Gov. Sanford’s Future in the Republican Party, RIP
The right is coming down just as hard on Sanford as the left — if not more so. (Also read Roger L. Simon: What Mark Sanford Did (Wrecked Our Priorities))
As the chatter about Sanford’s off-the-wall press conference grew, the wagons weren’t circling around him, they were riding him down:
[Sanford] spends a lot of time — too much time for many commentators — explaining his relationship with his dear, dear friend. I think commentators want the typical playbook call where he disowns the relationship entirely and writes the woman out of his life completely.
He doesn’t do that. I think that’s because he’s in love with her and won’t throw her under the bus.
That doesn’t make it noble or anything. But the media seems to be expecting him to say, “and it’s all over now, and a huge mistake,” etc., etc., and he doesn’t appear nearly willing to say that. The complaint seems to be that Sanford’s not saying the typical, Oprah-approved contrition stuff, and they’re holding it against him that he’s deviating from accepted Contrition Tour form.
I don’t know. This seems a silly complaint. Hold it against him for the affair and etc., but not that he’s deviating from the damage-control PR checklist. …
Obviously his presidential chances are over, and likely his governorship, too, although he only has a year left in his term.
— Ace, Ace of Spades HQ
You know what’s kind of interesting and different about the Mark Sanford story? He got caught like, mid-affair. John Edwards got caught after his mistress had a (obviously his though that’s still denied) child. Eliot Spitzer got caught months later when the madam was investigated. Even Bill Clinton got caught only when Monica told someone, long after it happened. It’s rare that the politician gets caught like this, affair still going on, getting off a plane from getting some Argentinian nookie. … [The press conference is] so much weirder than you can imagine. Most of it is like “what the hell is he talking about?” Is he really not on drugs? Really?
Men … as faithful as their options? I know, I know, I just said I don’t have time to be here in front of this screen … but the baby is sleeping and I am watching this Mark Sanford press conference and finding it hard not to cry. I know women cheat too, but … Do men have any idea what damage they cause when they do this? Sanford could have had it all. I just don’t get that. I’ll never get it.
“He could have been president, now he’s finished: Witness the power of the male libido. … Under different circumstances I think he could have survived this, but it’s a quirk of our politics that voters don’t mind cheating as much as they do inept cheating. Infidelity makes you a cad; unannounced week-long disappearances and rambling confessional pressers about the new lady in your life makes you a cad and erratic, and Americans don’t dig erratic in their would-be presidents.”
— Allahpundit, Hot Air
B@stard
It’s the only fitting word for a man who abandons his wife and four sons on Father’s Day weekend to indulge his “overdrive” on an Argentinian fling.
Mark Sanford: B@stard.
Really, Mrs. Sanford, just shoot the two-timing son of a b*tch. Please. No jury in South Carolina would ever convict you. While you’re at it, go ahead and shoot that worthless son of a b*tch Lindsey Graham — another guaranteed mistrial, because there would be at least one jury member who’d figure Lindsey needed killing.
It turns out that there’s an elected official out there who is so colossally stupid and so cavalierly indifferent to his duties as an elected official that he somehow thought he could go completely AWOL (on a different freaking continent) for six days and no one would, you know, notice, or care to investigate where he was. Turns out there’s a governor out there who thought it was a good idea to lie to his staff, his family, his friends (including RedState), and everyone who ever worked to get him elected or advance his national stature all in the name of satisfying his libido. Turns out that Mark Sanford is guilty of the most reckless dereliction of duty and betrayal of trust it has been my displeasure to witness in decades. …
Mark Sanford, you have betrayed your family, your friends, your constituents, your supporters, and God, all for basically nothing. You have proven to be the slimiest member of a barrel that is filled with some pretty slimy characters. If you have a decent bone left in your body, resign immediately and hopefully we can soon permanently move past news cycles featuring either your face or your name. Goodbye and good riddance.
— Leon H. Wolf, Redstate
I am sick of these cheaters in high office. I am sick of how they embarrass their supporters. I am sick of how they humiliate their wives. I am sick of how they abuse the public trust.
In the face of this kind of reaction Sanford’s only faint hope at this point is to tenaciously hold on to power for a few weeks without having his approval rating completely bottom out, Blago-style. If he can pull that off, riding this disaster out may be possible.
