Gov. Sanford

[lostfan]

So, yeah, while the site is down, we get one of the most bizarre political scandals that I've heard of in quite a while to come to a head. WTF Gov. Sanford?

[StrangeSox]

That was pretty crazy. Of course he won't be resigning any time soon, even though he demanded that Clinton did.

 

For some reason, my work's firewall stopped blocking Soxtalk with the new server switch

[NorthSideSox72]

Yeah, hard to know where to begin on this, so I'll skip right to present time updates.

 

They interviewed the wife yesterday, after the family had gotten together to talk. She then left the house, seperate from the Gov. When she was asked if she felt this would effect his career, she basically said, that is none of my concern. Then Sanford walked out later, and was not in a talking mood.

 

I think she dropped the hammer on him. Good.

 

[lostfan]

Meh that is between the two of them as far as I'm concerned. It doesn't have anything to do with his job but I am still free to laugh at his bizarre behavior.

[NorthSideSox72]

Meh that is between the two of them as far as I'm concerned. It doesn't have anything to do with his job but I am still free to laugh at his bizarre behavior.

Well, the press ASKED her about his job.

 

Also, the fact that he had an affair, is not in itself something that would effect his ability to govern.

 

But, the fact that he left the country for a week without telling ANYONE where he was going while sitting as Governor... the fact that the affair is now public and used as a rally cry for his opponents... the fact that he apparently used state funds (at least in part) for his little trysts... all DO have an effect on his ability to govern.

 

[lostfan]

I mean the affair in and of itself. All of the other stuff is another story.

[StrangeSox]

He also took a government-paid trip to Argentina for a "business conference" or something. He did agree to reimburse the state of Georgia for that one.

[lostfan]

He also took a government-paid trip to Argentina for a "business conference" or something. He did agree to reimburse the state of Georgia for that one.

*South Carolina

[Rex Kickass]

This whole scandal is starting to read like a Craigslist Missed Connections ad.

[BigSqwert]

Another case of "do as I say, not as I do".

[NorthSideSox72]

The more I think about it, the more I am changing my mind on this - I really do think that having an affair, even itself, does indeed effect someone's ability to govern in high office.

 

I say high office, because that is key here. If you are a governor or someone else in that level of spotlight, in the modern age, you simply have to assume it will probably come out eventually. So really, by making the selfish choice, you are also choosing to give away your political capital. Its nearly inevitable.

 

[Balta1701]

Couldn't care less about him having an affair.

 

Care a fair amount about the fact that he feels it appropriate to legislate and lecture everyone else's sex life (Btw, adultery is still illegal in South Carolina).

 

If I were in that state though, I'd be trying to have him impeached for how he's handled the affair. Wasting public funds on it? Reimbursing the state doesn't count. If he hadn't been caught then he'd have had the state pay for a vacay with his mistress. And then on top of it, skipping town to the point that no one has any idea where you're at? Lying to people about where you're going? Leaving a state owned car at the airport filled with items that make it look like you went hiking? Leaving the state ungoverned for a week (would have been 10 days if his original plans hadn't been interrupted by people noticing). That's an awful record. What would have happened had there been some weather or someone broke out of a prison, something that required a legit declaration of an emergency? You actually need the governor's signature on that. The level of irresponsibility there boggles the mind.

 

Anyway, from now on we have a new political metaphor. "Hiking the Appalachian Trail".

[Rex Kickass]

Newsweek: Mrs Sanford - PR Genius

 

http://www.newsweek.com/id/203875?from=rss

At some point, after Gov. Mark Sanford launched into his weepy press-conference apology and before I read his loving e-mail ode to his mistress's tan lines, I realized that I was in the presence of a media genius. I'm talking about Jenny Sanford, of course, who deftly transformed her public humiliation into a weapon—and beat her cheating husband about the head with it. While quoting Psalms!

 

In retrospect, her early comments on the governor's "disappearance" were brilliant. The first lady had known about her husband's affair for months and had given him the boot two weeks earlier. But when reporters were frantically asking, "Where is South Carolina's governor?" the mother of four boys fanned the mystery by telling the Associated Press that she hadn't heard from him in several days. Not even on Father's Day—a line Tina Brown likened to "a sharp, small kick in the groin."

