

    *I’m guessing how to spell that; I can’t be arsed to look it up.

  18. 18.

    dewberry

    October 22, 2008 at 10:11 am

    Tick tock…

    one more media cycle (maybe two!) gone.

  19. 19.

    CIRCVS MAXIMVS MMVIII

    October 22, 2008 at 10:11 am

    Ross Dress for Less couldda done that whole gig for 5k, although Sarah might not have found that cute little Donkey scarf, pity…

  20. 20.

    MattF

    October 22, 2008 at 10:11 am

    A level of incompetence that makes your hair uncurl and stand on end– the ultimate conjoining of Karl and Groucho– "Absolute immiseration of the working class" meets "Why a duck?"

  21. 21.

    CIRCVS MAXIMVS MMVIII

    October 22, 2008 at 10:15 am

    Note to Atanarjuat:

    That color green you see on me is not emerald green envy, it is pea green nauseating disgust.

  22. 22.

    Comrade Rick Massimo

    October 22, 2008 at 10:16 am

    I talked to Joe the Plumber. He is fully supportive of this spending. He said, "Sarah Palin can do whatever she wants with that money. She earned it the old-fashioned way: She asked for it."

  23. 23.

    bedlam UK

    October 22, 2008 at 10:19 am

    The Price is Wrong Video.

    Enjoy

  24. 24.

    CIRCVS MAXIMVS MMVIII

    October 22, 2008 at 10:20 am

    i read a comment from some knucklehead at Ambinder complaining that no one mentions the expenditures Obama has, failing to recognize that when your campaign is bringing in $150 mil A MONTH, you can "spread the wealth" around a bit like that. but thanks for playing!

    Speaking of which, Michelle Obama didn’t have to run out and try to figure out some sort of fashion sense within a few short days. She already had it, and there have been no large expenditures charged to the Democratic campaign for her clothing.

  25. 25.

    NonyNony

    October 22, 2008 at 10:21 am

    Ambinder says Republican donors are PISSED.

    As well they should be. They donated money to get people elected, not to give the families of the candidates a spending spree at "Needless Markups".

    Since this came from the RNC (and not the McCain camp), I imagine there are some Republicans in some tight House/Senate races who are thinking about the $150K and wondering if it couldn’t have been better served buying some TV time or some direct mailing printing as well. $150K is a lot of "my opponent is an anti-American terrorist" direct mailing fliers and robocalls after all.

    Does it really matter what Palin chooses to wear and who payed for it?

    I’m still waiting for a link to your blog, my friend. You’re on fire today.

  26. 26.

    bedlam UK

    October 22, 2008 at 10:25 am

    @ Rob,

    Next time you see someone complaining that Obamas expenses aren’t being shown – lead them here…

    Obama gets his shoes re-soled.

    Sod the politics for a second. He really is a good bloke.

  27. 27.

    dmsilev

    October 22, 2008 at 10:25 am

    Figure a high-end businessy-type outfit at around $3k, including some custom tailoring to improve the fit. That works out to 50ish outfits (probably a slight overestimate, since some of the money apparently went to cloths for Todd and the kids), or about one a day since she was announced as VP pick.

    Does she really need a completely new designer outfit for *every day* of campaigning? Would anyone really care if she reused outfits a couple of times? Would anyone actually *notice*?

    The amount of money aside, is it normal for a campaign or the party to pay for things like that? Has any reporter gone back through expenditures to see if Obama’s suits, Michelle’s dresses, or heck, Hillary’s pantsuits were billed to some campaign or committee?

    -dms

  28. 28.

    lewp

    October 22, 2008 at 10:27 am

    So we have the "expenses" Sarah charged to Alaska for living in her own house. $21K charged to Alaska for flying the Palin kids around. $150K in clothing and accessories (including $5K just for makeup) in one month of campaigning. (Imagine what that would’ve been if she’d done interviews?) The woman is a human earmark.

    Pretty clear how Miss Smalltown/Real America/Hockey Mom views "public service": Spend whatever the hell you want and charge it to the public.

    What a reformer! What a maverick!

  29. 29.

    r€nato

    October 22, 2008 at 10:27 am

    As well they should be. They donated money to get people elected, not to give the families of the candidates a spending spree at "Needless Markups".

    Obviously they have not been paying attention to the last 8 years of the GOP looting the US Treasury in order to line the pockets of their donors.

    I’ll file this story under, "People Who Are Getting Exactly The Politicians They Deserve."

    I wonder if Condi Rice helped pick out Palin’s shoes?

  30. 30.

    jcricket

    October 22, 2008 at 10:27 am

    Everyone remember Edwards $400 haircut and something similar when Clinton got a haircut on Air Force 1 and supposedly prevented an F-16 from finding Osama Bin Laden (that’s how I remember it, anyway)?

    Seems positively cheap now, doesn’t it?

  31. 31.

