NYT: RNC Lawyers going to Alaska to do Palin Clothing Inventory?

[RamboLiberal]

PHOENIX — As a top adviser in Senator John McCain’s now-imploded campaign tells the story, it was bad enough that Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska unwittingly scheduled, and then took, a prank telephone call from a Canadian comedian posing as the president of France. Far worse, the adviser said, she failed to inform her ticketmate about her rogue diplomacy.

As a senior adviser in the Palin campaign tells the story, the charge is absurd. The call had been on Ms. Palin’s schedule for three days and she should not have been faulted if the McCain campaign was too clueless to notice.

-----

On Wednesday, two top McCain campaign advisers said that the clothing purchases for Ms. Palin and her family were a particular source of outrage for them. As they portrayed it, Ms. Palin had been advised by Nicolle Wallace, a senior McCain aide, that she should buy three new suits for the Republican National Convention in St. Paul in September and three additional suits for the fall campaign. The budget for the clothes was anticipated to be from $20,000 to $25,000, the officials said.

Instead, in a public relations debacle undermining Ms. Palin’s image as an everywoman “hockey mom,” bills came in to the Republican National Committee for about $150,000, including charges of $75,062 at Neiman Marcus and $49,425 at Saks Fifth Avenue. The bills included clothing for Ms. Palin’s family and purchases of shoes, luggage and jewelry, the advisers said.

The advisers described the McCain campaign as incredulous about the shopping spree and said Republican National Committee lawyers were likely to go to Alaska to conduct an inventory and try to account for all that was spent.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/06/us/politics/06mccain.html?hp

:rofl:

[orestes]

1. That's fuckin awesome

[SweetieD]

2. oh snap! Sarah you are busted! She may be joining Ted Stevens soon.

[firedupdem]

3. They are starting the toss under the bus already! It sounds like

they were all going rogue and doing what the hell they wanted and now the bills are coming in!

[speedoo]

4. I love the smell of rethugs killing one another in the morning....

K&R.

[writes3000]

5. Okay, I don't believe they told her to only get six suits.

But the fact that she bought stuff for her family without asking is pretty outrageous.

[juajen]

9. I saw her interviewed about this, and she stated emphatically

that she did not go on a shopping spree, but the clothes were bought without her even trying them on. That's why so much was purchased, and, Sarah said most have not even been worn.

This gets really silly, when you consider how much the Obama campaign spent, some of it really extravagant IMHO. Being brutal to Sarah does not endear dems to people who might otherwise support Obama through what I'm sure will be some very difficult times. I believe the posts about Palin are counterproductive.

[RamboLiberal]

10. I think its fun to discuss - and especially when the freaking Repukes

filed a complaint with the FEC over Obama using his campaign plane to fly to Hawaii to visit his dying grandmother

[SweetieD]

12. Well its not just DU or the left, its Fox News and the NYT etc

talking about it. And from the reports she directed these aides to go out and get clothes for her putting them on their credit cards, and bringing them back to her. So it doesn't conflict with the previous reports in that respect.

[TahitiNut]

14. Comparing how MUCH Obama's campaign spent to WHAT the RNC bought for her personally ....

... is beyond illogical. It's insanely fallacious thinking. That'd be like claiming there's no big deal if the Department of Defense bought a $10 million home for Rumsfeld because that's nothing compared to what they spend on Star Wars. That's the kind of 'logic' that embezzlers and burglars use.

Nobody is being 'brutal' to Sarah. That's ridiculous hyperbole, equating condemnation of corruption to spousal abuse.

Her corruption is a matter of record. Waste, fraud, and abuse are serious matters for ANYONE on the public payroll!!

Such apologetics are nauseating. :puke:

[CitizenPatriot]

32. thank you.

furthermore, palin having told us that she didn't buy these things is worth....

"I am so glad to be found innocent of any wrong doing there and with the ethics nothing found there either...."

Her wardrobe "allowance" is an outrage. It violates campaign finance laws. She needs to claim the gifts on her tax returns, which she was clearly trying to avoid by claiming (as Ted Stevens did) that they were just being "loaned" to her. She overspent the budget given to her by what percentage? Spend 20-25k they told her and now we have reports it went over 150,000.00. On top of that, she was told to hire a hair stylist -- so she goes and gets top make up people from TV shows and ditto with hair stylists -- to the tune of 35,000 every two weeks.

And someone here is defending that?

Bad money management, overspending the budget by not just 100% but more, lying to the public, no transparency, ..... there is no end.

Comparing this to Obama spending on the campaign makes sense because....why? False equivalencies. They are SUPPOSED to spend money on the campaign. Clothing is not part of campaigning. It is expected that a properly ready politician would have the right wardrobe, as Hillary Clinton does and Joe Biden does and John McCain does.