Then, one day in the future, after his reputation has been rehabilitated, he may have a chance to at least be a senator.
However, at this point, it seems just as likely that he’ll quit and move to Argentina as continue on as the governor of South Carolina. Maybe he can run for president there.
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John Hawkins is a professional blogger who runs Conservative Grapevine and Right Wing News. He also writes a weekly column for Townhall.
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63 Comments
1. Eric Florack:Say what you will about Mark Sanford, I’ll likely agree. I found Michelle Malkin’s comments on the matter particularly potent, for example.
But I’ve seen nothing yet that changes my perception of yesterday afternoon that the way this feeding frenzy was started and maintained was and remains highly orchestrated.
Do not misread me here, this is not a defense of Sanford. It does strike me as interesting, however, that the leakage of a string of emails which by federal law are supposed to be kept private, ending up in the hands of the South Carolina newspaper, and nobody asks how. On whose servers were these emails stored?
That same newspaper sat on those articles for some as yet unspecified period of time. Why? Was it so as to create maximum political impact?
Interesting, too, the number of scandals that ended up being revealed between 1-20-00 and today… the most recent being Ensign and Sanford… both considered presidential possibles for the GOP. Did these guys suddenly get super-randy because Obama is in office? That doesn’t seem a reasonable assumption, either.
I’m telling you, folks, there’s more going on here. The way this fell together so slick, just smells to me of someone’s engineering.
And again, let’s be clear about this; Sanford is done, and should be so. But I’d be very interested in knowing how this story came to light and why. This whole situation simply reeks of politcal gamesmanship, at levels that would embarrass, I think, those benefitting from it.
Jun 25, 2009 - 5:59 am 2. ddc:Party affiliation really holds no water. The real question is…since these two morons (Ensign) got found out within weeks of each other, how many more morons on the public dole HAVEN’T been found out…yet? My guess is Washington, the most corrupt city in the country, is rife with these particular brand of cockroaches.
Clearly, a call to extermination (of the insect kind) is long overdue.
Jun 25, 2009 - 6:06 am 3. Eric Florack:No, John, that’s just it; it didn’t explode then. The pump had been primed by days of speculation about where he went and why.
Jun 25, 2009 - 6:09 am 4. Craig:The staff coverup was the most onerous. And the leftwing loons will have an absolute field day. Let the feast begin.
Jun 25, 2009 - 6:20 am 5. David Thomson:Who in heck is Mark Sanford? He is so yesterday. Sanford will be quickly forgotten. The GOP has other presidential candidates. Also, the American likely voters have too much else on their plate. The violence in Iran and the dire threat of Obama’s economic policies are deemed far more important.
Jun 25, 2009 - 6:23 am 6. Reaganite Republican:He was seperated, all he had to do was be honest about it. He wasn’t hiding anything from his wife, his coverup was the mistake that cost him… pretty dumb.
The DNC has been tracking his every move since he embarassed Chairman O with his rejection of porkulus funds. Anybody with a dozen brain cells could tell you he would get caught. They didn’t uncover this… but they would have eventually.
And on Fathers’ Day Sunday, when he’s got 4 young boys- hellooo!
I for one am glad nobody will be talking about a presidential run for the guy, I’ve seen enough of his judgement to know we’d be much better off with someone else.
He was never going to beat Palin, Gingrich or Romney anyway.
I hope it was worth it, Gov… I pray for your family.
Jun 25, 2009 - 6:46 am 7. The Shadow:Ed Floric – Nice try to divert the attention from the real trajedy – Not a shred of evidence does not stop wingnuts from trying to find a silver lining (How can we blame Obama for this)in a sordid story
Jun 25, 2009 - 7:15 am 8. Dougf:Hey at least he appears to really have ‘feelings’ for the ‘Other Woman’(oooh — how Shameful of Him !!!), and has received some cheap commentary from the ‘nothing better to do than point fingers brigades’, to the effect that he DIDN’T simply throw her under the bus in one of those tawdry kibuki moments. And they are outraged over his deviation from standard form.
In an age of non-apology apologies, and insincere platitudes, I found it sort of refreshing that at the least he used LOVE( or if you are unkind—Infatuation) as the reason for his selfish behaviors. Better by far than the usual garbage these things generate.