    ThymeZoneThePlumber

    October 22, 2008 at 10:29 am

    That color green you see on me is not emerald green envy, it is pea green nauseating disgust.

    I hope you have some Pepto, hon.

  32. 32.

    gbear

    October 22, 2008 at 10:29 am

    OT (as usual).

    A paid West Virginia McCain caller goes home rather than read the scripts they’re giving her.

    edit: damn. I think I screwed up the link. Story is over at TPM.

  33. 33.

    jill

    October 22, 2008 at 10:30 am

    I’m sure Joe the Plumber approves of this because one day he aspires to wearing really expensive clothes just like one day he aspires to making tons of money.

  34. 34.

    Colonel Danite

    October 22, 2008 at 10:33 am

    Ambinder also posts the relevant campaign finance law that shows these expenditures are probably illegal. But hey, did you know that Obama wasn’t maybe probably could not have been born in Hawaii?

    Pay no attention to the woman behind the curtain

  35. 35.

    Comrade Jake

    October 22, 2008 at 10:33 am

    Heh. Check out this Daily Show clip. Stewart found a clip of McCain telling someone at a town-hall meeting that there’s nothing wrong with people who make a bit more paying more taxes.

    Hmmm. Sounds like SOCIALISM!

  36. 36.

    comrade scott

    October 22, 2008 at 10:35 am

    For all the money they are spending to spruss up Caribou Barbie, why does she still wear those incredibly tacky, big honkin’ pins? Yunno the ones I’m talking about, the kind your Great Aunt Ethel wears at family get togethers.

  37. 37.

    greynoldsct00

    October 22, 2008 at 10:36 am

    Absolutely, let’s all focus on Governor Sarah Palin’s attire with the intensity of a 200mW green laser (green, as in envy) in order to ignore the indisputably positive messages that she’s been trying to get past the in-the-tank-for-Obama liberal media.

    One of her ‘messages’ is that ‘she’s just like us’. I think this contradicts that just a tad. The fashion show and the combination hair-flip with a giggle demeanor just doesn’t appeal to me. And before you start some misogyny rant, I’m a woman myself.

    It’s ALL of our country first.

  38. 38.

    jill

    October 22, 2008 at 10:38 am

    Comrade Scott…pins are in this season.

  39. 39.

    Comrade Jake

    October 22, 2008 at 10:38 am

    Meanwhile, Obama is resoling his shoes. What an elitist!

    I had a link to TDS from last night, that for some reason is in the moderation queue. Stewart absolutely fried McCain on the whole socialism nonsense, and even has a clip of him admitting that people who make more probably should pay more taxes.

  40. 40.

    the lies to nowhere

    October 22, 2008 at 10:41 am

    Does it really matter what Palin chooses to wear and who payed for it?

    I’m still waiting for a link to your blog, my friend. You’re on fire today.

    Ra ra NonyNony, best line of the week! Thanks!

  41. 41.

    Bitty

    October 22, 2008 at 10:41 am

    (Wags finger in the air.)

    This sure sounds like socialism to me: redistributing the wealth to Palin’s closet.

    You betcha.

  42. 42.

    tripletee

    October 22, 2008 at 10:43 am

    @Atanarjuat:

    (though I suspect you’d all like to jump on her, violently and bone-crushingly so).

    Blame the starbursts start shooting out of our TVs, dude.

    @Paul L.:

    What’s next? A channel on Dish Network.

    Sorry, Paul, but your scrawny, malnourished jackalopes look even more pathetic when you compare them to the magnificent thoroughbreds Atanarjuat is releasing. Stick to non-sequiturs about Duke lacrosse.

  43. 43.

    Tsulagi

    October 22, 2008 at 10:45 am

    Ambinder says Republican donors are PISSED

    Yeah, gotta love that $150k earmark on the campaign budget. And good to see a non-elitist “real America” hockey mom knows how to run up a tab in Neiman Marcus and Saks.

    Given her top priority when elected Mayor of Wasilla was a $50k redecoration of her office without council approval, if she’s elected VP the fed budget will be in deep shit decorating her and all her undisclosed locations.

    Country First, “you betcha” edition.

  44. 44.

    bedlam UK

    October 22, 2008 at 10:46 am

    Last link for today, so I dont get moderated to death, but this guy pretty much sums up McCain and his campaign / life

    Quite colourful language though for those delicate flowers here.

    The clue is in the title : Fuck John McCain .com

  45. 45.

    SGEW

    October 22, 2008 at 10:49 am

    And before you start some misogyny rant, I’m a woman myself.

    In Atanarjurat’s world, women are the most misogynistic people of them all*. Just like minorities are much more racist than caucasians, atheists are oppressing christians, and gay people are endangering straights**.

