Republican S.C. Governor Sanfords admits Extramarital Affair - Page 8 - Big Big Forums

SHELBYDOG · 07-06-2009, 12:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pepperpot

Why does this sound like a loose interpretation of the Clintons?

Karma, plain & simple.
"People who live in glass houses shouldn't throw rocks."

buglebe · 07-06-2009, 01:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ahippiechic

I don't even care who cheats...unless it affects their ability to do their job.

I agree and as for people forgetting and forgiving, take a look at all the evangelist that have cheated and cried and are back on tv. That is wrong.

Jolie Rouge · 07-07-2009, 01:27 AM

http://michellemalkin.com/2009/07/06...nsure-sanford/

The Palmetto Scoop reports tonight that the South Carolina GOP voted to censure lying, lovesick Gov. Mark Sanford: “In the end, 22 voted to censure Sanford, 10 thought he should resign, and nine supported no action against the governor.”

As you all know, I’m in the PLEASE GO NOW camp.

Full story here. http://www.palmettoscoop.com/2009/07...ensuressanford

Text of the resolution:

Quote:

Whereas, the South Carolina Republican Party adopts this Resolution of Censure as a unified expression of the Party’s opinion in the recent matter relating to Governor Marshall Clement Sanford, Jr.; and

Whereas, the South Carolina Republican Party adheres to a set of core principles and beliefs, primarily but not exclusively expressed in our Platform; and

Whereas, the revelations regarding Governor Sanford’s private and public conduct demonstrate repeated failures to act in accordance with these core principles and beliefs; and

Whereas, Governor Sanford’s conduct, in addition to falling below the standards expected of Republican elected officials, has breached the public’s trust and confidence in his ability to effectively perform the duties of his office; and

Whereas, a formal admonishment by the South Carolina Republican Party is appropriate and necessary and, barring further revelations, will be the Party’s last word on the matter;

Therefore, be it resolved, that the South Carolina Republican Party does, with great regret, censure Governor Mark Sanford for his recent conduct.

More from local S.C. tv station WSOC: http://www.wsoctv.com/news/19974219/detail.html

Quote:

Fellow Republicans Censured Governor Mark Sanford Monday night for his secret trip to Argentina last month to see his mistress.

The held a long conference call Monday night.

22 members of the executive committee voted on a formal reprimand of Sanford. Another 10 voted to ask him to resign, while nine voted to support the governor.

In a statement, Sanford says he appreciates the party’s position and will continue to work to earn back its trust.

Quote:

In a statement, Sanford says he appreciates the party’s position and will continue to work to earn back its trust.

He can start by resigning.

What is Censure, and what does it mean? That he can’t come to the Republican Party meetings and speak? If someone knows please tell me.

It is like voting to condemn something. OK, it is condemned, now what? It does not go away. It is more lipservice.

And, this litte gem from the proclamation, “in the recent matter”. Recent matter? Why not come out and say he left the State without passing appropriate governing authority?

The Republican Party of SC is practicing a little CYA.

The full legislature should vote to fine Gov Sanford 10% of his salary for going AWOL.

Sanford has become a joke. Jon Stewart (with whom I’m not prone to agree) nailed it when he said: “God killed Michael Jackson to save you … and you gave another interview?!?”

It’s frightening and sad that this pathetic shell of a man was on so many short lists for the GOP nom in 2012.

Jolie Rouge · 07-17-2009, 04:50 PM

Sanford flies high on taxpayers' dime
Kenneth P. Vogel
Fri Jul 17, 7:10 am ET

Aside from the damage done to his standing as a social conservative, South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford’s recent admission of an extramarital affair may end up tarnishing another of his political credentials — his carefully honed reputation as a tightfisted steward of taxpayer money.

A POLITICO analysis of hundreds of pages of state travel records requested to explore the circumstances of his affair found that in his 6 1/2 years as governor, Sanford traveled frequently and in a style markedly at odds with his political persona.

The records detail more than $468,000 worth of state-funded travel for Sanford and show that he routinely billed taxpayers for high-end airline seats, racking up more than $44,000 on business- and first-class tickets. He often stayed in pricey hotels that far exceeded the rates he imposed on other state employees.