Not defending the guy —- he did a BAD and treated his family shabbily in a fit of self-indulgence. But anyone who supposedly spends 5 days crying in Argentina over an affair ‘of the heart’ is not a complete ‘bad guy’ in my books. And I don’t feel all that great casting stones at him. He should now resign ASAP of course. That goes without saying. But that’s on a political/social level.
On a personal level — He just screwed up. As he said in great detail.
Don’t we all ? At some point? Well except for the perfect people. They NEVER do.
Jun 25, 2009 - 7:16 am 9. David Thomson:The Drudgereport has already removed the headline concerning Mark Sanford. The top story now concerns Al Gore’s attempt to screw the American citizens with his global warming nonsense. The possibility that my family might have to minimally spend another $3,000 annually via cap and trade legislation—is deemed of far greater importance than a governor’s sexual appetites. The Sanford escapade should peter (the pun is intentional) out by the end of the day.
Jun 25, 2009 - 7:38 am 10. Peg C.:I’m reading that his staff has known about the affair and my guess would be a number of Republican officials knew as well. If this is the case, can’t it be that the “Where in the world is Mark Sanford?” chorus actually began on the right? As a way of forcing this out so we can dispose of a lame horse before the party gets more invested in him?
I, too, wonder how many more there are. Power corrupts absolutely. Politicians might be the lowest, slimiest form of life there is. We need an exterminator bigtime. We cannot afford more of this going into 2010 and especially 2012.
Jun 25, 2009 - 7:46 am 11. tommyd:Yeah go ahead and hammer the guy. He was wrong to do what he did.
After everyone gets through beating up on him maybe they can look at the esteemed Congressman Barney Frank.
Frank has escaped all responsibility for the Fannie / Freddie debacle ,
oh by the way Frank was romantically involved with Herb Moses who just so happened to be a Fannie Executive Director but I guess that was no big deal, after all the Fannie / Freddie follies were only one of the main ingredients in the financial meltdown.
But surely the fact that Barney was nailing Herb had nothing to do with Barneys Very staunch support and repeated assurances that Fannie and Freddie were solid viable concerns. (over the warnings of many)
I mean after all Barney said himself he went to great lengths himself (well I let you be the judge of what that means) to ensure that His & Herb’s relationship in no way interfered with the countries business.
But hey Sanford obviously has some personal things to work out, it ain’t like he is the first person to have martial difficulties ya know. His course of action has not cost the country anything much just personal loss.
Let’s look into ol Barney and see how much his libido cost U.S. tax payers…
Oh but I forgot, Barney is a lib and a gay one at that so I guess we can’t go there……
Jun 25, 2009 - 7:51 am 12. Eric Florack:That’s not allowed is it…..
Heh. You apparently didn’t read what I wrote or chose to ignore parts of it.
That said, think ‘blue dress’ here, and tell me you’d not be asking similar questions in THAT event.
True, Doug, true. It would have saved the country a lot of pain had Clinton done so, for example. John Dickerson points out at Slate this morning:
Well, it may be properly said they’re not ignoring the real tragedy… they’re making politcal hay out of it, right, Shadow? (spit)
Meanwhile my questions go unanswered. Who broke the law in relasing those emails?
Jun 25, 2009 - 7:53 am 13. RightwingHippyChick:It’s just as well he was found out now, instead of later.
So this is good news, just for a change.
Jun 25, 2009 - 7:58 am 14. Eric Florack:Also possible, which is why I’m rather surpised we’ve not seen the Democrats calling for an investigation, here. A revelation of such would give them more to scream about. Of course there’s one reason I can think of that we’ve not seen such calls….
Jun 25, 2009 - 8:00 am 15. Chuck Pelto:TO: John Hawkins, et al.
RE: Sanford
He deserves it. Especially from those with the morals that he betrayed.
Seeing this I’m reminded of a ‘block of instruction’ I, and my newly commissioned comrades-in-arms had at the Infantry Officer Basic Course. The instructor was the school chaplain. The stand-out comment he gave us was….
Regards,
Chuck(le)
[If electricity comes from electrons, does morality come from morons?]