 

Then, while Sanford's kooky mea culpa was still echoing in the rotunda of the South Carolina Statehouse, she released her own razor-sharp statement. She said she still loves her man and that she remains willing to forgive him and welcome him back. She quoted Psalm 127, that "sons are a gift from the Lord and children a reward from Him."

 

When I first heard it, I felt a stab of disappointment—yet another political wife scorned, somehow willing to put on a pastel suit and sob quietly in the background as her husband explains all the very good reasons why he had boinked a dear (tan) old friend, had an affair with a man, or spent good money on a tacky hooker. All of those wives have my sympathy: Suzanne Craig, wife of former senator Larry (wide stance) Craig. Dina McGreevey, former wife of former New Jersey governor Jim ("I am a gay American") McGreevey. Silda Wall Spitzer, wife of former New York governor Eliot (Client 9) Spitzer.

 

But there are a few wronged political wives who get my respect, as well. And I'm beginning to think Jenny Sanford is one of them. On second read, her statement is kind of perfect. It's loving. It's forgiving. It is pious. And she really kicks some butt, if you're willing to read between the lines. She reclaimed the high ground: she "put forth every possible effort to be the best wife during almost 20 years of marriage" (i.e., she did nothing to deserve this). She believes in the sanctity of marriage (he's a cheating bastard). She is ready to forgive completely (because she's a better person than he'll ever be) "as long as he continues to work toward reconciliation with a true spirit of humility and repentance" (there will be hell to pay). She says she will continue to focus on raising her sons to be honorable young men (unlike their dirtbag father). She had kept the separation quiet, she said, to protect those four beautiful boys, and because of the separation, she really hadn't a clue about where her husband was.

[BearSox]

Glenn Beck pretty much sums it up:

 

 

Sick and tired of dirtbag politicians. I thought Sanford was a good one, but apparently not. He's just like most other politicians. As Balta said, do what I say, and not what I do.

[lostfan]

Honestly the only part about it that I care about is the hypocrisy. I don't care about politicians' personal lives otherwise. People f*** up, it is what it is. But let's use a similar example in Eliot Spitzer. Spitzer had built a reputation as a successful attorney general, then it turns out he himself was involved in criminal activity (ironically he'd done a lot of work against prostitution). So he is exposed as a hypocrite and a f***up, so he resigns, as well he should have.

 

Sanford on the other hand, same thing. He's a social conservative preaching family values, morality etc. then it turns out, after an incidental display of breathtaking stupidity, that he doesn't live up to these same values. When he was in Congress, he voted for Clinton's impeachment, but as of yet he's ignored calls to resign (he very well could change his mind, this hasn't been out there that long). So by doing that he's made his stance clear on what politicians should do in his situation, it remains to be seen if he thinks it applies to him. I think that's all pretty s***ty.

Edited June 26, 2009 by lostfan

[BearSox]

Honestly the only part about it that I care about is the hypocrisy. I don't care about politicians' personal lives otherwise. People f*** up, it is what it is. But let's use a similar example in Eliot Spitzer. Spitzer had built a reputation as a successful attorney general, then it turns out he himself was involved in criminal activity (ironically he'd done a lot of work against prostitution). So he is exposed as a hypocrite and a f***up, so he resigns, as well he should have.

 

Sanford on the other hand, same thing. He's a social conservative preaching family values, morality etc. then it turns out, after an incidental display of breathtaking stupidity, that he doesn't live up to these same values. When he was in Congress, he voted for Clinton's impeachment, but as of yet he's ignored calls to resign (he very well could change his mind, this hasn't been out there that long). So by doing that he's made his stance clear on what politicians should do in his situation, it remains to be seen if he thinks it applies to him. I think that's all pretty s***ty.

It just shows you how much arrogance politicians have. They don't think they are in the same boat as everyone else and they can do whatever the hell they want to do.

[lostfan]

It just shows you how much arrogance politicians have. They don't think they are in the same boat as everyone else and they can do whatever the hell they want to do.

Narcissism. Blagojevich being an extreme example. It was like he literally couldn't even comprehend what was happening and he thought he was infallible.