On one overseas trip, the state appears to have spent more than $12,000 for the GOP governor’s business-class tickets for a September 2007 trade mission to China, while his aides flew in economy class for airfares as low as $1,900.

The records, released to POLITICO and a handful of other media outlets under the state’s Freedom of Information Act, cover commercial airline trips to destinations including Paris, Beijing, Stockholm, Munich and London, as well as state plane flights that carried him, his family, friends and staff around the state and country. They do not detail the costs of every international trade mission Sanford participated in, and, in some cases, the documents are incomplete or difficult to decipher.

Still, the picture that emerges from the records conflicts with Sanford’s image as a politician who is especially stingy with taxpayer cash and vigilant about the costs of taxpayer-funded travel.

After winning a seat in Congress in 1994, he publicly agonized over accepting a $10,000-taxpayer-funded trip, telling a local paper, “I know politically it's not the right thing ever to go on any trip."

While running for governor in 2002, Sanford zeroed in on travel spending, criticizing Democratic incumbent Gov. Jim Hodges for “lavish spending” on airfare and hotel rooms.

“If I become your governor,” he asserted in a radio ad, “I’ll fix that problem in Columbia.”

Indeed, in his first year as South Carolina’s chief executive, Sanford moved quickly to implement his campaign promise by urging state employees to sleep two to a hotel room while traveling on state business.

Later, he called out an unnamed state employee for staying in a New York hotel for $269 per night — which he pointed out at the time was $61 above the federal rate — and a state consultant for billing the state $375 a night for a three-night stay in a Phoenix hotel to attend a conference.

His 2008-2009 budget proposal again targeted taxpayer-funded travel and projected $2.8 million in savings by reducing the travel costs across state agencies. A summary from his office states “it is clear that some [agencies] have not used taxpayer dollars in the most efficient manner possible.”

Yet records of the state-funded trips taken by Sanford as governor suggest that his arrangements often ran counter to the state Budget and Control Board’s travel expense guidelines.

Those guidelines dictate that “travel by commercial airlines will be accomplished in coach or tourist class, except where exigencies require otherwise.”

But on the now-infamous June 2008 South America trade mission, where Sanford slipped away to meet his Argentine mistress, the governor’s airfare consisted of four business-class flights for which the state paid $8,687.

By contrast, the Commerce Department official who accompanied Sanford to Buenos Aires flew coach, at a cost of $1,910 to the taxpayers (the official’s itinerary included one less short leg, since he did not accompany Sanford to Cordoba, Argentina, for a day of dove hunting).

Kara Borie, a spokeswoman from the state Department of Commerce, which arranged many of the trips, said Sanford “typically flies business class” but “did not request business-class airfare.”

She wouldn’t say who requested business-class tickets for Sanford nor did she answer questions about whether Sanford’s travel ran afoul of state reimbursement rules. Instead, she pointed POLITICO to the state Budget and Control Board’s travel expense guidelines.

Late last month, Sanford, who is independently wealthy, reimbursed the state coffers $3,300 for expenses accrued on the Argentine leg of the mission, after acknowledging that his rendezvous during the trade mission “raised some very legitimate concerns and questions.”

A State Law Enforcement Division investigation determined Sanford did not misuse state funds to conduct his affair.

In addition to the requirement of coach or tourist-class travel, South Carolina’s expense guidelines state that “a traveler on official business will exercise the same care in incurring expenses and accomplishing an assignment that a prudent person would exercise if traveling on personal business. Excess costs, circuitous routes, delays or luxury accommodations unnecessary or unjustified in the performance of an assignment are not considered acceptable as exercising prudence.”

Yet in preparation for an April European trade mission, the Commerce Department paid $7,255.97 for a round-trip ticket that included a first-class flight from Charlotte, N.C., to Newark, N.J.; a business-class flight from Newark to Warsaw, Poland; a flight of unknown class from Warsaw to Stockholm; and a business-class flight from Stockholm to Chicago. But on the final day of the mission, the department paid another $2,527.54 for a different return flight from Stockholm to Newark. Then, a week later, the airline credited the department $4,748.18, apparently leaving taxpayers with a final tab of $5,035.33.

Sanford’s spokesman, Joel Sawyer, did not answer questions about whether Sanford’s state-funded travel conflicted with either his penny-pinching rhetoric or state travel rules.