P.S. Sanford is a good example of a bad example…..
Jun 25, 2009 - 8:33 am 16. arhooley:Eric Florack:
Nope, nothing staged. The newspaper that had the e-mails said they held onto them because they couldn’t confirm their veracity. Once Sanford confessed, they released them. Simple.
Jun 25, 2009 - 8:37 am 17. TheMightyMonarch:The same journalists that showed absolute disgust and horror at Sanford’s actions are the same that said “It’s just sex!” when a sitting President purjured himself rather than admit to getting some strange.
@Erik Florack: Yeah, I’m not much of a conspiracy nut myself, but this whole thing stinks. Media pump-priming, sitting on the story, and the leak of private e-mails…targeting a potential 2012 rival to a sitting President with a history of playing dirty politics (Jack Ryan, anyone?). Sanford may have been a willing dupe but I’d sure as hell like to see some investigation as to who leaked the e-mails.
Jun 25, 2009 - 8:44 am 18. blotto:I think some are alleging a conspiracy, and if you step back and view this objectively, there is some credence. Gov. Sanford is not stupid. So what drove him to think he could get away with this affair (leaving his family like he did on Father’s Day)? I may be wishing, but I think there is more to this story. I am reminded of the movie, The Firm, with Tom Cruise. He was set up to fall by having an affair.
If in fact he is this stupid then like RightWingHippyChick said, and I agree, better now than later..
Jun 25, 2009 - 9:01 am 19. The Shadow:Oh goody let all investigate the whistle blower to divert the wingnuts from dealing with having to face that one of their own was caught in an act of betrayal
Jun 25, 2009 - 9:05 am 20. Eric Florack:You’ll forgive me for not taking the word of an org that willingly suborned a felony in even reciving those emails, and the same org who spent a great deal of spittle defending Bill Clinton on essentially the same charge.
Jun 25, 2009 - 9:21 am 21. qwerty:Did his wife kick him out for his infidelity? Or for his wimpy sissy behavious, which was on display during the press meet?. I have my reservations on the former…
Jun 25, 2009 - 9:22 am 22. TheMightyMonarch:“Oh goody let all investigate the whistle blower to divert the wingnuts from dealing with having to face that one of their own was caught in an act of betrayal”
I’m not seeing a lot of your so-called “wingnuts” defending this philanderer.
The objection here is, once again, the employment of the media double standard. When a sitting Democrat president lies under oath to avoid admitting infidelity, his prosecution is seen as vengeful, unnecessary, and conspiratorial. When a sitting Republican governor is caught flying down to Argentina to boink some floozy (a perfectly legal, albeit vile act), the outrage coming from the media is palpable.
You may not recall the shrill accusations of a “vast, right-wing conspiracy” gaining acceptance in the media during the Lewinsky scandal, yet when people call into question the media coverage of this Republican governor they’re called “wingnuts”. Starting to see a pattern here?
Jun 25, 2009 - 9:40 am 23. avoidswork:I see a pattern: Republican leader. Touts family values. Having extra-marital affair.
John Edwards, Democrat, also committed this grevious offense and I am pleased he did not get too far in the presidential primaries.
Once again, it’s the hypocrisy. But Sanford was worse, in this case, because he was literally AWOL from South Carolina and did not cede temporary power to his Lt. Governor. Whether his staff knew where he was or did not and scrambled: even they must have suspected their “story” was fairly bogus. That aside, this man seems deeply conflicted as evidenced by his mini-vacay from the map. It does not seem at present, that his priorities should be on the state of South Carolina. He has deeper, personal issues to attend to first.
I hope his family comes to an understanding/agreement about this situation and can do it in relative peace. I really do not like the fact that the content of the emails is out there. It feels too voyueristic, and too none of my business.
In your arguments for those who turned over the email (Eric @20), you could argue that Monica Lewinsky was NOT the one who initiated the scandal, but Linda Tripp who had secretly recorded their conversations. The problem was the bruhaha made by the Republicans, especially in the House. ((Yes Mighty @22 – I disagree with your assessment.) The Kenneth Starr debacle. As of yet, we have not seen the circling of the wagons around Sanford by Dems – yet.