    *Tho’ there may be some small substance to this claim (see, e.g., Phyllis Schlafly), but not in the way Atanarjurat thinks.
    **Look out, straight people! Teh Gheys will do teh nasty buttsekks in front of your childrens, who will catch teh Ghey, and will start singing along to Broadway musicals. Beware!

  46. 46.

    CIRCVS MAXIMVS MMVIII

    October 22, 2008 at 10:50 am

    @ThymeZoneThePlumber:

    I’m fine now, thanks.

    Btw, I have some plumbing that needs looking at. Do you think you can take care of that?

  47. 47.

    I'mRubberYou'reGlue

    October 22, 2008 at 10:59 am

    Btw, I have some plumbing that needs looking at. Do you think you can take care of that?

    I am at your disposal.

  48. 48.

    Faux News

    October 22, 2008 at 11:01 am

    Would anyone actually notice?

    Absolutely! The Princess Sparkle Pony blog would be on immediately! The blog has already been attacked by The Freepers btw.

  49. 49.

    CIRCVS MAXIMVS MMVIII

    October 22, 2008 at 11:02 am

    @bedlam UK:

    that’s an awesome site, although the guy could use at least SOME sort of graphic headings. It looks like it was typed out on Word. LMAO!

    Great rant though, thanks!

  50. 50.

    comrade scott

    October 22, 2008 at 11:04 am

    Comrade Scott…pins are in this season.

    Still doesn’t mean it looks good.

  51. 51.

    mjm

    October 22, 2008 at 11:10 am

    While they were shopping in Minneapolis, I wonder if they ran into Norm and Laurie Coleman?

  52. 52.

    Atanarjuat

    October 22, 2008 at 11:12 am

    SGEW said:

    In Atanarjurat’s world, women are the most misogynistic people of them all*.

    Ummm… no.

    The most egregious anti-female comments made against Palin and others like her come from male liberals. Liberal women tend to (correctly) focus more on the issues put forth by their ideological opponents and debate those instead. greynoldsct00 has done so in this very thread, which is to her credit. Put another way, male leftists (can’t say men, as they’re not fit for the title) obsess on superficial characteristics and view conservative women accordingly, whereas liberal women tend to prioritize substance.

    That being said, it’s unfortunate that liberal women are such misguided enablers of the hate-spewing misogynists in the Democrat Party. You would think that the outrage suffered by Hillary Clinton would have been a clear lesson, but unfortunately, the female-bashing enabling continues.

    Anything to win an election, I suppose.

    Country First.

  53. 53.

    Chris Johnson

    October 22, 2008 at 11:17 am

    I just think it’s so touchingly Modern Republican the way she’s spent close to ten times as much as I live on over an entire YEAR, since August, on clothes.

    Somebody buy that woman a washing machine, stat! Clothes can be washed and re-worn, honest! You can even do it more than once! You betcha!

    But what I really really want to know is: how many pairs of shoes?

    Imelda Marcos’s record was just sitting there…

  54. 54.

    Interrobang

    October 22, 2008 at 11:19 am

    Just think, that’s $150K less that the RNC has to spend for complementary butt plugs and towel service for the RNC HQ men’s room.

    In a way, it’s nice to see one of the Repubs blowing money on some custom tailoring. Speaking strictly from a sartorial snob point of view, there’s no effing way people with as much money as the Bushes (and friends) have should be walking around in suits that don’t fit. I suspect Bush’s tailor secretly hates him.

  55. 55.

    Iowa housewife

    October 22, 2008 at 11:21 am

    Is anyone else reminded of Evita?

  56. 56.

    CIRCVS MAXIMVS MMVIII

    October 22, 2008 at 11:22 am

    You would think that the outrage suffered by Hillary Clinton

    If you want to be taken seriously by any female of the left of center persuasion, you had better stop rewriting history.

    Hillary has come around to supporting Barack Obama, but many of us women couldn’t jump on her bandwagon during the primaries because of the type of negative attacks coming from her campaign.

    The slights that you mention were not slights at all, they were blown out of proportion dramatizations, just like the McCain camp is pulling now.

    It didn’t work against Obama for Hillary and it isn’t working for McCain now.

    You lose! Try again.

  57. 57.

    ThatLeftTurnInABQ

    October 22, 2008 at 11:23 am

    I’m arriving late to this party and all the good snark is already taken, so let me just point out a minor detail:

    Gov. Palin’s execellent shopping spree was conducted in NY and MN. Last time I checked they also have a Nieman Marcus in places like say Dallas, TX
    So they spent the money in blue states, when it could have been spent in a red state real america. How much sales tax did that add up to anyway? Way to go RNC! Spread the wealth!

  58. 58.

    Blow Riley

    October 22, 2008 at 11:24 am

    (though I suspect you’d all like to jump on her, violently and bone-crushingly so).

    Well, if she was moaning "drill, baby, drill!" at the time……

    (Don’t think I’ve spent 150k on clothes in my entire life)

  59. 59.