Instead, he said in a statement: “Gov. Sanford has always made it a point to be incredibly judicious with his travel and compares favorably to previous administrations on that front.”

Indeed, Sanford flew coach on some flights, according to the records — which were received from the state’s Comptroller General, Budget and Control Board, Law Enforcement Division and Commerce Department — and was joined in business or first class by accompanying state officials on other flights.

And the records demonstrate traces of fiscal restraint, such as a 2005 bill from Tokyo’s five-star Hotel New Otani, which shows that Sanford bunked with then-Commerce Secretary Bob Faith for four nights at a cost to taxpayers of $868.54.

But the documents don’t reflect any other instances in which Sanford shared hotel rooms with another state employee.

They include an $862 bill for Sanford’s three-night stay in Philadelphia’s Ritz-Carlton in July 2008 for the National Governors Association meeting. During the NGA’s February meeting, taxpayers picked up the $648 bill for Sanford and his wife, Jenny, to spend two nights in Washington’s JW Marriott.

Neither tab is out of line with big-city hotel rates, and in both cases the hotels were hosting NGA events. Still, the bills were a combined $644 more than the federal reimbursement rates — which Sanford has repeatedly urged state employees to adhere to — for the dates, cities and number of nights of Sanford’s stays.

State records also show that Sanford, his family and staff have amassed about $380,000 in flight charges on the state plane in his six years in office, including many flights with his family and supporters costing hundreds and sometimes thousands of dollars each.

Sawyer pointed out that the state’s previous governor, Democrat Jim Hodges, spent $377,000 on flights in his four-year term term.

When asked for comment, Hodges responded: “Under Jim Hodges leadership, South Carolina had single-digit unemployment, strong job growth and solid capital investment. Under Mark Sanford, we have 13 percent unemployment, one of the highest jobless rates in the country. You be the judge of who gave the taxpayers a better return on their investment.”

Told of some of the expenses revealed in the travel records, South Carolina GOP state Sen. Larry Martin called them “very hypocritical” and “quite shocking.”

“When this information comes out, I think it’s going to be a huge disappointment to a lot of folks to realize that he just isn’t the type of person on a number of fronts that many people thought he was,” said Martin.

Among a group of Republicans who called for Sanford to step down after he admitted to the extramarital affair, Martin predicted Sanford’s supporters were “going to be very disgusted to learn that he’s been somewhat of a big spender when it comes to his own personal travel while at the same time insisting that state government be on a starvation diet.”

http://news.yahoo.com/s/politico/200...77TTe3oGEEtbAF

SHELBYDOG · 07-17-2009, 07:13 PM

So he's not only a cheater, he's a thief & a hypocrite of the worst kind OR he was following his own rule at 2 people to a hotel room.

Also there's no comparing this guy to Clinton, Bill used the White House, no hotel or airfare costs.

Quote:

While running for governor in 2002, Sanford zeroed in on travel spending, criticizing Democratic incumbent Gov. Jim Hodges for “lavish spending” on airfare and hotel rooms.
Indeed, in his first year as South Carolina’s chief executive, Sanford moved quickly to implement his campaign promise by urging state employees to sleep two to a hotel room while traveling on state business.

Quote:

But on the now-infamous June 2008 South America trade mission, where Sanford slipped away to meet his Argentine mistress, the governor’s airfare consisted of four business-class flights for which the state paid $8,687.
Late last month, Sanford, who is independently wealthy, reimbursed the state coffers $3,300 for expenses accrued on the Argentine leg of the mission, after acknowledging that his rendezvous during the trade mission “raised some very legitimate concerns and questions.”

SHELBYDOG · 07-20-2009, 07:11 PM

Lawmakers: SC gov's pricey seats need closer look

Quote:

By JIM DAVENPORT, Associated Press Writer Jim Davenport, Associated Press Writer – 17 mins ago
COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina legislators say Gov. Mark Sanford's travel spending needs closer scrutiny, following an Associated Press review that showed he was booked on pricey flights despite laws that say state employees must travel as cheaply as possible.

"That's a big problem," said state Sen. Kevin Bryant, a Republican from Anderson and former Sanford ally. "Certainly when the average South Carolinian couldn't afford first-class, there's no reason they should be paying for someone else to be flying on a first-class ticket."

