# GOP Spends $150K To Dress Up Their Caribou Barbie Doll **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 22, 2008, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gop-spends-150k-to-dress-up-their-caribou-barbie-doll/469048 "2008-10-22T13:40:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 10
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2008, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gop-spends-150k-to-dress-up-their-caribou-barbie-doll/469048/181 "2008-10-24T00:06:43Z")
Via [tpmmuckraker.com](http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/10/fec_complaint_filed_against_pa.php): Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington [files complaint to Federal Election Commission](http://www.citizensforethics.org/node/34813). > [@Press Release on Complaint by CREW to FEC](#): > > These shopping excursions violate campaign finance law. > > FECA specifically prohibits a candidate for federal office from converting campaign funds to personal use. > > FEC regulations make clear that the prohibition applies to clothing purchases, such as those made for the Palin family.The RNC implicitly admitted that the clothing was purchased with campaign funds by stating that it will be donated to charity after the campaign. The RNC also relies on this prospective contribution to explain why the personal use prohibition is not applicable as FEC regulations provide that donations by candidates to charitable organizations are not for personal use. It does not appear, however, that this exception would apply to the clothing worn by Palin’s family, even it does apply to her own. I am unfamiliar with campaign finance law at this level of detail. However, I do believe that the Republican National Committee should obey the law. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2008, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gop-spends-150k-to-dress-up-their-caribou-barbie-doll/469048/182 "2008-10-24T02:06:44Z")
> [@Steve\_MB](#): > > As several people already said, the issue is that Imelda-Marcos-style shopping sprees are utterly incompatible with the “hockey mom” image she tries to present. Well, perhaps, but what you call “Imelda Marcos style shopping sprees” could just as easily be called “SOP for national campaigning”. I bet they spent heaps of money getting McCain’s wardrobe updated and I bet the Democrats have spent similar amounts on Obama and Biden’s campaign wardrobes. Perhaps they don’t normally spend that much on clothes and such, but $4,000 sounds like a relatively low bill for daily attention from professional hair and makeup artists (which all four candidates are no doubt receiving). ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2008, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gop-spends-150k-to-dress-up-their-caribou-barbie-doll/469048/183 "2008-10-24T02:18:45Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Well, perhaps, but what you call “Imelda Marcos style shopping sprees” could just as easily be called “SOP for national campaigning”. > > I bet they spent heaps of money getting McCain’s wardrobe updated and I bet the Democrats have spent similar amounts on Obama and Biden’s campaign wardrobes. Actually, we’ve been over this, if you’ll scroll up and read some of the posts. Its pretty clear that in the case of **Obama** , they’re **not** spending that much money. Also, the Obama/Biden campaign hasn’t been making issues out of things like $400 haircuts for the past couple of years. ---
**Author:** ![Rand\_Rover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/db5fbb/32.png) [@Rand\_Rover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rand_Rover)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2008, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gop-spends-150k-to-dress-up-their-caribou-barbie-doll/469048/184 "2008-10-24T03:16:53Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > According to this [NYT story](http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/10/22/gop-consultant-reimbursed-for-palin-shopping-spree/?partner=rssyahoo&emc=rss), if Sarah keeps the clothes, she will have to pay income tax on it. I think SP could argue that she wasn’t given the clothing as an employee because she doesn’t have the job yet. But maybe she’s an employee of the McCain campaign or something. Also, the clothing was given in contemplation of becoming an employee and in furtherance of that purpose, so this argument seems kinda shitty. However, if the plan really is to donate it to charity, then maybe she could argue that she was only given the use of the clothing temporarily (resulting in much less income). ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2008, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gop-spends-150k-to-dress-up-their-caribou-barbie-doll/469048/185 "2008-10-24T03:22:26Z")
> [@Rand\_Rover](#): > > I think SP could argue that she wasn’t given the clothing as an employee because she doesn’t have the job yet. But maybe she’s an employee of the McCain campaign or something. Also, the clothing was given in contemplation of becoming an employee and in furtherance of that purpose, so this argument seems kinda shitty. > > However, if the plan really is to donate it to charity, then maybe she could argue that she was only given the use of the clothing temporarily (resulting in much less income). Doesn’t matter, if she receives “economic benefit” its income - whether she is an employee or not. Its way in excess of any non-taxable gift allowance, so it can’t be a non-taxable personal gift. ---
