In case you wonder whether our governor has gotten over the narcissism that turned out to be his tragic flaw, check out this reTweet I received early today:
RT @NYTimesOnline After a Personal Scandal, a Small Political Upswing http://ow.ly/19TOf6
It leads to a story about how Mark Sanford is bouncing back from that little detour on the Appalachian Trail:
Mr. Sanford, who confessed last year to having an affair with an Argentine woman, has grappled since the scandal to save his political career and earn the public’s forgiveness.
And there are indications that he is succeeding — at least with South Carolinians. As Mr. Sanford, 50, a two-term Republican, prepares to leave office in January, he is enjoying a degree of political success that seemed unimaginable in the precarious days after his teary appearance on national television in the summer of 2009.
His poll numbers have rebounded, showing him more popular in the state than President Obama or SenatorLindsey Graham, a moderate Republican. He strung together what experts consider his most important legislative term. He announced plans for a huge Boeing plant near Charleston, the largest industrial project in state history. And his ally and personal friend Nikki Haley won this month’s governor’s race…
But that’s not what I come here to tell you about today. I just wanted to let you know who brought that story to my attention. It was reTweeted by @MarkSanford.
Really. That may mean nothing to you. But to me, it seemed telling.
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The guy is still not as goofy as his ex. Sadly, it is no wonder their marriage failed. We should give them both several years in the desert before giving either one a thought. Neither should be publically speaking at this point. That’s my take on it.
And BTW, the NYT photo of the Governor on the state plane – is there only one? – was priceless. The story may have been news but the photo was an editorial.
Too bad the legislature didn’t try harder to force him to resign. But then they were more concerned with the politics of doing that than the actual good of the state (as usual).
They didn’t want Bauer to get the job because it would have possibly helped him develop enough political clout to win the Republican nomination. And if Bauer moved up to Governor, Glenn McConnell would have succeeded him as Lt. Governor and basically lost all the power he has.
Sanford should have resigned. But the fact that he remained in office because of the political shenanigans of the true powers-that-be in South Carolina is the REAL story. Funny how the media just didn’t have the time to investigate that.
Doug, several points:
— A remarkable amount of pressure came from the Legislature aimed at persuading the governor to resign — considering that these are Republicans, who normally close ranks.
— I never really thought they had enough of a case to impeach him, although it would have been nice if they had. What was needed here was for the governor to have the decency to resign, which he didn’t. (That also would have been best in the Clinton case.)
— Everything that you just said is something that I read in the “media” you say was derelict. In fact, if not for media, you wouldn’t know enough to hold the opinions you hold on the subject.
@Brad
Are you suggesting that noone in the Republican leadership had discussions about the the implications of having Bauer take the seat? and that it did not impact in any way the process?
Had the media applied sufficient pressure, Sanford would have resigned.
I’m saying that it was general knowledge, widely discussed, that there was a great deal of hesitation among lawmakers — AND among the media — about getting rid of Sanford because of concerns that it would give Bauer a leg up.
Don’t you remember? We discussed it here. I differed with my friends in the MSM — I asserted that the best way to make sure we didn’t have a permanent Gov. Bauer would be to go ahead and give him the job on a provisional basis, and let him sink himself.
We discussed it extensively here and then again briefly here. And then here. It was so widely reported, so assumed, that even national media (which usually can’t grasp anything deeper than a sex scandal or Identity Politics) picked up on it.
@Brad
So where am I offbase? I suggested that the media should have done more investigation into how Sanford was allowed to remain in office. That’s the real story. All you point to is articles that suggest that the behind the scenes discussions were going on. The fact that they were going on proves my point that decisions were made based on political reasons versus what was good for the state. Those actions allowed Sanford to remain in office.
I know you don’t like to reference Will Folks but there were some very interesting scenarios floated by him last year regarding McConnell if Sanford resigned. That’s part of the story that I haven’t seen investigated.
I don’t know what we’re not connecting on here, Doug, but we’re not…
But I’ll bite… what are these McConnell “scenarios,” aside from the obvious one, which is that he would have zero interest in holding such a nothing position as lieutenant governor. Nor would he want to be governor. Why take a demotion? At least, that’s the way he would look at it, being Glenn McConnell. There’s probably no one in the Legislature who looks down upon the executive more than McConnell. Which is why, as I’ve written in the past (especially pre-blog, back when there was some chance of restructuring) he has always been the chief roadblock in giving the elected chief executive more power to run the executive branch.
Here’s the scenario.
http://www.fitsnews.com/2009/06/27/mcconnells-constitutional-tap-dance/
I know I’m just a cynic who believes all these things could be true.
For those who don’t want to click over to Fitsnews:
“McConnell would resign his position as Senate President Pro Tempore sometime (i.e. immediately) prior to the governor’s resignation, thus moving someone else (we’re hearing the names of two RINOs – Sen. David Thomas or John Courson) into the Pro Tempore’s spot – but only long enough for this person to fulfill the Constitutional duty of becoming Lt. Governor.
Once that bit of business is accomplished, McConnell would then reclaim his old title – and all the power that comes with it.”
Which gives me an idea – if Sanford really wanted to give the Legislature a big F.U. prior to the end of his term, he could just announce a surprise resignation and force McConnell into the Lt. Gov spot for a week or two. That would set the wheels spinning…
Who would have been worse–Bauer or Haley?
Back in the Clinton/Lewinsky days, Mark Sanford was a representative of South Carolina in Washington DC vehemently calling for Clinton’s resignation.
Since then, South Carolina, the nation and the world, has learned that Governot Mark Sanford also has a “Bill Clinton problem”, a problem with zippers, resisting all calls for his resignation.
Damned hypocrite! But that is Sanford being Sanford. “Do as I say, not as I do.”
Y’all can relax now. Per Sanford’s tweet, he’s on a roll and he’s governing on all cylinders.
Not the media’s job to run the government. The media is there to let you know how it’s being run.
You mean, “The media ARE there…”
Just thought I’d say that before Kathryn did…
Oh Kathryn, can you even ask that? Bauer would be way worse than Haley. Bauer’s “stray animals” comment was the kind of wacko utterance that many Tea Party candidates nationwide could not resist making, but one of Haley’s campaign strengths was avoiding these Bachmannesque verbal flourishes. Well, maybe their policies would have been about the same, but Bauer likely would have gloated about the travails of the working poor and unemployed in this state, whereas I think Haley is just a wee bit less vindictive. I hope.
The media BE there.
Y’know, I have never seen the MSM “are”…
Bauer made the Aging agency a happenin’ place–he clearly does have some executive skills. He says and does such outrageous things that most people dismiss them/him out of hand–while Haley is more insidious and has shown no executive skills.
Who is more dangerous–Christine O’Donnell or Sarah Palin? CD is patently nutsy, while many many believe in Palinworld.
Commenting on a cell phone just ruins my grammar as well as my spelling. That’s my excuse.
Now that I think about it, people within the media think of the profession as plural, whilst those outside think of it as singular.
For the record, and it should matter on this blog, Andre Bauer offered to serve and not seek re-election. That offer was on the table July-September. He said if Mark Sanford resigned and he moved up to governor, he would finish out Mark Sanford’s term and not be a candidate in 2010.
The conservative playbook is to define yourself by your enemies, and the lamestream media is a priority target.
I’ll support Sanford in anything he wants to do next. In Argentina.
Point taken, Kathryn. Sometimes the less-dislikeable or less-obviously-lampoonable person can be the more insidious, to use your term, danger.
@ Burl–There you go again–“The Lamestream Media ARE…”