A Small Note of Support for Gov. Sanford

So, he had an affair; big deal.

Sanford, unlike so many others on the right (as recent examples Vitter, R-La, Craig, R-Id and Ensign, R-Nv.), has not used faith as a keystone of his candidacy and term of office. At least. as far as I can remember, he has not aggressively worked to deny gay rights or promoted himself as a warrior for christ etc. Now, part of the reason may simply be because in South Carolina you don't have to work that hard to put these laws in place, but his actions, at least from my perspective were far less vile that those of many others on the right.

Sanford's affair is not nearly as hypocritical as the actions of so many of the other fallen on the right were. Yes, he relied the religious right for votes, yes he appointed their leaders to various positions in the government and yes he talked in their language (as he did when confessing today), but he was not really one of them. He was an anti-government libertarian and loathed public education but while he dabbled in religion he was not driven by it.

So while I opposed most of his policies, felt that most of his ideas are somewhere between foolish and idiotic and still think he is one of the worst state governors in the country, this affair is, on any level other than his family's,nothing of import. It does represent a personal weakness but we all have those and I will not condemn a person for that.

Ensign bragged about his promise keeping, Viter framed almost all his policy arguments around using the government to promote his religious beliefs, Craig voted against gay rights for decades, while engaging in homosexual activity. Their falls all involved specular hypocrisy. Sanford's actions don't come close to this level of disgrace or two faced behavior.

So I will say this, his cheating on his wife is, in the grand scheme of things, not a big deal. It is a personal issue and like Clinton's affair, not worth worrying about simply because Sanford, like Clinton,(and unlike Ensign, Viter and Craig) didn't seem to spend a lot of time and energy trying to figure out how to get his policies into the homes and bedrooms of others.


UPDATE

OK, so maybe he is as big a hypocrite as Viter, Ensign and Craig

UPDATE II

It appears the I will need to avoid any trivia questions about South Carolina politics in the 90s.

During the 90s Mark Sanford demanded that two politicians involved in affairs resign their elected positions, so his options are now very limited, resign or be a typical republican hypocrite


Tags
Sanford, South Carolina

South Carolina Governor Sanford

Confirms, John McCain's presidency would just be 4 more years of George Bush.

Blitzer: Are there any significant economic differences between what the Bush administration has put forward over these many years as opposed to John McCain’s support?

Sanford: Yea, I mean for instance take, you know, ummm, ahhh, take for instance the issue of, ahhhh..(knocks on table) I’m drawing a blank. I hate it when I do that, particularly on TV.

Yet, our Governor seems to think we can use 4 more years of this fabulous Republican economic stewardship.

Not very birght, is he.


Tags
Election 2008, McCain, Sanford

S.C. Cigarette Tax Is Dead

The Governor killed it and the house could not override his veto. This should not be a surprise to anyone. Stanford is not one to have his own ideas ignored.

What is depressing is the dishonest excuse Sanford used to justify his veto.

Gov. Mark Sanford vetoed the plan. Sanford said the cigarette tax — an estimated $160 million — could not match the rising cost of medical care.

“It jeopardizes taxpayers and the people who depend on Medicaid,” Sanford said.

This is an argument that I can support and at times can be a good reason to veto any bill using funding of this type. The plan would establish a annual expenses for the government, while not assuring a continued corresponding revenue stream. We all have to keep in mind that one of the major benefits of raising the cost of cigarettes is it tends to reduce consumption and discourage new smokers. The end result could be established programs facing a shortage in funds due to a decline in smoking.

This could mean that in a few years the program benefits may have to be reduced, or alternate funds would have to be found to continue them.

But, in Sanfords case this excuse is just a lie.

He threw this veto, not because he opposed a hike in the Cigarette tax, he supports this, but because this version helps the wrong people. Stanfords plan, as I remember it, involved using the income from the Cigarette tax to fund a tax cut for the richest people in South Carolina. The fact that he supports this use of the potential tax revenue, and opposes the House plan, makes it clear that his excuse is a load of bull. In either case (Medicaid or Tax Cuts for the rich), the state will have to address a shortfall in income if and when cigarette consumption falls.

The difference is; the House plan taxes the poor to provide medical care for the poor, while Sanfords plan would tax the poor to aid the rich. You see, one of the harsh truths about the use of tobacco products, the poorer you are the more likely you are to smoke. The end result: We have the lowest tax on cigarettes in the nations, That we are in the top 10 state in tobacco product use in past month among persons aged 12or older, We still have grossly underfunded Medicaid system and we will have to readdress this issue in 2009.

I see this as another failing of the state government. I fear that of all the issues involved in this the only failure that Governor Sanford sees is the failure of the richest South Carolinians to get another tax break.



Tags
Cigarettes, Sanford, South Carolina, Tax