Jun 25, 2009 - 9:56 am 24. MarkD:Meanwhile, in New York, the citizenry is relieved to watch the State Senate squabble instead of wasting our money.
While the governor is otherwise occupied, your wallet is safe. I see this as a benefit. I wish Barry would do the same.
Jun 25, 2009 - 9:58 am 25. Eric Florack:Point taken.
Here’s something for you to ponder: Spitzer.
Jun 25, 2009 - 11:05 am 26. JED:The party symbolized by the donkey has become the party of the jackals or in this case, the laughing hyneas. The party symbolized by the elephant has become the party of the crocodiles. Those are real crocodile tears because he was caught between principle and pants down.
Jun 25, 2009 - 11:19 am 27. The Shadow:TMM – There was plenty of outrage. aour Clintons behavior. The question where we differ is should he be removed from office for his sins
Jun 25, 2009 - 12:07 pm 28. mariecurie:Was he in Argentina during a time when he was supposed to be in his office, doing his job on tax payer’s money? If so, good riddance.
My heart breaks for those poor boys. He has/had such a beautiful family–at least from the picture that I saw from the swearing-in.
I’m so sick to death of these wives who stand behind their husbands and say they still love them and want to work it out. Jenny Stanford’s statement is full of the religious language of forgiveness and reconciliation. Why can’t these women be honest and say that they are as mad as hell? And she has had a powerful career, for Pete’s sake. When did she become such a passive spectator? At least she did kick him out two weeks ago.
I wonder what makes a man who “has it all” (beautiful family, money, power, prestige) go and do something so stupid to mess it all up.
Jun 25, 2009 - 12:18 pm 29. Dean wormer:As compared to driving off a bridge, leaving a drowning woman in the car, then failing to call the cops for 12 hours (Ted Kennedy), or having a prostitute in your house that you found in an advert (Frank), or lying in a lawsuit (Clinton) its perhaps not so bad. But for a mature man on the republican side, supposedly responsible for running a state, its the end.
Jun 25, 2009 - 12:23 pm 30. Moogie:Dougf and Eric Florack: Thanks for your sensible comments. I find the response of outsider’s to this man’s personal dilemma a lot more disgusting than the actions he took. Why do people delight so wickedly in another person’s folly? This includes both the conservatives and the liberals in these forums. You all remind me of the knitting woman from “A Tale of Two Cities.”
Take that plank out of your own eye before pointing out the spinter in others. And be ever so perfect from here on out, or you may end up on the chopping block for some indescretion in the future.
Oh, and by the way: a man who is satisfied in the home does not go outside of the home for fulfillment.
Jun 25, 2009 - 12:36 pm 31. BettyBlue:Hopefully this foolish, irresponsible man has no future in the Republican, or any other party.
That being said, I can’t help but wonder if all the uproar about this is to distract us from what’s going on in Iran, the imploding economy and Obama’s plummeting ratings? Hey, what are John and Kate up to? And what’s Paris Hilton doing these days?/That was sarc., son!
Jun 25, 2009 - 12:54 pm 32. BettyBlue:26. Jed, if the hyenas laugh too loudly, we can just remind them about:
1. John Edwards.
2. Teddy Kennedy.
3. Spitzer.
Jun 25, 2009 - 12:55 pm 33. avoidswork:Moogie @30: what do you mean by satisfied?
I do hope that is not a slight towards his wife, Jennifer, who may not have been happy herself yet remained faithful.
Eric: Spitzer resigned after being a stupid hypocrite for his Tough on Crime stance (absolutely, idiotically stupid). And Ted Kennedy’s sins…oy. But that was back in the day when the name “Kennedy” was uttered with reverence. GWB had some DUIs that were kept on the down low because he was a Bush of the Prescott/George H.W. variety. (I would argue that Dem v. Repub isn’t so much in play for Kennedy/Bush as was “rich and privileged”).
Mighty @22 — it was vengeful. Yes, he LIED LIED LIED. But to say that the Starr/impeachment buzz was not vengeful is to be a fuzzy on the details surrounding it. And the utter hypocrisy from Burton and Gingrich, to name a few, of that time.
Jun 25, 2009 - 1:09 pm 34. Tri Geek:Name the ultimate crime for Liberals:
1) Lying to a grand jury (Clinton)- Nope, see nothing wrong with that, doesn’t everybody lie about sex?
