Can South Carolina Republicans Improve Reputation?

I was glad to see that House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-SC) responded to Rep. Joe Wilson's (R-SC) heckling of the President last night by saying that Wilson "took our state's reputation to a new low."

"I thought Mark Sanford had taken it as low as it could go, but this is beyond the pale," said Clyburn.

South Carolina Republicans are trying to stop the bleeding. Sixty-one of the 72 House Republicans in South Carolina have signed a letter asking Governor Mark Sanford (R-SC) to resign due to inappropriate conduct revolving around his extramarital affair.

The letter concludes, "We have collectively come to the conclusion that South Carolina will not be able to move forward under your leadership."

Illinois already impeached their governor this year ... can South Carolina be far behind?

Political Suicide by Mark Sanford (R-SC) Sealed by Emails w/ Maria the Argentine Booty Call

Villagers have seen this blog target South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford in the past for his wacky decisions on stimulus funding and state education.

All the chickens came home to roost today when he arrived at the Atlanta airport from his Buenos Aires flight today to be confronted by a reporter about the lies told by his staff earlier in the week ('Hiking the Appalachian Trail?'‎). Is it so hard to find politicians that make us proud?

The truth of the matter is that Sanford spent the last five days with Maria, his Argentine girlfriend. The two met a year ago and the relationship moved swiftly from innocent to romantic. Maria has two sons, one a teenager of driving age and the other younger.

Click here to see romantic emails between Mark Sanford and his Argentine girlfriend.

Sanford held a press conference earlier today to apologize for his extra-marital affair. He explained that his wife Jenny has been aware of the other woman for about five months now. They are not legally separated, but are apparently estranged. He indicates that he would like to work things out with her. The couple have four sons. Mark Sanford was 'hiking the Appalacian Trail' instead of talking with his four sons on Father's Day. That alone is reason to think that Sanford must have 'mad cow disease'?

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In an effort to appease those who may want to call for his resignation, he has resigned as Chairman of the Republican Governors Association. Personally, I think that Mark Sanford needs to resign as governor.

What are your thoughts on this growing scandal?

High Schooler Sues Gov. Mark Sanford (R-SC) Over Stimulus Stalemate

In South Carolina, high school senior Casey Edwards has "filed a lawsuit asking the S.C. Supreme Court to decide who -- Gov. Mark Sanford or the Legislature -- controls $700 million in disputed federal stimulus money." Edwards believes that state schools need the funds, and there are indications that the court will "act swiftly" on the case. [SOURCE]

"I've had a great experience in my Chapin schools," said Edwards, who said she sold Chick-Fil-A chicken sandwiches to raise money for a Dillon County school last year after seeing a documentary on the poor conditions at schools along the Interstate 95 corridor. "Every student should have that same quality of education."

Well done little sista!

Gov. Mark Sanford (R-SC) on Defensive in Fight Over Stimulus Dollars

The online activism against Gov. Mark Sanford continued today.

Hundreds of phone calls are streaming into Governor Sanford's office this week from angry citizens decrying his plan to reject desperately needed funds from the federal stimulus bill. More than 600 calls were made to the Governor on Monday by members of ColorOfChange.org, the nation's largest online African American advocacy group, demanding that he accept the full amount of federal stimulus funding intended to buoy his struggling state's economy. The calls continue today.

Sanford's office was put on the defensive, with callers reporting that aides struggled to explain the Governor's decision in light of its likely effect on South Carolina's education system. They seemed unaware that Sanford's rejection of stimulus funds could lead to thousands of teachers losing their jobs.

Have you made the call to Gov. Sanford's office yet?

Online Activism: Call Gov. Mark Sanford’s Office Today

Members of ColorOfChange.org, the nation's largest online African American advocacy group, are scheduled to flood South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford's office with phone calls today demanding that he accept the full amount of federal stimulus funds intended to buoy his struggling state's economy.

The effort is set to launch just days after Sanford announced he may refuse nearly a quarter of the stimulus dollars, including those targeted for education, unemployment benefits and other social programs. The group said it expected to tie up the lines at Sanford's office throughout the day with hundreds of calls to drive home the importance of putting economic recovery -- in South Carolina and throughout the country -- before political posturing.

Villagers know my perspective on Sanford. I think he has 'mad cow disease'.

The callers are among more than 28,000 ColorOfChange.org members who recently signed an open letter to Sanford and five other Republican governors who have threatened to reject federal stimulus funds. The letter urges them to put their constituents' well-being ahead of their desire to build their own national profiles within the Republican party.

Sanford, chair of the Republican Governors Association, has said he would accept a portion of the stimulus funds only if he can use it to pay down debt, a position that ColorOfChange.org Executive Director James Rucker called indefensible.

"As people in South Carolina struggle with this recession, Governor Sanford has decided to stand in the way of the help," said Rucker. "It's obvious even to Republicans in South Carolina that this has nothing to do with what's best for the state -- it's all about scoring political points."

"Schools in South Carolina can’t afford for thousands of teachers to lose their jobs, and neither can America’s economy," Rucker continued. "But it seems like Governor Sanford thinks that currying favor with the far right of his political party is more important than stopping the economic bleeding."

The group noted that Black South Carolinians, nearly a third of the state's population, will be hit particularly hard by Sanford's decision to reject stimulus funds. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that Blacks in that state are twice as likely as whites to be unemployed. The state's jobless rate, at 10.4%, is second highest in the country.

Does Gov. Mark Sanford (R-SC) Have 'Mad Cow Disease'? He Compares Obama to Robert Mugabe

Someone needs to remind South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford, whose state has the second-worst-in-the-nation 10.4 percent unemployment rate, that "people who live in glass houses should not throw stones". I suspect that the unemployment rate for African Americans in South Carolina is approaching 20%.

Sanford is a failed Republican politician. He failed to bring jobs into his state ... failed to provide water, sewage, bridges, roads and other infrastructure projects that would attract economic development ... failed to deal with dispair by students in South Carolina. Instead he rants about the Obama presidency.

Sanford has been telling anyone who will listen that he is against the stimulus package passed into law last month. He's made wild comparisons of the United States to pre-Hitler Germany and 1920s Argentina. This week he ramped up his rhetoric when he compared President Obama and other supporters of the stimulus package to the economic policies of Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe.

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"What you're doing is buying into the notion that if we just print some more money that we don't have, send it to different states - we'll create jobs... If that's the case why isn't Zimbabwe a rich place?"..."why isn't Zimbabwe just an incredibly prosperous place. Cause they're printing money they don't have and sending it around to their different - I don't know the towns in Zimbabwe but that same logic is being applied there with little effect."

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Sanford is saying that our situation is comparable to Zimbabwe, a nation in the throes of an economic meltdown:

• 80% unemployment in Zimbabwe
  
• Mugabe is starving his citizens to death
  
• 10,200,000,000,000,000% inflation rate in 2008
  
• Mugabe is printing banknotes in the trillion-dollar range to keep up with the plummeting value of its currency

Personally, I think it is time for the citizens of South Carolina to bitch-slap Gov. Sanford. The Democratic National Committee is more diplomatic in their response video:



What is your take on Gov. Mark Sanford?