Sarah Palin's Clothing Allowance: $150,000

No wonder Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin looks every bit as stylish as her NBC doppelganger Tina Fey.

It appears that the governor of Alaska has got a clothing allowance that's fit for a network TV star.

According to The Politico, Palin is living large on the Republican dime.

"The Republican National Committee appears to have 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," reports The Politico.

"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," goes the account. "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. Spokeswoman Maria Comella declined to answer specific questions about the expenditures, including whether it was necessary to spend that much and whether it amounted to one early investment in Palin or if shopping for the vice presidential nominee was ongoing."

Question: If the McCain-Palin ticket gets beat November 4, does the governor get to keep the clothes.

Comments (55)

1. Well they certainly got ripped off. Obviously someone in the RNC does not know how to dress a woman. Sarah Palin's closet: 1 black skirt, 1 black pair of pants, 30 assorted jackets and 2 white blouses. For $150,000 something is wrong somewhere...she has no style, no grace. Where is Mr. Blackwell when you need him?

   Posted by ThatSaid at 10/21/2008 @ 11:12pm

2. I thought she looked much more stylish post-convention. Old Alaska Governor photos showed her in cheap flip flop-dress shoes, about 10 years out of style, and cheap, mis-matched clothes in general. Now, she seems to be dressed in Armani or St. John, and always in a stylish pair of Jimmy Choos. Honestly, she looks really good, although it hardly makes her policies more palatable, and almost seems silly when you hear of her calling small-town America "the Real America". How many women in an Appalachia coal town wear Armani and Manolo's? At least Nancy Pelosi doesn't pretend to be Miss Blue-collar hunter/motorsports chick: it is obvious she is wealthy, and she definitely dresses like it.

   I just figured the McCains personally footed the bill for Palin's clothes: I had no idea that wardrobe could be considered a campaign expense.

   Posted by dawgcatching at 10/21/2008 @ 11:19pm

3. Part 1: little creepy how this fits pattern of abuse of power / comfort with OPP - other people's money ...

   The Washington Post reported that Palin billed the state for meal money while spending more than 300 nights at her Valley home during her first 19 months in office and regularly takes family members on state-paid trips.

   Part 2: comfort with OPP - other people's money ...

   guardian.co.uk, UK Her wealth is put at more than $100m, including eight houses that landed her husband in trouble when he was unable to put a number to them. ...

   Posted by winyahn at 10/21/2008 @ 11:46pm

4. $150,000?!?!?

   but she looks so tjmaxx......

   Posted by frosty zoom at 10/22/2008 @ 12:35am

5. But one must not forget

   that most of it

   was

   on

   LIPSTICK!

   Posted by hsuBfools at 10/22/2008 @ 01:23am

6. She may have purchased several genuine fur coats & ax-cessories. You gotta look smart out in the wilds. Isn't that where most of her constituents reside? From the high fashion salons of Fairbanks to the musher's race into the wilderness, luxury & practicality rule. I mean in Alaska, the activists target fake-fur factories. They tried releasing them fuzzballs, but they just won't budge.

   Posted by Sorelish at 10/22/2008 @ 02:11am

7. Rome is burning and we are discussing the fashion expenses of a dimwit.

   How does that somehow speak to the political puerility of America?

   Posted by chaoszen at 10/22/2008 @ 03:10am

8. But can she fly?

   Posted by sloper at 10/22/2008 @ 03:22am

9. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6y5ZBZx4vng

   Posted by mikecope at 10/22/2008 @ 03:33am

10. I'm curious to know which (McCain vs. Palin) got the Wonder Bra.

    Posted by skeletonman at 10/22/2008 @ 07:21am

11. SOCIALISM : definition Any of various theories or systems of social organization in which the means of producing and distributing goods is owned collectively or by a centralized government that often plans and controls the economy.

    So is the RNC supporting socialism when it allows Sarah Palin and family to go on a hog wild shopping spree worth $150,000.00 during this time of great economic crisis ?

    They do say that the RNC owns the clothing and it will be given to charity............

    Yeah right

    Posted by timenotonmyside at 10/22/2008 @ 07:52am

12. So is the RNC supporting socialism when it allows Sarah Palin and family to go on a hog wild shopping spree worth $150,000.00 during this time of great economic crisis ?

    Posted by timenotonmyside at 10/22/2008 @ 07:52am

    Sounds more like despotism to me.

    Posted by skeletonman at 10/22/2008 @ 08:06am

13. Truely one of the burning issue of our day

    Posted by CHIP THORNTON at 10/22/2008 @ 08:26am

14. "Question: If the McCain-Palin ticket gets beat November 4, does te governor get to keep the clothes."