Jun 25, 2009 - 2:12 pm 35. momiss:2) Smoking crack in a hotel room with a prostitute (Mayor Berry)- Nope, that seems perfectly normal, let’s re-elect (after he gets out of jail)
3) Hiring a gay lover to a influencial gov’t position, then crying about coming out of the closet to his wife and kids (McGreevy)- Nope, this is New Jersey, can’t we all relate.
4) Having a gay lover run a bordello out of your apartment, then providing unlimited support to another gay lover who is running Fannie Mae into the ground and walking away with million- Nope. Don’t have a problem with that
5) Dating an underaged intern, and taking said underaged intern on a European trip (creepy Dem congressman from PA)- Nope, that sounds cool, lets promote him
6) Hipocracy- That’s IT!!! Nothing can be worse than Hipocracy!!!
I think the only hope he has is to join the Democrats. They aren’t held to higher standards on these kinds of things. hahaha
Jun 25, 2009 - 2:19 pm 36. momiss:Also, as a woman, after watching him in that conference I would not be surprised if he is not as appealing to his mistress now. He appeared extremely weak and well, weasel-like. Not attractive.
Jun 25, 2009 - 2:25 pm 37. Mike K.:Just remember when you get statist liberals that say, “See, you guys are all hypocrites and your morals don’t work.”
Your response should be, “The morals work, it’s the people that fail. But I expected a response like this from most statists, pass the buck and never take responsibility to his or her actions. That’s where the failure lies.”
Jun 25, 2009 - 2:55 pm 38. Cybergeezer:Nows the time for Sanford to become a Democrat; They’ll put him in a superior position!
Jun 25, 2009 - 3:30 pm 39. Juliet:Hey his story is out of the news now. RIP & my prayers go with you Michael Jackson
Jun 25, 2009 - 4:55 pm 40. Juliet:Maybe Gov. Sanford needs more practice. Serial adulteres can get away it because “you know it just Well, Bill” or whovever. Its sad for the Gov’s family.
Jun 25, 2009 - 5:06 pm 41. Meryl:Liars of all stripes in all political parties will be the death of this country, regardless of the distinctions in what they lie about.
Jun 25, 2009 - 6:09 pm 42. Setphanie Screamer:Wow his Argentine babe must have been one spectacular piece of ass for him to sacrifice his family and his career for her. His wife is a fool if she takes him back, he cheated on her, he lied to her, to the people of S. Carolina, he deceived his sons, he let down the Republicans. She should kick him to the curb, take every cent he has and wish him luck as she locks him out of her and their son’s lives. On the plus side I hear the weather in Argentina is pretty good.
Jun 25, 2009 - 6:16 pm 43. samuel - texas hunting man:As it should be. What’s right is right regardless of who your friends are.
Jun 25, 2009 - 6:25 pm 44. rbell:Well I had a good commentary but it was censored. Had something to do Sanford with being in the wrong party, a line about Bill Clinton and another with Barney Frank. Oh yes I asked if we could bury the terminally lame Republican party and put it out of its misery. Nothing too controversial. I have to be nice or they may ban me for life and I haven’t slept with anyone.
Jun 25, 2009 - 6:52 pm 45. Moogie:#33 avoidswork: “Moogie @30: what do you mean by satisfied?
I do hope that is not a slight towards his wife, Jennifer, who may not have been happy herself yet remained faithful.”
How do you know she remained faithful? How do you know if she was happy or not? Do you know what their marriage was like? Does anyone in here really knows what goes on behind those proverbial closed doors?
Jun 25, 2009 - 7:49 pm 46. Dave Surls:“As compared to driving off a bridge, leaving a drowning woman in the car, then failing to call the cops for 12 hours (Ted Kennedy), or having a prostitute in your house that you found in an advert (Frank), or lying in a lawsuit (Clinton) its perhaps not so bad. But for a mature man on the republican side, supposedly responsible for running a state, its the end.”
I agree with that sentiment. Liberal Democrats are the scum of the earth, and I expect them to act like what they are.
Republicans should be held to a higher standard.