    CIRCVS MAXIMVS MMVIII

    October 22, 2008 at 11:25 am

    @Interrobang:

    I look at that figure and I picture a couple of senate seats myself.

  60. 60.

    LanceThruster

    October 22, 2008 at 11:25 am

    But Pat and I have the satisfaction that every dime that we have got is honestly ours.

    I should say this, that Pat doesn’t have a mink coat. But she does have a respectable Republican cloth coat, and I always tell her she would look good in anything.

    One other thing I probably should tell you, because if I don’t they will probably be saying this about me, too. We did get something, a gift, after the election.

    A man down in Texas heard Pat on the radio mention the fact that our two youngsters would like to have a dog, and, believe it or not, the day before we left on this campaign trip we got a message from Union Station in Baltimore, saying they had a package for us. We went down to get it. You know what it was?

    It was a little cocker spaniel dog, in a crate that he had sent all the way from Texas, black and white, spotted, and our little girl Tricia, the six year old, named it Checkers.

    And you know, the kids, like all kids, loved the dog, and I just want to say this, right now, that regardless of what they say about it, we are going to keep it.
    ~ Richard M. Nixon – "Checker’s Speech"

  61. 61.

    Interrobang

    October 22, 2008 at 11:25 am

    The most egregious anti-female comments made against Palin and others like her come from male liberals.

    Assuming you ignore all the misogynist comments made against her and others like her (like, say, Hillary Clinton) by male conservatives, female conservatives (like Ann Coulter, Ann Althouse, Michelle Malkin, and friends), and random conservatives of indeterminate biological sex, sure. There’s plenty of misogyny to go around in this culture; and it’s damn funny that the party of the feminist backlash, championing the stay-at-home-or-else mother, and "feminazis" is now ostensibly defending feminism — as long as the feminism in question is only used to deflect criticism away from tools of the patriarchy like Palin. (Palin: Sex-role sterotyping much? I can’t even count the ways…)

  62. 62.

    greynoldsct00

    October 22, 2008 at 11:27 am

    Put another way, male leftists (can’t say men, as they’re not fit for the title) obsess on superficial characteristics and view conservative women accordingly

    You mean to say there’s no Boys Club on the conservative side? Please!!

  63. 63.

    LanceThruster

    October 22, 2008 at 11:32 am

    BTW, I think McCain’s campaign fortunes could imnprove if they leaked that a certain amount of those funds were spent at Victoria’s Secret (whether true or not as that has never bothered the Rethuglicans before).

  64. 64.

    CIRCVS MAXIMVS MMVIII

    October 22, 2008 at 11:35 am

    You mean to say there’s no Boys Club on the conservative side? Please!!

    Ah! That’s what it is. Neo-conservatives always seem to come off as such pansies to me. I guess they are missing gobs of testosterone. I think the foray into Iraq was a testosterone call. Hmmm, thanks, I never quite looked at it this way before.

    For the record, TZ has loads of testosterone.

  65. 65.

    Punchy

    October 22, 2008 at 11:36 am

    (Don’t think I’ve spent 150k 1.5K on clothes in my entire life)

    Personally accurified (clearly, I’m a guy)

  66. 66.

    jake 4 that 1

    October 22, 2008 at 11:38 am

    (though I suspect you’d all like to jump on her, violently and bone-crushingly so).

    Dreadful sorry I’m not able to fulfill your Lib on GILF fantasies. I’ll just be relieved if this election cycle ends with Palin Athena moose-stepping back to Alaska.

  67. 67.

    necros

    October 22, 2008 at 11:40 am

    Let’s hear it for the Rainbow Tour. It’s been an incredible success.

    Evita’s Sarah’s descamisados Joe Six Packs need to adore her. So Christian Dior her.

  68. 68.

    Dave-EO

    October 22, 2008 at 11:41 am

    I’m wondering if she’ll have to pay taxes on the clothes she was provided? Isn’t this some kind of "income"? Or will she – after being sent back to Alaska on November 5th – give all these clothes to the Salvation Army?

  69. 69.

    jrg

    October 22, 2008 at 11:43 am

    White sheets are cheap, and would do much more to rally the Republican base.

  70. 70.

    The Moar You Know

    October 22, 2008 at 11:46 am

    BTW- Has anyone asked Joe the Plumber what he thinks about this spending spree? Would he approve? We need answers, folks.

    I think it goes without saying that Joe the Republican Plant Plumber is furiously jacking it to pictures of Sarah Palin even as I write this. I’m sure he sees no problem with the Starburst Queen of the Klondike getting anything her heart desires.

  71. 71.

    The Moar You Know

    October 22, 2008 at 11:48 am

    For the record, TZ has loads of testosterone.

    I neither needed or wanted to know this.

  72. 72.

    Gay Veteran

    October 22, 2008 at 11:52 am

    Maybe Palin thought she was running for Vice President of Argentina.