    It's my understanding the answer is "no".

    Posted by Person at 10/22/2008 @ 08:49am

15. Yeah, she WAS some pretty expensive lipstick.

    But one gots to admit that it does kinda go along with the 8 homes and HOW many cars... one needs to go to hockey games or stir up a mob of ignorant low life haters.

    Put the HIP in hypocrisy the GOP new con repub dic'tator followers just have to have to be THE only true Americans.

    And the inevitable avalanche continues.

    Posted by hsuBfools at 10/22/2008 @ 08:56am

16. "So is the RNC supporting socialism when it allows Sarah Palin and family to go on a hog wild shopping spree worth $150,000.00 during this time of great economic crisis ? "

    I don't understand this argument. It's no more socialistic than buying air time for ads. It's the way the campaign chooses to spend its money in order to craft the candidates.

    Another way to think about it: The candidates clothes are like sports team's uniforms. They are neither funded by nor belong to the athletes. They represent the style and look of the team.

    Posted by Person at 10/22/2008 @ 09:03am

17. The GOP corporate dic'tator machine grinded McPalin into their mirror image--

    and

    THAT COSTS BIG MONEY.

    No irony then that Obama/Biden are receiving the PEOPLES money.

    Fairly emblematic.

    Posted by hsuBfools at 10/22/2008 @ 09:06am

18. Yeah, really not that important...

    I'd stick with her dumb-ass assertion that "the Vice-President controls the Senate"!

    To quote Kyle Broflovski's mom....

    Wha-wha-WHAT?!?!?!?!???

    Posted by Maskdelta at 10/22/2008 @ 09:15am

19. How much did Obama spend on his jet?

    Posted by abell12ct at 10/22/2008 @ 09:17am

20. Palin will list all the clothes on E-Bay when she finished in Nov., then when when she runs in 2012 shout from the podium how she did it and cleaned up the RNC, as she steps on her party mates in order to get the Presidential nomination.

    I hope she has long since faded into the sunset before 2010.

    Posted by bPoint at 10/22/2008 @ 09:23am

21. This is not an issue. Drop it. Obama raised 150,000,000 in one month while people are going hungry. I don't think gov. Palin should be anywhere near the nuclear trigger, but her high end style is really not an issue. Leave it alone. The more it is harped on the more I want to vote for her and old rusty brain. Let me put it this way, "Who gives a @#$/"

    Posted by lachatte at 10/22/2008 @ 09:25am

22. Palin will list all the clothes on E-Bay

    Posted by bPoint at 10/22/2008 @ 09:23am

    and sell them at a loss........

    Posted by frosty zoom at 10/22/2008 @ 09:35am

23. Where is Mr. Blackwell when you need him? Posted by ThatSaid

    Mr Blackwell died last Sunday.

    Posted by abell12ct at 10/22/2008 @ 09:43am

24. From an anonymous marriage counselor:

    It's like the repub new con GOP dic'tator lovers are 9's.

    And the dem progressive leaners are 6's.

    The US citizenry need democracy to come first and for both 6's and 9's to work together as in cooperative 69, but the repub new con dic'tator lowly corporate greed machine wants the bigger profits found in the divisive 96.

    And like a strong marriage that works the best-- the most 69 and the least 96 relationships, even calms the tensions of all neighbors too.

    McPalin is offering everyone a lot more 96.

    Functional people get it, don't want it.

    O'Biden is offering a lot more 69.

    Dysfunctional people get it, don't want it.

    Posted by hsuBfools at 10/22/2008 @ 09:43am

25. I am sure glad I have never donated to the Republican Party! I would be pretty upset to discover I had dressed a hick like her! To bad they didn't invest in a bur qua for her. that seems to be more fitting for one like her.

    Posted by ganddw42 at 10/22/2008 @ 09:57am

26. I am sure glad I have never donated to the Republican Party! I would be pretty upset to discover I had dressed a hick like her! To bad they didn't invest in a bur qua for her. that seems to be more fitting for one like her. Posted by ganddw42

    Did you donate to the Dems and Biden's hair plugs?

    Posted by abell12ct at 10/22/2008 @ 10:02am

27. Troopergate,clothes buying,using tax dollars in order for her kids to travel with her,etc does negate the reformer and small town values image she portrays.That's just politics as usual.

    Posted by i'm nobody at 10/22/2008 @ 10:05am

28. Posted by winyahn at 10/21/2008 @ 11:46pm

    "guardian.co.uk, UK Her wealth is put at more than $100m, including eight houses that landed her husband in trouble when he was unable to put a number to them. ..."