Details have emerged on Sanford's travel spending since last month's revelation of his yearlong extramarital affair with an Argentine woman. The governor, who has vowed to stay in office, has said the two longtime friends became physical during a 2008 state Commerce to South America that first took officials to Brazil.

Records show Sanford charged the state $8,687 for the Delta Air Lines trip that included a leg in business class while other state employees spent less than $2,000 each on economy seats for the Brazil flight. The governor last month reimbursed the state for $3,300 tied to the Argentina portion of the 2008 South America trip.

The AP review also showed a 2006 U.S. Airways flight to London by the governor cost $7,065 in "envoy" class, the same as first class.

Legislators on Monday said those flights don't appear to square with laws on the books since 1993 that say "no state funds may be used to purchase first class airline tickets" and that employees on business travel are required to "use the most economical mode of transportation," considering factors such as urgency and schedules.

There is no penalty for violating the two provisions and no government watchdog to enforce them.

Still, Sanford is not exempt, said state Sen. Larry Martin. "Anytime the governor travels on the state's dime, he needs to follow the same rules anybody else does," said Martin, R-Pickens.

State Sen. David Thomas said he plans to convene the budget subcommittee he chairs next week to begin looking at Sanford's expensive flights and whether he spent state money to facilitate his affair. Thomas, R-Fountain Inn, said someone could take Sanford to court over the budget law issue.

Sanford spokesman Joel Sawyer said media coverage of the governor's travel fails to take into context his overall efforts to save the state money, including selling a state jet. Sawyer said the governor never asked for the more expensive seating on trade missions.

"Looking at individual flights outside of the full context of the governor's actions while in office is a distortion of his record," Sawyer said. He would not comment further on "this cherry-picking of the governor's travel."

The AP review of expense records shows Sanford, who once criticized other state officials for costly travel, charged the state more than $37,600 for one first-class and four business-class flights overseas since November 2005.

Martin said state bookkeepers should have flagged the reimbursement to the governor for his pricey travel. "That's a little surprising to me that wasn't picked up by the comptroller general," Martin said.

In South Carolina, the Comptroller General's Office has the final review of a spending request before it's paid by the state Treasurer.

Agency chief of staff Jim Holly said Monday that the Comptroller General's 11-member staff can't take a detailed look at all the more than 1.3 million payment requests made each year. The comptroller relies on the agency submitting the requests to certify it's complying with state law and on yearly audits to "pick up on potential violations of state rules and regulations," Holly said.

If legislators want more scrutiny they could provide more funding, he said.

Quote:

"Looking at individual flights outside of the full context of the governor's actions while in office is a distortion of his record," Sawyer said. He would not comment further on "this cherry-picking of the governor's travel."

LMAO! If it were a democrat it would be the right thing to do & not cherry-picking of anything.
Here the blame is being put on the Comptroller General's 11-member staff & not the dirty snake in the grass governor who has brought all this on himself.
He's vowed to stay in office, what a guy!

SHELBYDOG · 07-20-2009, 09:51 PM

Gov. Sanford Pens an Apology, Pledges to Be ‘Less Strident’

Quote:

Susan Davis reports on politics.

South Carolina Republican Gov. Mark Sanford penned an editorial Sunday in The State in which he apologizes for his extramarital affair and commits to achieving more for the state before his term expires in January 2011.

Sanford had defined himself within the party as an uncompromising fiscal conservative—he fought, and lost, a battle with the Obama administration over economic stimulus funds directed to his state and had difficult relations even with members of his own party over fiscal matters.

While the revelation of Sanford’s affair dominated the national spotlight, the lesser examined issue was how poorly Sanford rated himself as governor.

“’I don’t hate my job,’ he said near the end of our interview. But, he said, he was close to hating it,” wrote a reporter for The State who had the first interview with Sanford following his return from Buenos Aires in late June. Sanford further conceded that he should have been able to accomplish big things. “Unfortunately,” he said, “I didn’t.”

In his editorial, however, Sanford said one of the lessons he learned is that he was too strident and uncompromising in the governor’s mansion.

