McCain Aide: "Wasilla hillbillies looting Neiman Marcus from coast to coast" (Newsweek)

[kpete]

NEWSWEEK has also learned that Palin's shopping spree at high-end department stores was more extensive than previously reported.

One aide estimated that she spent "tens of thousands" more than the reported $150,000, and that $20,000 to $40,000 went to buy clothes for her husband. Some articles of clothing have apparently been lost. An angry aide characterized the shopping spree as "Wasilla hillbillies looting Neiman Marcus from coast to coast," and said the truth will eventually come out when the Republican Party audits its books.

http://www.newsweek.com/id/167581

[Overseas]

1. Digusting comment by a member of the disgusting elistist snobs that ran

the McShame campaign. One of those Country Club First types.

THEY DECIDE to give their Caribou Barbie a huge clothing allowance. She uses it and they trash her about it.

They use their own idea of the clothing allowance to trash rural people, even though they were supposed to be courting those votes with the selection of Sitcom Sarah. They really are gross Country Club elites-- using the rural folks for votes and then slandering them in private.

[seabeyond]

14. they told her to buy three suits for convention and use stylist. hardly giving her a HUGE

allowance and then trashing her for it.

[avaistheone1]

19. Three suits and a stylist for $150,000?!!!

WTF. That is a total rip off no matter who is paying for it.

Palin is obviously not a hockey mom, and the GOP was not staging her to look like one with that kind of an outrageous outlay for 3 suits and a stylist.

It is ridiculous and turns people off. Most people in their life times will not spend that much money for clothes.

Republicans still don't get it. It is the economy stupid.

[seabeyond]

27. who says they allotted 150k. that is what she spent reportedly and now more.

they told her to get three suits and styled. that is it. she did the rest.

[glitch]

24. Did they just give her a credit card and a stylist and say GO? And then she went nuts?

REALLY? In which case they are all idiots. Time spent shopping instead of prepping? Why didn't they just send out a personal shopper?
What the hell was going on over there?

There's a freaky surreal dark comedy in this story. Coen brothers, batter up!

[seabeyond]

28. we will have to hear the story. remember during that time she was on ice....

mccain was out campaigning and they couldnt use her cause she was so unseasoned and bad. couldnt go out and campaign with her. she had a good two or three weeks of doing nothing but being drilled on the debate. sounds like her time spent was shopping, stylin and sharpin claws for debate.

[ContinentalOp]

31. The story says that it was largely paid for by a wealthy donor who was shocked when he got the bill.

She also got staffers to put stuff on their personal credit cards, which the campaign only recently discovered now that staffers are trying to get reimbursed.

[smb]

38. I Guess That's One Checkbook That's Gonna Be Closed Next Time...

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[smb]

37. Well, DUH

Did they just give her a credit card and a stylist and say GO? And then she went nuts?

REALLY? In which case they are all idiots.

You find it hard to believe that the McCain campaign staff did something really stupid? That would be what, the 379th really stupid thing they did? :rofl:

[AngryOldDem]

2. I really want to know the backstory of how Palin got on the ticket. n/t

[Chiyo-chichi]

3. Read this New Yorker article

http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2008/10/27/081027fa_fact_mayer

[AngryOldDem]

23. Thanks. I have it bookmarked and will definitely read it. n/t

[kwolf68]

4. Same with me

It was an illogical choice. There were plenty of people that could have fired up the Fundie base without ALSO firing up our base. She positively made me much more active that before and she also inspired me to donate more money to Obama than I originally would have.

[Scriptor Ignotus]

10. I was vetted more thoroughly for my position

as an Excel-analyzing desk jockey then she was for the vice Presidency. Their campaign was a joke.

[grasswire]

5. two pieces of Palin news here

First, she had low-level staffers hide additional purchases of clothing for her on their own credit cards, for which they had to seek reimbursement!!

Second, this: Palin asked to speak along with McCain at his Arizona concession speech Tuesday night, but campaign strategist Steve Schmidt vetoed the request.


HA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That's why she looked so glum.

[Vanje]

29. Why did Palin use low-level staffer's credit cards

Why didnt Palin use her own credit card, for reimbursement?

Is it maxxed out?

Have her banks denied her credit?

[grasswire]

33. I'm assuming they were campaign-issued Amex cards....and that ..

...she was hiding the purchases that way. Trying to, anyway. They probably didn't give her a campaign Amex card. I wouldn't!!