Jun 25, 2009 - 8:29 pm 47. Concerned:Now all Sanford needs to do is fall on his sword and fade out os sight. He has destroyed his trust with me and lots of others. He will be remember far better for that than trying to pull a John Edwards !!!!
Jun 25, 2009 - 9:49 pm 48. Marc Malone:Yes, he should be impeached. He didn’t turn over his powers to his Lt. Gov while he was out of State. That was a gross dereliction of duty. It also explains how he got found out. You kinda notice when the guy with the power is incommunicado.
As for Jenny, she kicked him out a couple weeks ago? That would explain his running away to console himself with the other woman without thinking. People in emotional turmoil do stupid things.
As for the e-mails, were they private, or was he stupid enough to use his government account?
Jun 25, 2009 - 11:55 pm 49. James S.:This reminds me of a line from the “Sternn” chapter of the movie “Heavy Metal”
“The most you can hope for is that they bury you in secret so nobody desecrates your grave!”
I doubt Gov. Sanford has “an angle”
Jun 25, 2009 - 11:55 pm 50. jvon:Stick a fork in him, he’s done. That Democrats have done worse is irrelevant; that a man this irresponsible was considered for the VP slot just a few months ago is an embarrassment. This is somebody that deserves to go under the bus. Let him get a real job like the rest of us.
Jun 26, 2009 - 9:01 am 51. sheesh:50. jvon: . . . “Stick a fork in him, he’s done. That Democrats have done worse is irrelevant”
What about the Republicans who have done worse?
Jun 26, 2009 - 11:52 am 52. avoidswork:http://winwab.com/2009/06/mark-sanford-wife-jenny-sanford-jenny-sanford-statement/
“I would like to start by saying I love my husband and I believe I have put forth every effort possible to be the best wife I can be during our almost twenty years of marriage…
I believe wholeheartedly in the sanctity, dignity and importance of the institution of marriage. I believe that has been consistently reflected in my actions…”
Thus, Jennifer Sanford’s own public statement is implicit: she kept her vows.
No, I don’t know what goes on behind closed doors, but your initial comment read as sexist: “Oh, and by the way: a man who is satisfied in the home does not go outside of the home for fulfillment.”
You may not have been implying that it was up to Mrs. Sanford to keep him satisfied, but that is what I inferred. I apologize for my mistaken interpretation if that was not your intent.
Jun 26, 2009 - 1:38 pm 53. Chuck Pelto:TO: qwerty
RE: His Wife Has….
….kicked him out of the house.
Regards,
Chuck(le)
Jun 26, 2009 - 3:24 pm 54. abi:Y’all still loved Clinton, even after the cigars and blue dress. What did Sanford do that was as bad or worse then Clinton? NOTHING!!
Oh, yeah, Clinton was a “good ole boy”, and just havin’ a little fun. His personal life was his “own business”. Well, the same goes for Sanford.
Quit being so self righteous!! You don’t know about this man’s personal life and what has gone on. Bible thumping is unbecoming..
or how about client #9?
Jun 26, 2009 - 3:34 pm 55. dck:In November of 2008, I cast the last vote of my life for the lesser of two evils. I can do no good for my country with that false choice. “Brand” no longer matters when both are fully-integrated, articulating parts of a professional political class that has taken on a life of its own and is destroying the Nation.
I’ve moved beyond calling a two-headed coin but I still don’t know exactly what that will mean: Do I vote for the Libertarian on faith and principle? Do I cast a write-in for my local mayor (Mormon, a fine and proven public servant)? Do I strap on a “suicide-vote” for the Democrat, to send the Republican Party the way of the Whigs and make room for a real opposition?
Late at night, when it’s quiet, and dark thoughts come to mind, I begin to suspect that many important members of the Republican Party, like the Appalachian Trail lizard, are actually sleeper agents placed by the Democrats and activated at critical moments to harm the Republican Party. That would be entirely within the radical tradition of the Old Left (Barcelona, 1936), so it can’t immediately be dismissed as paranoia. Turn off the lights and think about it tonight when you’re alone. You’ll see it too.
Only some truly radical changes, imposed by the American People not the politicians, can “fix” a broken system of governance currently balanced on the razor’s edge of disaster and wholly different from what the Framers intended. There is no conventional, two-party electoral solution. I don’t know the answer, but I do know we are far more than one or two election cycles away from home.
