When it was revealed in October that the Republican National Committee spent a whopping $180,000 on new clothes for Sarah Palin and her family, the McCain/Palin campaign promised that all the clothes would be donated to charity after Election Day. (McCain said on October 26 that 1/3 of the clothes had already been returned). Well, according to the NewMajority website, the clothes are sitting in trash bags at RNC headquarters in D.C.

New Majority:

But for reasons that remain mysterious, the clothes remain stashed at the RNC's Washington, D.C., headquarters. A source close to the issue told NewMajority that the clothes are "in the process" of being donated, and an RNC spokesman corroborated, saying the clothes have indeed been returned from Palin, "inventoried and will be appropriately dispersed to various charities." Attempts for an explanation of when and where the clothes will be donated went unanswered, and the governor's Alaska office does not comment on campaign issues.

The fact that the clothes have not been donated or publicly accounted for, however, has angered some big donors - who want to know exactly how their money was spent, and who are already enraged by the extravagant wardrobe figure. They say it's time for the RNC to air its dirty laundry, if you will.

This should really come as no surprise, being that we're talking about the disastrous McCain/Palin campaign. I just never thought that we would still be hearing stories like this three months after the election. Sheesh. Looks like those RNC lawyers dispatched to Alaska to retrieve Palin's clothes forgot to "donate" them.

(Guest blogged by Logan Murphy)

That's the number former Ohio Congressman Bob Ney will be sporting in federal prison for the next thirty months.

Yahoo:

Former Congressman Bob Ney reported to a federal prison Thursday morning to begin serving a 2 1/2-year sentence for corruption, a fall from grace spurred by gifts from now imprisoned lobbyist Jack Abramoff.

As inmate No. 28882-016, Ney's lifestyle will be more austere and his wardrobe mainly khaki.

The six-term Ohio Republican who once drew a $165,200 annual salary will be getting a wage of 12 cents to 40 cents an hour, depending on his prison job. Movie nights will be in a high school-style auditorium with 1,300 other inmates. He'll sleep on a bunk bed in a room for 12.

Ney pleaded guilty in October to conspiracy and making false statements, admitting he traded influence for golf trips, campaign donations and other gifts arranged by once-influential lobbyist Jack Abramoff and his associates.

Let's give Bob a warm C&L send off, shall we?

WHY TOM RIDGE IS UNFIT FOR PUBLIC OFFICE

From Sunday's very long Washinton Post article on Homeland Security insecurity, which features among other lapses contractors robbing the Federal government blind:

As chief of the Homeland Security Department, Ridge grew frustrated by the drumbeat of bad news contained in the audits, particularly from his department's own office of inspector general, according to Ervin. Twice last year, Ridge summoned the inspector general to his office to complain about his reports, according to Ervin.

Ridge was particularly upset with one report documenting problems with a visa-waiver program and another describing difficulties with terrorist watch lists, Ervin said.

"He said he regarded the reports as being unduly critical," said Ervin, whose political appointment expired in December and who now works at a District think tank. "He was trying to make his displeasure known."

Ridge said he never asked Ervin to "modify or mollify" his reports. But he objected to Ervin's methods.

"I said, 'Do you feel obligated to send every report to the Hill? Does everything you do have to end up in a press release?' " (WaPo link)