Flashback: McCain Said Campaign Cash for Clothes 'Erodes Public Confidence'

Posted by Ryan Powers, Think Progress at 8:31 AM on October 23, 2008.

Earlier this week, Politico reported that the RNC spent $150,000 “to clothe and accessorize vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin and her family.” Georgia10 at DailyKos notes this morning, that on the Senate floor in 1993, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) supported restrictions on the use of campaign funds for “inherently personal purposes,” specifically denouncing the use of such funds on “clothing purchases”:

MCCAIN: Madam President, the amendment before the Senate is a very simple one. It restricts the use of campaign funds for inherently personal purposes. The amendment would restrict individuals from using campaign funds for such things as home mortgage payments, clothing purchases … and vacations or other trips that are noncampaign in nature. […]

The use of campaign funds for items which most Americans would consider to be strictly personal reasons, in my view, erodes public confidence and erodes it significantly.

Tagged as: mccain, clothes, palin

Ryan Powers is a former intern of the Center for American Progress and a senior at the College of William and Mary.