Calls Begin in S.C. for Embattled Governor's Resignation

Source: Washington Post

COLUMBIA, S.C., June 25 -- A day after South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford bared his soul and admitted to having had an extramarital affair with a woman he secretly visited in Argentina, some lawmakers here have begun calling on the two-term Republican governor to resign.

Political leaders in the Republican-controlled state legislature here assailed Sanford for deceiving his staff and the public during a mysterious five-day getaway. Some questions still linger over the Capitol, such as whether Sanford used taxpayer dollars or state equipment during his trysts in Argentina or whether he followed protocol when he left the country last week.

<snip>

While Democrats started the drumbeat for Sanford's resignation Thursday, Republican lawmakers are laying low, saying this is a time for Sanford and his family to find reconciliation.

"Every legislator that I've talked to except for those on the Republican side doesn't understand why he didn't resign yet," state Rep. J. Todd Rutherford (D) said in an interview. "He needs to resign because of the dereliction of duty. It is a problem when the CEO of a 4.5-million-person organization goes AWOL and nobody can reach him. It was a gross dereliction of duty."

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/25/AR2009062502013.html

---

COLUMBIA, South Carolina (CNN) -- A newspaper in South Carolina called Thursday for the resignation of the state's governor, who has admitted to having to an extramarital affair with an Argentine woman.

<snip> In its Thursday editorial, the paper said South Carolina needed a spokesman who could talk to potential employers without having to answer questions about his personal life.
Don't Miss

"And the state needs a leader it can trust as it deals with the troubled economy. Sanford has destroyed that trust," it said.
More: http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/06/25/sanford.governor/



Link to editorial: http://www.goupstate.com/article/20090625/ARTICLES/906251015/1128/OPINION?Title=Sanford-should-resign

Sanford was so good at talking the talk about other's moral failures, it's time for him to walk the walk and walk his self-righteous ass right off the political stage.

hoisted himself on the petard. His dereliction of duty is what will do him in..even when he govnernor he was doing a shit job from the state of South Carolina.

All his grandstanding shit got him where he is today.

I think that Mark Sanford has a very difficult decision to make.

I have empathy with him on his situation. We are all human and who knows what causes us to seek comfort from those who are not our SO or spouse.

But as a poster boy for the "Family Values" team, he must accept responsibility that he isn't playing to the team's rules. He has mortally wounded his wife and family. The fact he couldn't keep his willy in his pants is the height of hypocrisy when he rails against those whose lives don't conform to his standard. Further his defense of "traditional marriage" is tarnished by this when he wants to deny gay and lesbian couples the right to marry. Maybe the only marriages that can be saved are the gay ones, just a comment.

is not calling for his resignation. Editorial says he was "clearly embarrassed and shaken...", but "managed to make a full explanation of his lapses and convey his committment to make amends".

It goes on to say (regarding his legislative problems) that "...it's safe to reclassify that mistake (his absence) as a lesson learned". It concludes with this. "His personal errors of judgement shouldn't disqualify him from continuing to serve as the state's chief executive. The contrite governor should do what he can to repair his personal life and minimize further distractions from his job."

It's almost enough to make me cancel my subscription.

http://www.postandcourier.com/

In New York, that godless, librul fag state, when Gov. Spitzer's escapades were revealed, he resigned that *evening*. No newspapers were calling for him to stay on, no politicians in his own party tried to protect him, his staff didn't try to mislead the public.

In that bible thumping, christian values right wing state of South Carolina, the hypocrisy is incredible.

he named the affair and not the deception as the reason he did it.

In this case it's worse: not only did he violate the vows he made to God and his wife, he went missing for five days this time--and how many OTHER times that we don't yet know of?--to do it. Deception, dereliction of duty and dalliances--the Three D's that should bring the moving van.