I want to know where all the outrage is?
I was shocked to read that the Republican National Committee felt it was necessary and appropriate to outfit you, Sarah, with clothes for your appearances to the tune of $150,000 donated dollars. What happened to your persona as middle class hockey mom? Have you just been aching for a nice Ralph Lauren outfit while you were running around Walmart shopping for your brood of five children and soon to be grandchild?
Why don’t we put that amount of money in perspective? We are firmly in the middle class in this household. Our net income generally is right around $35,000 a year. We manage to live on that amount, have no outstanding balance on our credit cards and no mortgage on our home, although we do have a car payment. Heck, we even manage to put money into savings for our retirement.
Since the fashion maven quoted on the news yesterday estimated that you, Sarah, paid around $5,000 per outfit you were sporting, I was trying to figure out how much the outfit I have on cost. This is my standard daily wear, it takes me from computer to garden to the massage room where I work. By the way, I admit that I did actually buy some of it at Walmart.
I have on a pair of black cotton slacks that cost me $5.99 when I purchased them last spring. I was so happy to find pants with pockets in them that I bought three pair, two black ones and one dark green. The shirt I have on is a men’s v-neck 100% cotton t-shirt that I tie-dyed myself. It cost me $2.50 plus I had to go out to my friend’s house, visit, have lunch, and play with tie-dyes for an afternoon. It is starting to get cool here, so I have a sweatshirt on as well. Since it is silk screened with an amusing picture and motto, it cost me $25.00. I bought it at the Cady Cheese Co. in Wisconsin. Another rather expensive thing I have on is my socks. They came from the Post Exchange at Ft. Leonard Wood, and are official uniform socks for wearing with boots. They were $10.00 a pair. My footwear is Birkenstock Arizona sandals. They cost me $95.00 two years ago. I have another pair of mary jane style Birkenstocks I inherited from my mother-in-law, some nice Redwing work shoes (made in the USA!) and a pair of black pumps (1 1/2″ heels)(also made in the USA).
No. I am not wearing underwear. None. Nada. Deal with it.
No. I do not wear makeup. I haven’t for years due to the cancer promoting chemicals cosmetics contain. I woudn’t start, and I realize that I would look horrible on TV. Too bad. I’m way too fat for that medium, anyway, makeup wouldn’t help the situation.
My entire outfit today excluding shoes cost $53.49. If I was going to buy another pair of shoes to alternate with my Birkies, I’d probably spend around $100.00. So, if you do the math, I can get another pair of shoes and 2,802 more outifits for the amount of money you spent for a campaign that was to be a maximum of 2 months long.
Hey, let’s get back to that amount, the money you spent, why don’t we? Wasn’t that $150,000? How about the fact that this household could live on the amount of money you spent on wardrobe for FIVE years? Huh? How about that? Doesn’t this bug anyone else?
FIVE YEARS!! We could live on it for five years.
A person who works 40 hours a week making $9.00 an hour (which is more than the minimum wage)(and which is a REALLY great job in my town of Lebanon) makes $18,000 a year. That was Sarah Palin’s clothes budget for one week.
Hope all you members of the Republican base are happy with the way the Republican Party chose to use your hard earned donations.
Now, I ask you all, “my friends”, especially you in the Republican base who are making the kind of money I am (or less), was that $150,000 money well spent?
I admit, if I was running for Vice President and was going to make a speech to a bunch of people, I would probably put on a nicer shirt, maybe even a jacket. I have a few nice tops I picked up at the Bear Market consignment store up in Camdenton for around $3.00 apiece. I’m not sure I would feel compelled to buy a new jacket. I still have a very nice wool/cashmere blend forest green blazer I bought during the Amway Years. I have a couple of real nice dresses that would do just nicely for any formal occasions, so I’m set there.
I don’t really care if people get tired of looking at the same clothes. And that wouldn’t change if I was running for public office. If that was the case and I was making a speech, I would be expecting that the people listening to me want to HEAR what I have to say, LEARN where I stand on ISSUES, and would not particularly notice what I happen to have covering my body to keep me from breaking the decency laws.
It would also make me very recognizable when I was at an appearance. People would be able to identify my me by the nice green jacket they were used to seeing me wear.
And here’s another thing that has been on my mind. I have to question your judgment because you, a mature woman who has gone through FIVE pregnancies and put the concomitant wear and tear on your body, are choosing to wear shoes with what appear to be FOUR INCH stiletto heels.
Don’t your feet hurt? Are you aware that you are damaging your hips, knees and lower back? Who is going to pay for your knee replacement? For your hip replacement?
How much did those shoes cost? How much were you willing to voluntarily shell out to destroy your joints?