  73. 73.

    gwangung

    October 22, 2008 at 11:53 am

    Just shows folks how DUMB the Republican strategists are.

    Going to a solid, mid level clothing line and wearing just a handful of outfits would create the narrative that she IS just a hockey mom (and one who’s frugal in her choices).

    As it is…it shows she’s a low-class spendthrift, eager to suck up at the trough if it isn’t on her dime.

  74. 74.

    Dreggas

    October 22, 2008 at 11:53 am

    At midnight on november 4 Atanarjuat turns into a pumpkin…

  75. 75.

    Nylund

    October 22, 2008 at 11:56 am

    You mean Palin didn’t say, "Thanks but no thanks"?

  76. 76.

    Barbara

    October 22, 2008 at 12:01 pm

    I suspect that Cindy McCain is the culprit. Looking at Palin’s outfits, I am struck that they look an awful lot like the style of suit that McCain favors, though the colors are typically brighter. They actually don’t seem to flatter Palin all that much, heavy as they are on bright reds and awful technicolor blues.

    What they should have done, or what I would have done, was to have a professional stylist take a look at Palin’s usual wardrobe and select additional clothing, upgraded, but in keeping with her own style — a sort of Sunday Best approach that didn’t require a complete make over.

    They would not have had to spend anything close to $150,00, not even at Saks or N-M.

  77. 77.

    CIRCVS MAXIMVS MMVIII

    October 22, 2008 at 12:06 pm

    @The Moar You Know:

    I didn’t write it for you, but, I was making the point that Atanarjuat seems to think talking about guns and screaming for wars and acting like talking about any woman is automatically sexist is what makes a real man and he is wrong.

    Wars and guns are substitutes for real manliness. The talking about a female thing is just a stage show to redirect when their side went wrong.

    I think our guys are much better specimens of real men than the pretend conservatives.

  78. 78.

    CIRCVS MAXIMVS MMVIII

    October 22, 2008 at 12:09 pm

    What they should have done, or what I would have done, was to have a professional stylist take a look at Palin’s usual wardrobe and select additional clothing, upgraded, but in keeping with her own style—a sort of Sunday Best approach that didn’t require a complete make over.

    The problem is she didn’t have any style.

    A large majority of pictures of Palin pre-VP choice show her in jogging suits. That was her style.

  79. 79.

    tripletee

    October 22, 2008 at 12:11 pm

    You mean to say there’s no Boys Club on the conservative side?

    Of course there is, but you need to know the secret foot-tap to get in. Bring your own wetsuits!

  80. 80.

    jake 4 that 1

    October 22, 2008 at 12:17 pm

    @Dave-EO: The current spin:

    “With all of the important issues facing the country right now, it’s remarkable that we’re spending time talking about pantsuits and blouses,” said spokeswoman Tracey Schmitt. “It was always the intent that the clothing go to a charitable purpose after the campaign.”

    See? They’re not going to keep $150K worth of clothes.

    Past this fashion season.

    And they had to spend the price of a house on clothes so they’ll fetch more on eBay!

    And it isn’t important anyway so don’t ask about the "charitable purpose" the clothes will be used for. Now let’s get back to discussing what really matters: How long Obama will wait before he hands the country over to his terrorist pals.

  81. 81.

    Soylent Green

    October 22, 2008 at 12:28 pm

    The woman is a human earmark.

    Thanks, lewp. Best line of the day for me.
     
    Whatever enterprise Sarah and the Toddster find themselves in (mayorship, governorship, national campaign) they game it for every dime and perk they can squeeze out of it, ethical considerations be damned.

  82. 82.

    Barbara

    October 22, 2008 at 12:28 pm

    I’ve seen clips of her on tv and pictures of her speaking pre-VP and she has some professional suits. And she doesn’t wear jogging suits to church. Even if she wore jogging suits all the time, then a tailored but casual pant suit approach would work. "Casual Professional" versus "Ladies who Lunch." Which is what Cindy does.

    And she looks absolutely awful in black. They should cease and desist immediately from clothing her in black near her face.

  83. 83.

    Atanarjuat

    October 22, 2008 at 12:28 pm

    CIRCVS MAXIMVS MMVIII said:

    Atanarjuat seems to think talking about guns and screaming for wars and acting like talking about any woman is automatically sexist is what makes a real man and he is wrong.

    Of course, if we just melt all our guns into fences for our lovely gardens and open our arms welcomingly to our foes, why, their hearts will melt, too, and we’ll all be singing kumbayas together.

    (Smacking forehead!)

    Damn! Why hasn’t the Pentagon already thought of that?

    Had you bothered to ask me rather than assume, I’d have informed you that:

    1.) Keeping yourself armed and ready is a good idea in a hostile world,
    2.) I don’t scream for wars, but wars are sometimes necessary to remind our foes that we’re not the timid paper tiger they’d like to pretend we are,
    3.) and there’s a big difference between simply speaking about women and referring to them as "dumb broads" and "skanks" as Palin and Bachmann have been. That’s what’s sexist.

