Why do republicans think it’s okay for Palin and her family to get away with spending tax dollars this way?
Posted on May 27, 2009 under snowmobile travel | 12 CommentsThe spending spree included a $75,062.63 visit to Neiman Marcus and two stops at Saks Fifth Avenue that totaled $49,425.74, according to Cummings.
Doesn’t sound like “just your average hockey mom.” In fact, the …
… average American spends only about $1,874 a year on clothing and services, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.
The Ticket tracked down the RNC’s financial disclosure records for September and October and confirmed that the RNC did indeed charge the purchases that Cummings cites (they were billed as “campaign accessories”).
They include purchases made at Bloomingdale’s ($5,102.71), Barney’s ($789.72), a men’s boutique called Atelier ($4,902.45) and at two baby clothing and accessory stores.
It’s unclear whether all of the charges were related to Palin (e-mails sent to the McCain-Palin campaign about the nature of the charges were not returned Tuesday night), but some of them almost certainly were.
Newsweek reported in September that a campaign aide took Todd Palin shopping at a Saks Fifth Avenue, where he bought a new suit to wear to the Republican National Convention. And the New York Post reported that Palin gave her big speech in St. Paul in a $2,500 jacket designed by Valentino Garavani and also purchased from Saks.
It is legal for campaigns to buy clothes for their candidates, but it is unusual. Most candidates running for office pay for their own clothing. Politico’s Cummings reports that a review of similar records for the campaign of Barack Obama and the Democratic National Committee revealed no similar spending.
Meanwhile, in other Palin spending news, the Associated Press reported today that as governor of Alaksa she mischarged the state for her children’s travels.
Palin often took her children along while traveling, the AP reports, including to events where they were not invited. The AP says Palin’s office later amended expense reports to specify that they were on official business. Here is an excerpt:
The charges included costs for hotel and commercial flights for three daughters to join Palin to watch their father in a snowmobile race, and a trip to New York, where the governor attended a five-hour conference and stayed with 17-year-old Bristol for five days and four nights in a luxury hotel.
In all, Palin has charged the state $21,012 for her three daughters’ 64 one-way and 12 round-trip commercial flights since she took office in December 2006. In some other cases, she has charged the state for hotel rooms for the girls.
Obviously there is much unwarranted expenditures here and I'm sure this isn't even BEGINNING to scrape the surface.
This started LONG BEFORE the campaign obviously.
And also, you don't see Michelle, Obama, Biden, or his family doing this during the campaign either.
BRIAN: Tell Alaskans that wasn't THEIR tax money she was spending there…you obviously never read the above.
Aimee, you must be clairvoyant. ;~)
READ, people, READ….
Because it’s one of THEM, not you.
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