[smb]

40. Low-Level Staffers' Personal Credit Cards?

Either their campaign organization was an even bigger cluster foxtrot than I thought, or the Wasilla Hillbilles were hiding their spending spree from the campaign itself (perhaps they were skimming off some of the cash).

[AndyTiedye]

6. Now the Daggers Come Out. This Should be FUN to Watch

[backscatter712]

7. And so, the GOP Night of the Long Knives begins...

:popcorn:

[Patiod]

9. I love the smell of popcorn in the morning

The Phils are the World Series Champs, Penn State is one of the top three teams in the country, our long national nightmare is over, and now for the sideshow!!!!!

[bvar22]

8. !

[Johonny]

11. This is the best part

Palin asked to speak along with McCain at his Arizona concession speech Tuesday night, but campaign strategist Steve Schmidt vetoed the request.

[smb]

41. Strategist My Ass

I find it hard to believe that anybody made that decision without clearing it with Gramps himself.

[TexasObserver]

12. The first thing you know, Ole Todd's a millionaire. The kinfolks say "Todd move away from there!"

[earth mom]

21. ROFL!

:rofl:

[chatnoir]

13. So they told her to buy 3 suits and hire a stylist but she went hog wild

From the article:

NEWSWEEK has also learned that Palin's shopping spree at high-end department stores was more extensive than previously reported. While publicly supporting Palin, McCain's top advisers privately fumed at what they regarded as her outrageous profligacy. One senior aide said that Nicolle Wallace had told Palin to buy three suits for the convention and hire a stylist. But instead, the vice presidential nominee began buying for herself and her family—clothes and accessories from top stores such as Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus. According to two knowledgeable sources, a vast majority of the clothes were bought by a wealthy donor, who was shocked when he got the bill. Palin also used low-level staffers to buy some of the clothes on their credit cards. The McCain campaign found out last week when the aides sought reimbursement.

...............

McCain himself rarely spoke to Palin during the campaign, and aides kept him in the dark about the details of her spending on clothes because they were sure he would be offended. Palin asked to speak along with McCain at his Arizona concession speech Tuesday night, but campaign strategist Steve Schmidt vetoed the request.

[FKA MNChimpH8R]

32. The "wealthy donor" is a Minny guy with close ties

to Shitheel Norm and KKKarl. Some sort of weaselly operative. I am sure he wound up billing the RNC or the McCain campaign.

[quiet.american]

15. "Palin sailed into the room wearing nothing but a towel...." Unbelievable.

At the GOP convention in St. Paul, Palin was completely unfazed by the boys' club fraternity she had just joined. One night, Steve Schmidt and Mark Salter went to her hotel room to brief her. After a minute, Palin sailed into the room wearing nothing but a towel, with another on her wet hair. She told them to chat with her laconic husband, Todd. "I'll be just a minute," she said.

[Vanje]

30. Only a towel to wear!!??? She really DID need new clothes!

NT

[Richard Steele]

34. I'd call that "completely believable".

I've had someone do that to me; she was a narcissistic, shallow,
DESPERATELY NEEDY little attention seeker, exactly like Palin.

I had completely forgotten her until just now, but it occurs to
me that her personality (persona) was more like Sarah Palin's
than anyone else I can recall meeting.

[quiet.american]

35. Yes, I hear you. :) It is completely believable. nt

[WillyT]

16. Big Ole K & R !!!

:wow:

:kick:

[Obamanaut]

17. The Palinheads don't care. There is a two question poll on the

Neal Boortz site asking whether or not Palin will be back in 2012. The choices are "absolutely" and "no, hell no"

The "absolutelies" are now at 75% http://boortz.com/nuze/index.html

In my defense, the Boortz site is how I found DU several years ago.

[high density]

18. hah, Palin wanted to speak last night

what a dim bulb. She really is something else.

[The Night Owl]

20. LOL! Chosen by God for a shopping spree such as this!

[ROh70]

22. Why didn't this come out BEFORE the election?

[deadparrot]

25. And so it begins...nt

[Blaze Diem]

26. How will the State of Alaska deal with Palin when all this 'truth telling' comes out?

Seems they might look more seriously at Palin's out-of-control spending habits and her ability to see herself & her family as "entitled".
Perhaps they wil seriously look at how her home on the lake came to be, and were she & Todd simply following the "entitled" path of Ted Stevens.

[Vanje]

36. Alaskans are apparently unbothered by overt corruption.

They just re-elected Senator Convicted Felon.

[nomaco-10]

39. poor sarah "I ran for vp and all i got was a few suitcases full of designer clothes." n/t