[ConsAreLiars]

17. That gets a prize for KoolAid gulping.

As for your self-identification with and worry about "people who might otherwise support Obama," well, I doubt you and your kind would ever support him. Go ahead and reveal your true loyalty. Isn't the charade becoming a bit tiresome?

[JI7]

19. wtf , Obama spent the money on the CAMPAIGN , Palin on herself

people donate the money for CAMPAIGNS.

[Richard Steele]

23. Well, if Sarah Palin said that then it MUST be true!

:puke: Give me a fucking break already.

[TwilightGardener]

37. She also said she opposed the Bridge to Nowhere. She is a bastion of truthiness.

[hewitt]

29. Palin is a comic's best friend

The woman is such a joke. She saw the opportunity to grab what she could when she could. Her husband got a $40,000 wardrobe all his own. He'll look so suave on that snowmobile, won't he. McCain aides grumbled that some of her clothes had gotten lost: yeah, I bet they are "lost" in her closet in Wasilla.

There is no defending that ignorant, hate-mongering woman.

[gal]

33. Obama did not spend campaign money on his clothes.

The money he spent no matter how much was money donated to him by the American people to do exactly what he did ...WIN.

I have to wonder if you would be sticking up for Joe Biden if he had spent $150,000 on clothes from his campaign money as well.

[TwilightGardener]

38. This poster is always looking for a way to cheap-shot Obama.

[TwilightGardener]

35. Take your Palin love elsewhere. We have some serious reputation-wrecking to do here.

I don't ever want to see her fucking sneery face again.

[Metric System]

6. One thing I've been noticing is the use of the term "Palin campaign." WTF? I never heard anything

about a "Biden campaign." But then maybe that's a reason why the Obama/Biden ticket won.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

7. the Olympic Shopping Finals.....

Featuring Caribou Barbie and Condi Rice representing the shoe-lovin', Ferragamo-wearing contingent.

[ROh70]

8. Tina Fey needs to keep doing Sarah Palin!! This stuff is just too good to pass up as skit material

[merh]

11. She had 3 days to prepare for that phone call - that is frightening

It wasn't just a happenstance call, she knew it was coming - they didn't check it out - the scheduled it.

God help us they are all screw ups.

[ROh70]

13. That makes the story even worse. They didn't even "vet" the phone call.

[merh]

15. And she and her "trusted aid" are too stupid to know that

admitting that they knew about the call for 3 days and didn't prepare or verify for it just proves how stupid and unprepared for the real world she really is.

[sweettater]

25. Maybe they did it on purpose

REVENGE at its finest.

[formercia]

22. "the McCain campaign was too clueless to notice"

and the Palin Campaign was to clueless to notice the area code origin of the 'Sarkozy' call.

Bunch of hillbillies.

[Adenoid_Hynkel]

16. They're trying to stop Palin 2012 at all costs

They had no problem with this when they thought she was an asset.

[uponit7771]

40. Yeap, I'm personally supporting her in the primaries and even given her some dough...this should be

...good

[Swamp Rat]

18. The Rapture commeth soon for Saks Fifth Sarah

:D

[puebloknot]

20. Well, when she's hauled up into the Heavens, and all her worldly goods ...

... fall to Earth, I want to be standing under her with a net. I figure I deserve some kind of reward for having to listen to her whine for lo, these couple of months! :)

[Swamp Rat]

21. I wouldn't mind a new car for once in my life.

Though, I doubt she has a Chevy Volt. :)

[Supersedeas]

41. well said

[rainbow4321]

24. So they expected 6 suits to be $20,000 to $25,000???

They are all full of shit.... I think that they KNEW all along about her spending spree and now are trying to point the finger and deny knowing.

Remember this is the same campaign that hired a VOICE COACH for Palin..or are they going to deny knowing about HER, also??

[truthisfreedom]

36. 25,000 divided by 6... hmm... that's over $4000 per suit. They have expensive tastes in the RNC.

Very expensive. That's why we're in the economic trouble we're in!

[TeeYiYi]

26. Seriously, who knew?...

...she had that kind of bank tied up in her clothes. I would never have guessed. I must not have been paying attention.

I notice when someone who's been driving a Yugo starts driving a Mercedes, but Sarah's $150,000 natty wardrobe? Were they really THAT much nicer? I think she got ripped off...

TYY :shrug:

[BrklynLiberal]

27. I hope they leave her like Cinderella at midnight...back in her rags..

[CK_John]

28. An RNC lawsuit to recover her spendings would be fun and her refusal to pay taxes would be a show.

This could end being a soap opera or a new northern lights sitcom.