**Author:** ![Rand\_Rover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/db5fbb/32.png) [@Rand\_Rover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rand_Rover)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2008, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gop-spends-150k-to-dress-up-their-caribou-barbie-doll/469048/186 "2008-10-24T03:29:40Z")
> [@Dangerosa](#): > > Doesn’t matter, if she receives “economic benefit” its income - whether she is an employee or not. Its way in excess of any non-taxable gift allowance, so it can’t be a non-taxable personal gift. The gift allowance is for the giver, not the givee (er, donee, as it were), and it relates to the estate tax, not the income tax. The idea is that a person cannot avoid estate tax by giving all their stuff away right before they die, so there’s a gift tax on gifts in excess of the personal allowance. But someone who gets a gift doesn’t have income, even if the amount of the gift goes over the giver’s allowance. Also, I never argued it could be treated as a gift. As I said, even if she’s not an employee of the U.S. government currently, she may be an employee of something else (i.e., the McCain campaign), and the clothing was definitely given in connection with possible employment. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2008, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gop-spends-150k-to-dress-up-their-caribou-barbie-doll/469048/187 "2008-10-24T03:34:21Z")
> [@Rand\_Rover](#): > > The gift allowance is for the giver, not the givee (er, donee, as it were), and it relates to the estate tax, not the income tax. The idea is that a person cannot avoid estate tax by giving all their stuff away right before they die, so there’s a gift tax on gifts in excess of the personal allowance. But someone who gets a gift doesn’t have income, even if the amount of the gift goes over the giver’s allowance. > > Also, I never argued it could be treated as a gift. As I said, even if she’s not an employee of the U.S. government currently, she may be an employee of something else (i.e., the McCain campaign), and the clothing was definitely given in connection with possible employment. You are right on the gift tax…but its still economic benefit to her - and certainly not immaterial. I think the tax implications of this are going to be complicated…but she already has tax complications with the state paying for her family’s travel. ---
**Author:** ![Rand\_Rover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/db5fbb/32.png) [@Rand\_Rover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rand_Rover)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2008, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gop-spends-150k-to-dress-up-their-caribou-barbie-doll/469048/188 "2008-10-24T03:37:29Z")
> [@Dangerosa](#): > > You are right on the gift tax…but its still economic benefit to her - and certainly not immaterial. I think the tax implications of this are going to be complicated…but she already has tax complications with the state paying for her family’s travel. Right, that’s where the rental argument comes in. What’s the value of the use of a $1000 purse for a couple of months? Hell if I know, but it’s less than $1000. ---
**Author:** ![sinjin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ebca7d/32.png) [@sinjin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sinjin)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2008, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gop-spends-150k-to-dress-up-their-caribou-barbie-doll/469048/189 "2008-10-24T03:40:44Z")
> [@Rand\_Rover](#): > > I think SP could argue that she wasn’t given the clothing as an employee because she doesn’t have the job yet. But maybe she’s an employee of the McCain campaign or something. Also, the clothing was given in contemplation of becoming an employee and in furtherance of that purpose, so this argument seems kinda shitty. > > However, if the plan really is to donate it to charity, then maybe she could argue that she was only given the use of the clothing temporarily (resulting in much less income). So if she was given the clothing as an employee it’s either a gift or compensation so subject to either gift taxes or income taxes, right? ETA: Oops my bad, I thought the gift receiver paid the taxes not the gift giver. But what if the clothing really is a loan? We all know of many, many cases where tailored clothing is a loan right? (The only one that comes to my mind is celebrity Oscar wear, but that can’t apply to a Republican, can it?) So, if the tailored clothing is a loan, do you pay interest on it? At what rate? And how do you determine the worth of the used clothing when it’s returned? ---