    Country First.

  84. 84.

    whack

    October 22, 2008 at 12:29 pm

    The Rethugs are saying that Gov. You Betcha’s wardrobe will be donated to charity after the election. "Trickle down" economics at work again!

  85. 85.

    Cris v.3.1

    October 22, 2008 at 12:34 pm

    @NonyNony: As well they should be. They donated money to get people elected, not to give the families of the candidates a spending spree at "Needless Markups".

    I’m with Jesse Taylor on this one:

    I honestly don’t care that they spent this money – imagemaking is expensive, and it’s about 60% of what presidential campaigning is.

    I imagine that if I were put in a position where I was serving as the public face of an organization, and was expected to impress big donors, I would ask the organization to pay for my new wardrobe.

    I’m not saying I would need $150 grand to look sharp, I’m just saying in principle I don’t think Palin’s totally out of line here.

    I’m not even so sure that it pokes a hole in her "ordinary folk" image. The fact that she didn’t already have a television-ready wardrobe, and needed the bigwigs to buy it for her, makes her more like "one of us," not less.

  86. 86.

    SGEW

    October 22, 2008 at 12:37 pm

    . . . there’s a big difference between simply speaking about women and referring to them as "dumb broads" and "skanks" . . . . That’s what’s sexist.

    Your spoof is slipping: this is an excellent point, and totally undermines your troll-fu.

  87. 87.

    Jay C

    October 22, 2008 at 12:39 pm

    @Barbara:

    I think you’re on to something here, Barbara:

    I suspect that Cindy McCain is the culprit.

    leads me to believe that

    They actually don’t seem to flatter Palin all that much

    might not entirely be entirely unconnected, nor entirely an accident!

  88. 88.

    Barbara

    October 22, 2008 at 1:02 pm

    Okay, I’ll take the bait. If Cindy McCain actually thinks that Sarah Palin’s clothing would make a difference to, ahem, her husband in any way shape or form, pun absolutely intended, she is disconnected from reality to a degree I hadn’t thought was imaginable. In my very humble experience, men don’t really notice clothes, or at least, they are way secondary to other attributes.

    No, I just think that whoever clothed Palin was trying to emulate a look that isn’t natural or flattering to Palin.

  89. 89.

    ilsita

    October 22, 2008 at 1:03 pm

    How are these people squaring Palin’s expenses ($13,000 on a make-up artist?) with their recent righteous sixpack outrage over that bogus story about Michelle Obama ordering lobster and Caviar at the Waldorf-Astoria?

  90. 90.

    mjm

    October 22, 2008 at 1:09 pm

    Gov. Palin’s execellent shopping spree was conducted in NY and MN. Last time I checked they also have a Nieman Marcus in places like say Dallas, TX
    So they spent the money in blue states, when it could have been spent in a red state real america. How much sales tax did that add up to anyway? Way to go RNC! Spread the wealth!

    Actually, TLT, here in MN, not that much. Clothing is exempted from state tax, with some exceptions. Any accessories she bought would be taxed, though.

  91. 91.

    Soylent Green

    October 22, 2008 at 1:13 pm

    What they should have done, or what I would have done, was to have a professional stylist take a look at Palin’s usual wardrobe and select additional clothing, upgraded, but in keeping with her own style—a sort of Sunday Best approach that didn’t require a complete make over.

    Right. And there’s no question she has to look sharp when at the microphone; the real question is whether it needed to cost so much. Palin wore her own duds when she visited that bar in Philly (jeans, T-shirt, leather jacket) and looked authentic, more herself. But stagecraft is important, so on Caribou Barbie’s wardrobe, I’m willing to cut some slack.
     
    Slightly OT, but this stuff reminds me of something from John Kerry’s run. As you know he enjoys wind surfing (for which he caught a lot of flak). But Kerry’s real passion is road cycling, and he is, at 65, an exceptionally fit and capable racing-bike roadie. We roadies wear cycling garb for function, not style.
     
    But four years ago when Kerry wanted to enjoy a ride, he had to wear a ridiculous loose T-shirt and baggy shorts, knowing what would happen if the cameras caught him wearing lycra. At the time, he chickened out. He should have worn his bike stuff and said "if it’s good enough for Lance, it’s good enough for me."

  92. 92.

    Comrade Glocksman

    October 22, 2008 at 1:22 pm

    They’ve never heard of TJMaxx?

    I work at the TJ Maxx Evansville Distribution Center, and in the interests of bipartisanship I’m willing to send her my 10% employee discount coupon to use for her next shopping spree. :)

  93. 93.

    I'mRubberYou'reGlue

    October 22, 2008 at 1:28 pm

    For the record, TZ has loads of testosterone.

