Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Why Won't Sanford Resign ?


I must admit that I really don't know why South Carolina Mark Sanford doesn't just save the people of South Carolina a lot of money and heartache, and resign from his position as governor. He's beset with trouble from all sides, and yesterday those troubles were compounded.

An impeachment resolution had already been introduced in the South Carolina Legislature, for flying off to have an adulterous with his Argentine girlfriend without telling his staff or leaving a clear chain-of-command in case of emergency. Now the state's Ethics Commission has charged him with 37 violations of state ethics law.

Most of the violations are for buying business (or first-class) tickets on airlines, when the state law says the lowest fare must be used, and for using the state's airplane for personal use, and for using his campaign funds for personal use.

The Ethics Commission will now have a hearing to determine whether Sanford should be fined for the violations.

Frankly, I think these should be charged as criminal instead of civil violations. But the South Carolina Attorney General is dragging his feet. It's like he hopes someone else will take care of the problem so he doesn't have to do it. He's thinking of running for governor himself. Could it be that he thinks his own political future is more important than South Carolina law?

It's time to resign, Mr. Sanford. You could save everyone a lot of trouble.

3 comments:

  1. "I must admit that I really don't know why South Carolina Mark Sanford doesn't just save the people of South Carolina a lot of money and heartache, and resign from his position as governor."

    I'm no psychologist, but anyone who exhibits this kind of total disregard for everyone - his wife, his kids, his staff (who've had to cover for him), the good people of the State of South Carolina - has to be suffering from narcissistic personality disorder, IMHO.

    Don't get me wrong: I'm not making excuses for this sleazeball. He should certainly pay the consequences of his reckless behavior. At an absolute minimum, he should be impeached and fined, and I certainly wouldn't rule out incarceration, if the law allows it.

    But there's a deeper systemic problem here. Somewhere along the line, elected officials in this country ceased to be treated as public servants and started being treated like celebrities. Jerry Doyle put it best when he called politics "Hollywood for ugly people."

    Unfortunately, this kind of adulation ends up attracting a certain percentage of narcissists into a profession that should be occupied by just the opposite type of person: public servants (with an emphasis on the servant aspect.)

    I wish there was some way these types could be weeded out before they reach a level where they can do this much harm.

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  2. "Hollywood for ugly people." - That's an apt description.

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