Jun 26, 2009 - 6:40 pm 56. Joe:Think it is interesting that between Michael Jackson’s death and Governor Sanford’s marital problems, the real news, the news coming from the House was almost completely overlooked. Guess being trampled on by the government via unread bills costing us trillions is just not that appealing to viewers. Eventually, when they all wake up, they will wonder how it happened. Nancy Pelosi, I am sure, was just delighted! Folks, the media is making suckers of us all!
Jun 27, 2009 - 5:27 am 57. Bill Perron:Ever since Adam and Eve man has taken a fall because of a woman, the poor guy cheated because he wasn’t getting what he need at home plain and simple. Stop with the stone throwing unless you are without sin.
Jun 27, 2009 - 10:12 am 58. sheesh:57 Bill Perron . . . Sounds like you’ve used that excuse yourself. How’d that work out for ya?
Jun 27, 2009 - 10:22 am 59. myth buster:It is a wife’s job to sexually satisfy her husband, and likewise it is a husband’s job to sexually satisfy his wife. Mind you, the dereliction of one does not justify the infidelity of the other, nor is all infidelity caused by lack of sexual satisfaction- some people are just scum.
Jun 27, 2009 - 10:43 am 60. dck:“Joe” #56
True, but ultimately the problem is not “The Media.”
They are only enablers, and such blatant partisans that we now have a rough, “two-party” media (though the new wing doesn’t have credibility parity and the power to declare an “official” national story, yet). The problem is not a corrupt Fourth Estate but the out-of-control, professional political class that corrupted it.
Limbaugh covered the action on this bill as it was unfolding during his show on Friday. Did you notice how many Republicans voted for this outrage or were wavering? One congressman(a Blue Dog,”conservative,” Democrat) said he wanted to be sure Pelosi had enough votes to pass it but he himself wanted to vote against it to protect his re-election chances. We need a political New Deal to get rid of ALL the careerist Monopoly-Players in Washington,D.C.
The breathtaking disloyalty, pompous dramatics, and wholly self-centered behavior of Sanford and Ensign just illustrates what KIND of people are attracted to professional politics, lending further support to the argument that we need radical change in the established political system.
Regarding “Cap-and-Trade,” I, too, hope people “wake up” soon, but while John Q clearly is aroused (tea parties) he doesn’t see clearly the root of the problem yet. Currently, we have too many people–including most of the writers on this site–arguing for a Republican revival as the answer. Either they, too, don’t see the root of the problem, or as water bearers for the Republican “Brand” put a blind eye to the telescope. Either way, they are by default as much a part of the problem as the Mainstream Media.
It will be up to us, I’m afraid, to see for ourselves the forest among the partisan trees and initiate a drive for real reform.
Jun 27, 2009 - 10:48 am 61. Neil Davis:“On Twitter, the sniping was merciless: David_in_Austin: Sanford outsourcing affair. What a slap to the face of American homewreckers.”
Funniest thing i’ve read in weeks!
Jun 28, 2009 - 12:04 pm 62. Bill Perron:58 sheesh A real man never has to use anything as an excuse, that should be obvious and common knowledge to any real man.
Jun 28, 2009 - 7:44 pm 63. Vi:It amazes me how the Right can take, what is usually a feeding frenzy for them-when it happens on the Left….and still blame the Left for it!!!!
Media (read “Lefties”) are UPSET because Sanford isn’t following “the script” ?????
Right Wing Nuts who shove the Bible down everyone’s throat…the fire and brimstone version….NOW want to talk about LOVE and Forgiveness…GIVE ME A BREAK!!!
The Guy is being caught in Lie after Lie after Lie-LIES HE IS PUBLICLY TELLING…he keeps editing his story…in sickening detail…every time each of HIS LIES is uncovered….
AND this is the fault of the media !!!
that one of the Rights MANY MANY “WHITED SEPULCHERS” has been officially outed…By HIMSELF…and…by his REPUBLICAN political rivals…and they want journalists to “stop the feeding frenzy”
but just blame the left…Denial…it works…but only for a while…
Have fun “tea bagging” each other…
Jun 30, 2009 - 5:51 pm