    I don't know about your source, but I'm pretty sure they're talking about Cindy McCain here and not Sarah Palin. And Cindy is one of the few that has used her wealth to help many people all over the world. She's been a wonderful humanitarian, and her bio shows that clearly.

    Posted by jayneslilsis at 10/22/2008 @ 10:11am

29. Yes, Jaynes, I think I'm slipping. Mesmerized by the spinning scandalometer needle!

    I WAS referring to the other half of Caribou's "Palin-McCain" ticket. How McCain similarly has readily hooked himself to other people's money, e.g., Cindy, with the main point being he doesn't admit / discuss / explain this. Enjoys the 8 houses and the jets but doesn't release Cindy's tax returns.

    Why not be proud of Cindy's 100 million? Why not have her discuss the importance of 'small cap' corporations like hers for the economy? Take us on a tour. Show off the goods. How does it all work? Show us how much trickles down. Show us all the spin-off Joe the Distributor's...

    And to your point about her humanitarianism... this is also a part of the Reagan ideal. Gubbermint doesn't have to stop famines, etc. The inherent goodness of people, benefiting from all the trickling down of the pure market big dogs will step up and do this. So show this off as well. Show off how having 100 million actually goes hand in hand with all the jets and houses and with philanthropy. They keep it all buttoned up tight.

    Posted by winyahn at 10/22/2008 @ 10:41am

30. I don't particularly care about her clothing allowance, but it does go a bit farther in making her look like a hypocrite, claiming to be "Joe Sixpack" and then wearing thousands of dollars worth of clothes. There are much more pressing reasons to fear her gaining power, though. I haven't stopped being shocked and horrified by THOSE reasons yet.

    Posted by hatorisblindeye at 10/22/2008 @ 10:52am

31. How about a 2016 team of Hillary with Tina Fey as VP? I love Tina, always have, and her writting skills will make White House speaches & press releases more stimulating.

    Posted by cleavinger at 10/22/2008 @ 11:20am

32. There is already a big GOPer itching for Sarah's outfits after she loses ...

    ... drooling in anticipation of strutting out in those duds, Rudy G is writing the check as we speak.

    Posted by sloper at 10/22/2008 @ 11:29am

33. Nichols.....are you joking or are you bucking for a job on Entertainment Tonight? We can find this silly crap all over MSM. The Nation advertises itself as an alternative to MSM.....try to live up that pledge.

    Posted by OneVote at 10/22/2008 @ 12:23pm

34. Did you donate to the Dems and Biden's hair plugs?

    Posted by abell12ct at 10/22/2008 @ 10:02am

    I did! I donated 10 bucks yesterday to the campaign. The plugs are looking good, Joe!

    Posted by k330k at 10/22/2008 @ 12:38pm

35. i wonder if these payments included any $400 haircuts.....

    Posted by frosty zoom at 10/22/2008 @ 12:44pm

36. Hey, bottom line-- it's all for lipstick.

    Posted by hsuBfools at 10/22/2008 @ 12:48pm

37. I'm friggin sick of benevolent multi-millionaires, And even sicker of non-benevolent ones. Clint Eastwood, kiss my ass.

    Posted by Sorelish at 10/22/2008 @ 12:50pm

38. Can we skip over this one please?

    Palin is a small time politician from a part of the country where what one wear doesn't impress anyone. Of course they're going to have to clothe her. She simply doesn't have the reserve wardrobe that a McCain, Obama or Clinton have ready to go. Is $150k a crazy amount of money, especially when people are losing jobs left and right? Absolutely.

    But there are SO many other thing with which to nail Palin to the wall, that harping on wardrobe expenditures delegitimizes all of the seriously wrong things we have to criticize her about. For instance, her inability to grasp what a Vice President actually does or that when she imagines dinosaurs, she sees them wearing little saddles with the Geico cavemen riding them.

    Let this one go.

    Posted by rmhamlett at 10/22/2008 @ 1:19pm

39. Someone here made a comment that Obama raised $150,000,000 while people are starving and I just wanted to say how stupid that is. That money came from people who chose to part with their money. They weren't scammed, they know where it is going. It is also important to note that that money will be put right back into the economy. Whenever they rent a space, buy food, gas, hotel rooms, pay salaries, buy ads - that means a business and its employees are getting paid and those employees can then purchase their own goods and services.

    Posted by allonfla at 10/22/2008 @ 1:36pm

40. Except that McPalin paid for 150K worth of lipstick made in China...

    Posted by hsuBfools at 10/22/2008 @ 2:22pm

41. Posted by OneVote at 10/22/2008 @ 12:23pm

    I second that motion. This article is no less silly than Sean Hannity talking about how much Edwards paid for his haircuts.

