Get off Palin's back about the wardrobe

For anyone to tell me that Palin is being the victim of sexism on this matter is absurd.
First I am the card carrying feminist raised by an activist Grandmother and Mother. I spent my entire corporate career playing the smoke and mirrors game of women's couture...and succeeded very nicely, thank you. If, for instance, Palin was wearing Neimans apparel that was not couture...the rarest and priciest of the priciest.... (very little of NM's mix is 'couture' which is 1) imported 2) the costliest of the pricy by a mile) I would be .I swear....... the first to cry fowl. But to infer, as some have, that the choice a woman has is between TG Max and Neiman Marcus is an insult to very women I know, including the CEO of Neiman Marcus to whom I reported for many years...a woman of incredible talent with a wardrobe to match.

The true double standard here is not male or female. The most expensive suits ar Neimans are generally the Brioni which , say, Trump wears. $5000. But this is not about a GOP 'maverick' wearing a $150,000 in one month wardrobe from Neiman Marcus with Christian Louboutin shoes that many times are more than $1000. I would throw a FIT if ANY woman or man on the campaign trail was doing that. Including and especially one passing themselves off as 'Jane Everyday Hocky Mom'. I know a lot of Jane Everyday Hocky Moms. And trust me...they have not the money to even buy a frivolous pair of high heels, let alone a pair designed in France & imported from Italy, costing over $1000. To go with the $6000 suit and $3000 handbag.

Be far and be mad. This is NOT what you expect or deserve. Form any of them. When Cindy McCain was in a $20,000 dress suit from Oscar de la Renta, I said, "It's her money. She earned it. Shut up!". Why did I say that? Because it was true and it was fair. Can you say that this use of extravagance of the GOP VP and her family deserves a similar defense from me?

Hardly.

Y'all do understand that using political contributions and donations for purchasing personal use items like clothing is specifically illegal don't you? If you don't believe it you can very easily confirm that fact for yourself.

Look up this link to a PDF of the Federal Election Campaign Laws on the FEC's web site: www.fec.gov/law/feca/feca.pdf

Once you have that document open search it for the word "clothing". You will get one hit. There under section 439a titled "Use of contributed amounts for certain purposes" you will find the following text, which could not be any more clear. It's written in perfectly plain English. Take note specifically of item (B) below:

(b) Prohibited use.
(1) In general. A contribution or donation described in sub-
section (a) shall not be converted by any person to personal use.
(2) Conversion. For the purposes of paragraph (1), a contri-
bution 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.

The fact is that neither the McCain campaign nor the Republican National Committee is permitted to use campaign funds to buy Sara $150,000 dollars worth of clothing, not as a gift, not as a loan, not for later charitable donation.

The law makes no exception, clothing may not be purchased with campaign funds for any reason - period. She is required to cloth herself, and like any ordinary American she should have been able to clothe herself presentably for at most a few thousand dollars, which she could well afford. She is capable of following a budget isn't she?

The RNC and Ms. Palin are now in violation of the law she is seeking office to uphold. Now that this has been brought to her attention, if she has a shred of ethics, she will start wearing clothing she paid for herself immediately.

So hmmm....didn't she already had the $500 glasses BEFORE the RNC shopping spree? I for one will not drink the "Oh, we're sooooo frugal..." koolaid. There's already plenty of documented cases of Palin's living high off the government hog antics before this story--that's what makes it so believable. And her denial so UNbelievable.