**Author:** ![Rand\_Rover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/db5fbb/32.png) [@Rand\_Rover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rand_Rover)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2008, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gop-spends-150k-to-dress-up-their-caribou-barbie-doll/469048/190 "2008-10-24T03:48:21Z")
> [@sinjin](#): > > So if she was given the clothing as an employee it’s either a gift or compensation so subject to either gift taxes or income taxes, right? Read my post above re: the gift tax. This is not how it works. > [@](#): > > But what if the clothing really is a loan? We all know of many, many cases where tailored clothing is a loan right? (The only one that comes to my mind is celebrity Oscar wear, but that can’t apply to a Republican, can it?) So, if the tailored clothing is a loan, do you pay interest on it? At what rate? And how do you determine the worth of the used clothing when it’s returned? No, this is a lease and not a loan (becaue she was given the use of property, not money). She was given a lease on the clothing for zero rent as an employee (or something), so she has income in the value of the lease. ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2008, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gop-spends-150k-to-dress-up-their-caribou-barbie-doll/469048/191 "2008-10-24T04:16:28Z")
**Send lawyers, guns and money…** Rand Rover: With due respect, are you talking out of your ass? Do you have serious reason to believe that the IRS would treat this as a loan? I find that sorta improbable, but I’m not a tax lawyer. ::Googling:: Huh. One bulletin board poster, pushing the loan hypothesis, speculated that it could be compared with a Hollywood costume. Once the production is done, the clothing reverts to the studio. Ah, this is a little better: [http://dontmesswithtaxes.typepad.com/dont\_mess\_with\_taxes/2008/10/palins-duds-uniform-gift-donation.html](http://dontmesswithtaxes.typepad.com/dont_mess_with_taxes/2008/10/palins-duds-uniform-gift-donation.html) [http://taxprof.typepad.com/taxprof\_blog/2008/10/tax-consequence.html](http://taxprof.typepad.com/taxprof_blog/2008/10/tax-consequence.html) a) No, it’s not a uniform. b) Paul Caron, associate dean of the University of Cincinnati School of Law: “This is clearly income.” c) Linda Beal, re: Loan: Fair use value might constitute 90% of the value. d) Nobody mentioned the charity auction concept, alas. e) Hollywood wardrobe hypothesis. BTW: The RNC paid for this. The employer in question is definitely not the USGovt. Presumably the payment will be connected with her campaigning, not her prospective day job in Washington DC. Also: The FEC has regs against using campaign donations for personal use: slush funds were supposed to go out in the 1970s. Let’s not evade the possibility of criminal behavior with overly selective focus. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2008, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gop-spends-150k-to-dress-up-their-caribou-barbie-doll/469048/192 "2008-10-24T04:25:28Z")
> [@Rand\_Rover](#): > > Right, that’s where the rental argument comes in. What’s the value of the use of a $1000 purse for a couple of months? Hell if I know, but it’s less than $1000. Her purse is gonna have a lot of mileage on it – plenty o’ traveling over the next couple of weeks. Not to mention blood if she guts a deer along the way. ---
**Author:** ![bengangmo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@bengangmo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bengangmo)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2008, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gop-spends-150k-to-dress-up-their-caribou-barbie-doll/469048/193 "2008-10-24T05:31:36Z")
On the charity auction angle. I am NOT in the US, so I don’t know how much relevance this wil have, however I would think its a pretty universal principle… I have arranged a charity auction before. Our “donors” (those that bid at the auction) could claim a deduction for the difference between the value of the item and how much they paid (i.e - the amount of the donation). I would imagine that something similiar would work for Palin’s tax liability. Sell the stuff after the campaign? FIne - your tax liability arises from the difference between original purhase price and selling price - if it sells at a charity auction for more than purchase price then no liability ---
**Author:** ![quixotic78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/3ab097/32.png) [@quixotic78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/quixotic78)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2008, 6:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gop-spends-150k-to-dress-up-their-caribou-barbie-doll/469048/194 "2008-10-24T06:48:47Z")
> [@Rand\_Rover](#): > > I think SP could argue that she wasn’t given the clothing as an employee because she doesn’t have the job yet. She absolutely already has the job of vice presidential nominee. But I love this idea of “These clothes are a loan, to be given to charity afterwards.” Why limit it to clothes? I think the RNC should “loan” her a Ferrari and a jet, maybe a stable of ponies for Piper, certainly a whole bunch of nuclear-powered snow machines\* for Todd, some baby strollers and whatnot for the pregnant kid, and so forth. I say $150,000 is only the beginning!! \*[sub]Is a snow machine the same thing as a snowmobile?[/sub] ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2008, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gop-spends-150k-to-dress-up-their-caribou-barbie-doll/469048/195 "2008-10-24T06:57:59Z")