    It gives me the power to spot third rate spoof wannabees in a flash. Why you all are talking to this pretender is beyond me.

    I don’t know if my ability to read upside down is related to this though. Some of my super powers can’t be explained by chemistry. Some of them I just inherited from my father, Jor-El.

  94. 94.

    Iowa housewife

    October 22, 2008 at 1:33 pm

    $13,000 for a make-up artist? You would think they would know to use a little less blush!

  95. 95.

    John T

    October 22, 2008 at 1:36 pm

    It’s interesting that the RNC had to pay for Sarah Palin’s wardrobe at all, considering that every year before the Oscars, fashion designers trip over each other doing whatever it takes to make sure that celebrities are seen wearing their clothes. So, either the campaign is too disorganized and incompetent to twist a few arms to get in-kind donations from fashion houses, or designers are smart enough to say, hell no, I don’t want to help Sarah Palin to be seen on TV wearing my clothes!

    Maybe the McCain campaign will use this as a defense — they’ll say that the elitist America-hating fags in the fashion industry wouldn’t loan us Sarah’s clothes for free, so we had to pay full price.

  96. 96.

    Sloegin

    October 22, 2008 at 1:36 pm

    Lance, you beat me to it with the Nixon ‘Checkers’ speech. Amazing how much Republican values have morphed from the old days into it’s current incarnation of know-nothing tribalism.

    Well, that’s about it. That’s what we have. And that’s what we owe. It isn’t very much. But Pat and I have the satisfaction that every dime that we’ve got is honestly ours. I should say this, that Pat doesn’t have a mink coat. But she does have a respectable Republican cloth coat, and I always tell her she’d look good in anything.

  97. 97.

    Kilkee

    October 22, 2008 at 1:37 pm

    Did anyone notice the eerie similarity between the cheesy red pleather jacket Sarah wore in her famous "I’ll run the Senate" interview and the nearly equally cheesy — but probably far more expensive — red leather dominatrix jacket that Cindy is fond of wearing? There can only be two possibilities: Cindy is trying to make Sarah look as lovely as her own slatterly self, but on the cheap, or Sarah is trying to look like Cindy, but botching it due to years of shopping in Tundra World. Either way, electoral entertainment at its best.

  98. 98.

    jake 4 that 1

    October 22, 2008 at 1:40 pm

    @Iowa housewife: OK, I’m not the only one who is wondering why she goes for the SLAP IN THE FACE look.

    Whew.

  99. 99.

    Bill Arnold

    October 22, 2008 at 1:41 pm

    I’m wondering if she’ll have to pay taxes on the clothes she was provided? Isn’t this some kind of "income"? Or will she – after being sent back to Alaska on November 5th – give all these clothes to the Salvation Army?

    You’re not thinking like Palin. She could put them up on E-Bay. There would be plenty of interest among wingnuts. Perhaps the campaign could even make a profit…

  100. 100.

    Notorious P.A.T.

    October 22, 2008 at 1:49 pm

    This reminds me of that Onion article about Bush finding out how little the presidency pays and having second thoughts.

    Palin obviously has little to no idea what a vice president does, so she probably doesn’t know its salary. If she did, would she drop out?

  101. 101.

    Sherrell

    October 22, 2008 at 1:51 pm

    I am no fan of Sarah Palin, but I think this is a non-story. They had to re-wardrobe her entire family and her daughter’s high school dropout baby daddy. The only thing this story proves is that NOTHING about this woman is genuine.

  102. 102.

    Delia

    October 22, 2008 at 1:54 pm

    This is all one more reason why the goopers should have gone with the Huckster if they really wanted a fundie. Say what you will about him, he and his wife Janet actually do their shopping at Target.

    Oh, I forgot. The Huckster actually seems to care about what happens to ordinary people, despite his rightwing social views, unlike the lovely and starbursty Moose Queen.

  103. 103.

    Krista

    October 22, 2008 at 2:17 pm

    I think this actually is a story. It’s a silly story, but so was the story about Edwards’ haircuts.

    The right-wing has been trying for a very long time now to portray Obama as elitist and out-of-touch with the issues of everyday Americans.

    And they then turn around and spend an incredibly excessive amount of money on Sarah Palin’s wardrobe, hair and makeup.

    Not to mention that they do this during a time when your everyday American is freaking the hell out about the economy and whether or not they’re going to be able to afford groceries or their mortgage payment.

    It’s a story because it is emblematic of some of the major character faults of the Republican Party: they are utterly tone-deaf, they really ARE out of touch with everyday Americans (despite their protestations to the contrary) and they are raging hypocrites.

  104. 104.

    reid

    October 22, 2008 at 2:37 pm

    Palin’s been a governor for almost two years. Does she really not have a workable wardrobe? Was she wearing sweats to work before? I admit it’s not a huge issue (especially since I’m not an RNC donator), but the numbers are shocking.