How in the world are you able to carry your baby and walk at the same time when you are wearing those stiletto heels? Oh, that’s right, you really can’t. That’s why you have Piper or Bristol right there to hand the infant off to. And that brings up another thing I’m curious about. Why don’t you ever hand the kid to the First Dude or one of your sons? Are you a sexist as well as a clothes horse with some clothes sense but no horse sense?
Just one more: Are you able to shoot a moose in those shoes? How hard would it be to climb up into the airplane or helicopter in them if you were going off on an aerial wolf hunt?
What does your choice of footwear say about your judgment? What does your choice of wardrobe say?
Was that $150,000 money well spent?
DON’T FORGET TO VOTE!
And if you liked my rant, you will love what Margaret and Helen have to say on the subject today. Check it out and then surf their blog.
Excellent rant!
Thanks, hmh.
You gave me back the belief there are Americans with common sense after all. Lately I’ve hesitated a lot – not only because of the Lipstick Pitbull.
The mere thought of her having control over the Button could give anyone nightmares.
I wouldn’t really care so much if she spent her own money, but it does seem a bit excessive to use donated funds. I bet McCain and Obama and maybe Biden wear expensive clothes too, but all men’s clothes look so similar that it’s hard to tell the difference.
Well, the records show that Obama and Biden have paid for all their clothes out of their own personal funds.
What was wrong with the clothes she wore when she was governor?
I liked your interesting rant.
definitely put the expenditure/waste into perspective
LOL!!
I love it! Thanks for visiting my blog, coming here this morning has really made my day. I just walked the dog and ran around the house to pick up Legos and underwear before our piano teacher came. My outfit will fit under the $6 range
. Plus, except for shoes and underwear (I do wear them), I buy our clothes at the thrift store. Always. Funny thing is, people always ask us where we got our clothes 
..I bet I could find Sarah’s outfit for under $100……
Dear GITG: I bet you could too. There are thrift stores everywhere that have amazing stuff in them for very little money. My favorite place to shop regularly has very beautiful 100% silk blouses that I see in catalogs for over $100 on sale for $3.
Oh, since I found Margaret and Helen about a week ago, I check in with them daily. I’m feeling the same outrage you are. I wear Russell athletics mens (cause they’re more comfortable and probably fit my size 16 frame better) pants and a t-shirt. When it’s warm, as yesterday, I wear the same thing in shorts. Clothing is the least of my worries. I never wear makeup. Too much trouble, and heavens, every woman who wears it looks as though they’ve been embalmed. It’s a disgrace how some fools look up to that befuddled, high-heeled woman. And I voted last Monday, first day of early voting here. Obama gets my vote!
Brenda
most of the outfits I wear on Corset Fridays came from thrift shops
Boy, your thrift shops must not be in the Ozarks!
I’m wearing a cotton skirt which I sewed myself (can you hear the pride in that statement?!). Turns out that the tedious needlework lessons I was forced to endure at school were useful after all.
As for Sarah Palin, her party’s expenditure on her clothes says so much about their attitude to women in general (i.e. it is more important to be good-looking than intelligent or well-qualified) that I’m not even surprised.
She is so disgusting. And we get to deal with her-the Real and True Sarah Palin-when she loses and comes back to Alaska. And she WILL be a monster. Her true self has reared it’s ugly head during this campaign.
I’m sorry, but if the RNC handed me bags full of $5ooo suits I would have gone apoplectic. “Our country is in the middle of an economic CRISIS and you’re handing me THIS!?!?!? What a slap in the face for Americans! Who on god’s green earth-besides fashion designers, fashion critics, and the top earning 2 percent can tell the difference between Manolo Blahniks and Payless when they see me on TV?!?!!?”
stopped in to say hi, check on your garden….love your rant – you go Girl! I planted a bunch of mums that were tossed out at the garden stand – perhaps some will come back next year!
Outraged? I thinks it’s way beyond that now. Disgusted, embarrassed, ashamed, insulted, aghast, stunned, shocked are just appetizers towards the word that needs to be invented to appropriately describe how I feel about it. It’s morally corrupt, like the republican party. It’s an excellent example of McCains poor judgement and geriatric myopia. She’s not a women’s women, she’s a daughter of the patriarch starved for male approval and attention. What a pathetic role model, and a royal “fick” you statement to real American women like us. But that’s nothing compared to my outrage that anyone at all would condone war as acceptable. I’m outraged that this nation is currently bombing into Syria and Pakastan by the way, making greater problems for us all while we’re talking about Barbie “botch’s” wardrobe. That said, you did an outstanding job putting the spending and moral illness into an excellent perspective as it is such an example of the insanity of our culture. I am truly grief stricken Ellie and intensely disguted. “Change is a comin” to Sarah’s skeleton and nerves. So pathetic. So sad. So tragic. I hope we are toasting to joyful hope on November 9th. Even then, it’s slowing down the catastophy facing the human race and planet.