> [@quixotic78](#): > > Is a snow machine the same thing as a snowmobile? Nope. Snow machines _make_ snow. But you could always pretend you were talking about one of [these](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M29_Weasel), which I’m sure the Toddster would love to hunt moose with. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2008, 11:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gop-spends-150k-to-dress-up-their-caribou-barbie-doll/469048/196 "2008-10-24T11:23:19Z")
> [@Tuckerfan](#): > > Nope. Snow machines _make_ snow. . Wrong. In Alaska, a snow machine is what the rest of the country calls a snow mobile or Skidoo. It is just another peculiarity of Alaskan lingo. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2008, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gop-spends-150k-to-dress-up-their-caribou-barbie-doll/469048/197 "2008-10-24T14:43:21Z")
> [@Rand\_Rover](#): > > Right, that’s where the rental argument comes in. What’s the value of the use of a $1000 purse for a couple of months? Hell if I know, but it’s less than $1000. I’m not thinking the IRS would go for that if I tried it - substance over form. Now, the GOP has some more strings to pull than I do - on the other hand, the Palin’s tax issues are going to be fairly visible, and the IRS works on precedence - I’m not sure they would want to let Palin get away with it because suddenly every CEO in the country would suddenly “rent” his Armani suits and his Mercedes from his company. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2008, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gop-spends-150k-to-dress-up-their-caribou-barbie-doll/469048/198 "2008-10-24T16:37:09Z")
> [@quixotic78](#): > > She absolutely already has the job of vice presidential nominee. That’s not a job, since she doesn’t draw a salary for her work (as a nominee). You could argue that she is an applicant for employment, in the same way that someone who flies to Redmond on Microsoft’s dime for a third interview might be. If this situation is analogous to anything, the RNC is to Palin as a sports agent is to a prospective sports-league draftee; agents loan their clients money (against their prospective earnings once drafted), often pay for their draft prep work (interview coaching, pre-draft training, etc.) and so on. > [@](#): > > Actually, we’ve been over this, if you’ll scroll up and read some of the posts. Its pretty clear that in the case of Obama, they’re not spending that much money. Yeah, I went back and read the middle bits of the thread after I posted that. I don’t believe that’s significant, though; the issue is not whether the campaigns spend money to prettify their nominees, but how much. If they spend more on Palin than Biden or whoever, that’s simply a difference of degree. Also, there’s a small difference of circumstance; the three men have held national office previously, while Palin hasn’t. It kind of follows that they’d be better dressed to begin with; I suspect the Alaskan governor’s residence is not a hotbed of professional style (although I may be doing Alaskans a disservice here). ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2008, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gop-spends-150k-to-dress-up-their-caribou-barbie-doll/469048/199 "2008-10-24T16:49:33Z")
And there’s [more…](http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/10/24/pains-makeup-stylist-fetches-highest-salary-in-2-week-period/) (italics added by me): > [@](#): > > Who was the highest paid individual in Senator John McCain’s presidential campaign during the first half of October as it headed down the homestretch? > > Not Randy Scheunemann, Mr. McCain’s chief foreign policy adviser; not Nicolle Wallace, his senior communications staffer. It was Amy Strozzi, who was identified by the Washington Post this week as Gov. Sarah Palin’s traveling makeup artist, according to a new filing with the Federal Election Commission on Thursday night. > > Ms. Strozzi, who was nominated for an Emmy award for her makeup work on the television show “So You Think You Can Dance?”, was paid $22,800 for the first two weeks of October alone, according to the records. The campaign categorized Ms. Strozzi’s payment as “Personnel Svc/Equipment.” > > … > > The campaign’s payment on Oct. 10 to Ms. Strozzi made her the single highest-paid individual in the campaign for that two week period. (There were more than two-dozen companies that got larger payments than Ms. Strozzi). She easily beat out Mr. Scheunemann, who received $12,500 in the first half of October, and Ms. Wallace, who got $12,000. Ms. Lew _(Palin’s hairstylist)_ was the fourth highest paid person in the campaign during that span. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2008, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gop-spends-150k-to-dress-up-their-caribou-barbie-doll/469048/200 "2008-10-24T18:00:52Z")
It’s almost as if she’s a celebrity or something. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gop-spends-150k-to-dress-up-their-caribou-barbie-doll/469048.md?page=9) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gop-spends-150k-to-dress-up-their-caribou-barbie-doll/469048.md?page=11)