    I can’t help but feel that Palin’s just another low-class person that thinks she’s deserving of all the money and trinkets she can grub up; it’s like winning the lottery! Greed is good! Sure, you have to bend the rules sometimes, like taking per diem while staying at home, but hey. Humility? That sounds like something for smelly atheists.

    Now, having spouted my assumptions, I’d like to hear how involved she was in determining how much to spend.

  105. 105.

    Ash Can

    October 22, 2008 at 2:40 pm

    Wait. Five large for make-up? And thirteen K for someone to slather it on? Whoa. That’s some serious damage control for someone who’s only 44.

  106. 106.

    Chuck Butcher

    October 22, 2008 at 2:54 pm

    How to respond to a tool like Atanarjuat without falling down laughing makes things difficult. I own guns and that’s not like 2 guns. I own guns because I Iike to shoot, I like to hunt and because people like this tool exist and think:

    Absolutely, let’s all focus on Governor Sarah Palin’s attire with the intensity of a 200mW green laser (green, as in envy) in order to ignore the indisputably positive messages that she’s been trying to get past the in-the-tank-for-Obama liberal media.

    And

    2.) I don’t scream for wars, but wars are sometimes necessary to remind our foes that we’re not the timid paper tiger they’d like to pretend we are,

    Are the people of the world as stupid as this wingnut that they ‘forget’ that every couple years we smack the shit out of some country? War as propaganda? Asswipe.

    male leftists (can’t say men, as they’re not fit for the title)

    God, what a tool. Very few in the country do the kind of work or the kind of pastimes I do because they’re dangerous, difficult, and dirty. I’ve been married to the same woman for 18 years and all I ever do is support her goals. I am also secure enough in my ‘maleness’ that I don’t care a bit if two men or two women want to get married. I also don’t need some extreme version of a god to back me up, I can actually make up my own mind. I am not a liberal, nor a progressive, I am a leftist (by today’s measure).

    I propose that since this troll’s side is the one that consistently plays the politics of fear and division that the issue of ‘manliness’ isn’t exactly one they hold. On construction sites the word that gets used to describe people like that is ‘pussies.’

    Country First? That would be the investment bank we just socialized? Or the investment bank most of McCain’s campaign have represented or work for? agggghhh – the stupid, it burns…

  107. 107.

    Blue Raven

    October 22, 2008 at 2:55 pm

    To me, the real story here is where the money came from. If Cindy had bankrolled the spree, it would be proof of elitism but still mere fluff. They used campaign donations instead. Money meant for more clearly campaign-related materials, I should add. Palin is clearly a wastrel.

  108. 108.

    reid

    October 22, 2008 at 4:21 pm

    I doubt anyone is still reading, but just in case, I must clarify that I meant "donor" when I wrote "donator" above. I palin’ed myself good on that one, har har! I’m surprised I didn’t write "RNC potatoe".

  109. 109.

    jake 4 that 1

    October 22, 2008 at 4:31 pm

    @reid: When you put it that way Sarah Palin sounds exactly like [gasp!] Rush Limpbag’s Welfare Queen!

  110. 110.

    SamFromUtah

    October 22, 2008 at 5:54 pm

    @Bill Arnold: She could put them up on E-Bay. There would be plenty of interest among wingnuts.

    I think some librul should buy at least one item and then make a video about making a voodoo doll out of it. The response would be high-larious.

  111. 111.

    CIRCVS MAXIMVS MMVIII

    October 22, 2008 at 6:52 pm

    @I’mRubberYou’reGlue:

    I am very real. I am no pretender.

    You have trouble taking me seriously when someone named Atanarjuat is on this thread? Please!

  112. 112.

    ThymeZoneThePlumber

    October 22, 2008 at 6:58 pm

    You have trouble taking me seriously when someone named Atanarjuat is on this thread?

    Sorry, I wasnt clear … I was talking about Atanarjuat, not you. IRYG is me, dear.

    I was just suggesting that talking to that bonehead is an exercise in futilitispoofiness.

  113. 113.

    CIRCVS MAXIMVS MMVIII

    October 22, 2008 at 7:32 pm

    I was talking about Atanarjuat, not you. IRYG is me, dear.

    Hehe, I had no clue.

    When you have several names, (ones I’m not aware of), you’re going to cause confusion.

    I had no idea that was you. Glad to hear it though, since your 10:59 makes more sense now. ;)

  114. 114.

    Limniade

    October 23, 2008 at 2:10 am

    Btw, I have some plumbing that needs looking at. Do you think you can take care of that?

    I am at your disposal.

    Am I the only one who caught this?
    Best pun I’ve read all year.

  115. 115.

    nabalzbbfr

    October 23, 2008 at 9:40 am

    Obama looks so much more appealing to Joe and Jane Six Pack in simple Taliban duds.

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