[Rex Kickass]

I wonder if it was the threat that gays pose to marriage that led Sanford to cheat on his wife. I bet that's what drove Ensign to it too.

[Balta1701]

Honestly the only part about it that I care about is the hypocrisy.

The gambling with the state government doesn't bother you?

[lostfan]

The gambling with the state government doesn't bother you?

I figured that was a given, I left it out on purpose (notice I used the word "incidental").

[Balta1701]

By the way, I'm sorry but I just have to.

 

Rush Limbaugh Yesterday blamed Sanford's affair on sorrow relating to, I'm sure you guessed it...Obama.

"This is almost like, 'I don't give a damn, the country's going to Hell in a handbasket, I just want out of here,'" Limbaugh said. "[sanford] had just tried to fight the stimulus money coming to South Carolina. He didn't want any part of it; he lost the battle. He said, 'What the hell. I mean, the federal government's taking over -- what the hell, I want to enjoy life.'"

 

Limbaugh added, "The point is, there are a lot of people whose spirit is just -- they're fed up, saying, 'To hell with it, I don't even want to fight this anymore, I just want to get away from it.'"

Michael Savage...of course, one-upped it today.

"The fact is, Obama's team is taking out potential [2012] rivals, one after another," Savage argued. "Just last week, the media jumped on the story of Sen. John Ensign ® of Nevada and his infidelity. He was considered to be a possible Republican presidential candidate in '12. Now Sanford, who had similar ambitions, caught in a similar situation.

 

"This is politics at its worst, brought to us by the worst administration, the meanest administration, the most closed administration, the most incompetent administration in American history."

 

People actually believe and listen to this. By the millions.

 

Anyway, sorry, I just had to. They were just too damn ridiculous.

 

[HuskyCaucasian]

I saw the rush stuff, but I hadn't seen the Savage stuff.

 

Just way over the top.

 

So, let me get this straight... some how, the Obama team marked Stanford as a 2012 canidate 9+ years ago, they started Sanford's friendship with this lady 9 years ago so it can bloom into a full blown affair by mid-2008 so that when Obama was inaugurated as President in 2009 he can exploit it to knock him out of the race.

 

UPDATE: So, Savage says that Gov. Sanford love e-mails were held until now (they were given to the newspaper in December) because now is the time to release them to distract people from Obama's "failures". Here's an idea, they reported them because the moron left the country for 5 days and no one knew where he was!!! So when he came back, he had to admit to the affair. Once he admitted to it, they released them!! It's not that hard.

Edited June 26, 2009 by Athomeboy_2000

[HuskyCaucasian]

Have an affair, get caught, get punished, but keep serving... it's biblical!

Mark Sanford has been holding a televised cabinet meeting this afternoon.

 

And the South Carolina governor started out by using an interesting comparison to respond to calls for his resignation. King David didn't back down after his own sex scandal, he told his colleagues, and neither will I.

 

Said Sanford:

I have been doing a lot of

s

oul

s

earching on that front.

What I find intere

s

ting i

s

the

s

tory of David, and the way in which he fell mightily, he fell in very very

s

ignificant way

s

. But then pic

k

ed up the piece

s

and built from there.

As King of Israel and Judea, David saw Bathsheba in the bath (he was walking on the roof at the time, goes the story) and immediately had to have her. After getting her pregnant, he tried to conceal it by ordering her husband Uriah to return from war and sleep with Bathsheba, so that the baby would be thought of as Uriah's.

 

But Uriah preferred to remain at war. So David gave an order that Uriah should be abandoned in battle, ensuring his death. Then he married Bathsheba.

 

When all this came out -- thanks to an intrepid reporter from the Bethlehem-based State, who was tipped to emails exchanged between David and Bathsheba, then staked out David at the Jerusalem airport -- David refused to resign as king of Judea. His presidential hopes also took a hit.

[bmags]

Here's to hoping Sanford's sons don't rape their sister, kill eachother and try to run a coup on SC.

[lostfan]

Nah it was radical feminists that screwed up his marriage. They successfully blocked gays from ruining the sanctity of marriage in SC. So far. You know the libs are persistent with their neverending quest to destroy America.