[nichomachus]

30. What's most telling is that

nobody in either "campaign" had the sense to realize that heads of state do not call second-tier candidates for public office in other countries -- or first tier candidates, for that matter -- unless they have a previous close relationship with them. It's a breach of protocol and just not done.

That alone should have been a serious red flag. The McCain - Palin crowd was beyond clueless.

[CoffeeCat]

31. There is no doubt that this is....

...a very deliberate effort to smear Palin. This is in the "Times" because the McCain camp
wants it there.

I knew this would happen. McCain HATED Palin. He never wanted her. He wanted Lieberman, but
the nutjobs in the Republican party threatened McCain with a convention-floor fight if he went
with Lieberman. McCain never even met Palin. It's been widely reported that many of the neocons
(Bill Kristol, Dick Morris, etc) met with Palin and were completely thunderstruck by her. These
were the only people in the Republican party who knew her. They leveraged her. They talked
McCain into going with her. McCain begrudgingly trusted them.

And look what happened.

McCain and the non-neocons in the Republican party will try to destroy her. The Republican party is
in disarray--with a war being waged between the moderates/true conservatives vs neocons/religious wackos.

What we're seeing here is pay back. McCain, moderate Republicans and those who aren't in the
wacko wing of the party--will try to destroy her national political career because they believe
she took down McCain.

:popcorn:

[CitizenPatriot]

34. a violation of Mccain's campaign act?

"In what has to be one of the most embarrassing turn of events for the McCain campaign thus far, it appears that in purchasing $150,000 worth of clothes for Sarah Palin and her family, McCain and his campaign and/or the RNC have violated the 2002 McCain-Feingold Campaign Finance Reform Act. A link to the entire text of the law and the relevant text are below. Only a lawyer would know for sure if this constitutes a breach of the law but the spirit of the law was definitely broken by the RNC, Palin and the McCain campaign:

http://www.opednews.com/articles/McCain-Campaign-Violated-M-by-Steven-Leser-081023-770.html

for starters:

SEC. 313. USE OF CONTRIBUTED AMOUNTS FOR CERTAIN PURPOSES.
(a) PERMITTED USES-

...
(b) PROHIBITED USE-

(1) IN GENERAL- A contribution or donation described in subsection (a) shall not be converted by any person to personal use.

(2) CONVERSION- For the purposes of paragraph (1), a contribution or donation shall be considered to be converted to personal use if the contribution or amount is used to fulfill any commitment, obligation, or expense of a person that would exist irrespective of the candidate's election campaign or individual's duties as a holder of Federal office, including--

(A) a home mortgage, rent, or utility payment;
(B) a clothing purchase;
(C) a noncampaign-related automobile expense;
(D) a country club membership;
(E) a vacation or other noncampaign-related trip;
(F) a household food item;
(G) a tuition payment;
(H) admission to a sporting event, concert, theater, or other form of entertainment not associated with an election campaign; and
(I) dues, fees, and other payments to a health club or recreational facility.'

.more

http://www.govtrack.us/congress/billtext.xpd?bill=h107-2356

[greenmutha]

39. Rec - because there is some really great discussion in this thread!

Kickin' it back up to the front! :kick:

[Blue_In_AK]

42. Oh, wonderful, just what we need.

More RNC lawyers crawling all over Alaska. At least this time they won't be here to shut down our state government like they were during troopergate.

[RamboLiberal]

43. More Info in LA Times

But McCain aides said Wednesday that spending on Palin's wardrobe continued well after the convention, with one custom-made outfit showing up around the time of her "Saturday Night Live" appearance on Oct. 18.

As first reported by Newsweek on Wednesday, McCain aides said some of that money was spent on clothing for Palin's children and husband, Todd, who may have received between $20,000 and $40,000 in wardrobe purchases. The money also included thousands of dollars in shoes. Several aides also said the items included jewelry, but a Palin aide disputed that.

Top McCain aides Schmidt, Rick Davis and Nicolle Wallace were flabbergasted by the magnitude of the spending as the receipts began trickling into the Republican National Committee, aides said.

-----

Palin aides tell a different story. Several close to the governor said Wednesday that Palin was outraged by the amount of money being spent on her clothing and that she was naive about what the clothes cost.

"The very first day of shopping, there was a $14,000 price tag and . . . she was absolutely shocked," one of the Palin aides said.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-palin6-2008nov06,0,1115431.story

[opihimoimoi]

44. Ya see whad happons when ya try to USE someone.....and then the tables are turned???

She ends up using them in RETURN....

"Want me?? Then make me happy by letting me SHOP....."