    Save this crap for cable please, John.

    Posted by freiheit1 at 10/22/2008 @ 2:27pm

42. I second that motion.

    Posted by freiheit1 at 10/22/2008 @ 2:27pm

    maybe.

    $150,000 buys you half a plumbing business.

    Posted by frosty zoom at 10/22/2008 @ 3:02pm

43. Posted by winyahn at 10/22/2008 @ 10:41am

    "How McCain similarly has readily hooked himself to other people's money, e.g., Cindy"

    It's between him and his wife how they spend their money. He's not "hooking himself onto other people's money", it's theirs.

    "but doesn't release Cindy's tax returns."

    Why would he open his family up to the scrutiny of the press picking apart his tax returns? Cindy's philanthropy is well documented. And btw, you don't have to live like a pauper to be a philanthopist.

    "Why not be proud of Cindy's 100 million?"

    Who says he isn't. Just because he doesn't lord it over the rest of us, doesn't mean he's not proud of her and her family.

    "Why not have her discuss the importance of 'small cap' corporations like hers for the economy? Take us on a tour. Show off the goods. How does it all work?"

    That might be a good idea, but from what I've read about Cindy McCain, she doesn't enjoy the spotlight.

    "And to your point about her humanitarianism..."

    Do you think the Jolie/Pitt family's extravagant living diminishes their humanitarian work? Or is your disdain only for the McCain family.

    Posted by jayneslilsis at 10/22/2008 @ 3:28pm

44. It's interesting how they immediately said the clothes were going to charity after she was finished with them.

    I wonder if this charity is located in Alaska.

    Posted by ancientgirl at 10/22/2008 @ 3:53pm

45. ancientgirl-Just what a poor person needs.Clothes that are worth enough to get you killed so that someone can steal them.

    Posted by i'm nobody at 10/22/2008 @ 4:00pm

46. redriver-Glad to see that one of you got to do the Marxist thing,but I beat you to it on another board.

    Posted by i'm nobody at 10/22/2008 @ 4:59pm

47. Palin would so hot in PRISON GRAY! That's where she belongs.

    Posted by jazzfan at 10/22/2008 @ 5:43pm

48. $150,000: that is one expensive Caribou Barbie.

    Does it come with a lifesized caribou? Or is that the coat that she's wearing?

    It's even more sobering and infuriating to see this number ... because it is pretty much the $ deficit my non-profit program -- which provides treatment to children who've been abused -- now faces due to budget cuts this year. That money would do wonders for us ...

    Where are our priorities?

    Posted by jjy at 10/22/2008 @ 5:56pm

49. Of all the things to attack this woman on, we're talking about her CLOTHES?

    Seriously?

    Rich people have expensive clothes.

    Posted by TexasFlood at 10/22/2008 @ 6:01pm

50. I'm sure Barack Obama pulls his suits off the racks at JCPenny lol.

    Posted by TexasFlood at 10/22/2008 @ 6:09pm

51. If Palin was REALLY a conservative.

    She would ask Pelosi for her used Armani suits.

    Rumor is, Nancy only wears them a few times.

    The GOP needs that money for advertising.

    N/G'08

    Posted by bleedingheart at 10/22/2008 @ 6:39pm

52. I am sure that when Sarah Palin "staged" a stop at Walmart last week to buy diapers for her infant son--obviously, in an effort to convince folks she shopped at Walmart--she had no idea that news of her 150,00 wardrobe would rear its ugly head, and then, so quickly.

    Here's the link to the palin/walmart story.

    http://www.mydailysentinel.com/articles ... news00.txt

    Posted by bobforer at 10/22/2008 @ 6:46pm

53. She IS a Real Maverick.....it's not everyone that can turn down a chance at shopping at Wally World! No.....not jumping on the band wagon like everyone else....a Real iconoclast here folks. I'm just glad she's not "saving" the money I've contributed to political organizations!

    Posted by TBull at 10/22/2008 @ 6:53pm

54. Wow! Those little rascals call Barack an elitist!!!! I thought she said they were going to watch how they spend. They are fooling everyone in those sheep clothing. Let's see, Maverick and her are going to clean up DC when they are spending money for clothes and she can't pay her own traveling expenses and charging for working at home. HMMMMMMM and this country believes in the Maverick and her.

    Posted by kywoman at 10/22/2008 @ 7:04pm

55. Lay off the clothes! OF COURSE she needs to look like a candidate. She needs to visit 50 states, all with climates different from her home state.

    This is no defense of her politics, just of the reality of campaigning.

    Posted by justmusing at 10/22/2008 @ 10:44pm