“I’ve realized that as much as I have and will continue to advocate for things ranging from restructuring to responsible spending to school choice, my approach needs to be less about my will and more about looking for ways to more humbly present the greater principals and ideas at play,” he writes, “It needs to be less strident and more about finding ways to work with legislative leaders to advance the ideas so many of us believe in.”

Working on “a few alterations to my approach” Sanford concludes: “I think this could be a far more productive last session than the one that would have been had the tragedy that has unfolded not occurred, and in turn, people’s lives can be made better.”

http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2009/0...less-strident/

Quote:

“’I don’t hate my job,’ he said near the end of our interview. But, he said, he was close to hating it,” wrote a reporter for The State who had the first interview with Sanford following his return from Buenos Aires in late June. Sanford further conceded that he should have been able to accomplish big things. “Unfortunately,” he said, “I didn’t.”

He said he should of been able to accomplish big things, but he didn't..........
Was that here in the U.S. or in Argentina?

Jolie Rouge · 08-07-2009, 05:55 PM

SC first lady, sons move out of state residence
Jim Davenport, Associated Press Writer
52 mins ago

COLUMBIA, S.C. – The wife of South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford moved out of the official governor's residence with their four sons Friday, a little more than a month after he admitted to a yearlong affair with an Argentine woman he called his "soul mate."

First lady Jenny Sanford and several other women moved bags of clothes, a suitcase and armloads of suits and dresses on hangers from the governor's mansion in Columbia before departing in a caravan of sport utility vehicles. Three of the four boys were present, carrying tote and duffel bags.

Before departing, she hugged several of the women who helped her carry belongings out. In a statement, Jenny Sanford said she was heading to the family residence on Sullivans Island, some 120 miles southeast, for the upcoming school year.

"From there, we will work to continue the process of healing our family," she said. "While we will be leaving Columbia, we will return often, and I will remain engaged in activities in my role as First Lady, acknowledging that my responsibilities to my family come first."

The governor, who spoke to reporters elsewhere in the state later Friday, termed the reconciliation "a day at a time process" and said the move was a mutual decision.

"It's been brewing for a while and something we've been back and forth on and kicked around at length. It was not entered into lightly but with a whole lot of thought and prayer," he said.

Jenny Sanford is a former Wall Street vice president who helped launch her husband's political career only to endure his tearful public confession in June. She had separated from her husband and sought refuge with her sons at the couple's coastal home two weeks before news of the affair broke.

The coastal home is a low, two-story house set back 50 yards from the beach, featuring a large great room with windows overlooking the water. It was briefly on the market earlier this year with an asking price of $3.5 million.

The boys had attended Heathwood Hall Episcopal School, a private school in Columbia. The governor said the boys will attend Porter Gaud School, a private school in Charleston.

The departure from the mansion, which once served as officer quarters for a Civil War arsenal, came two days after the Sanfords returned from a two-week vacation in Europe. The building has six public rooms downstairs and a huge kitchen; the family lived upstairs.

Jenny Sanford has called her husband's behavior "inexcusable" but said she was willing to give him another chance, although she said reconciliation would not be easy.

Sanford, 49, disappeared for nearly a week in late June to see his Argentine lover, Maria Belen Chapur, leaving his staff, his wife and the rest of the state in the dark about his whereabouts. Initially, his office told reporters Sanford was hiking on the Appalachian Trail.

Jenny Sanford told the AP she learned about the affair in January when she came across a copy of a letter her husband wrote his mistress. In later months, her husband asked several times to visit the other woman, requests she denied, the first lady said.

"It's one thing to forgive adultery; it's another thing to condone it," she told AP during an exclusive interview soon after the governor revealed the affair.

The couple underwent weeks of meetings to save their marriage. But as that wrapped up, the governor knew his marriage was hanging by a thread and public humiliation was coming.

Days later, after the governor told AP he was relying on religious faith to help salvage his marriage even though the love of his life was in Argentina, Jenny Sanford said it was up to the people of South Carolina whether they want to give their governor a second chance.

"His far more egregious offenses were committed against God, the institutions of marriage and family, our boys and me," she said at the time.

The Sanfords met in New York in the 1980s when Sanford also was working in finance, at Goldman Sachs. The couple married in 1989 and relocated to South Carolina, where Sanford worked in real estate before serving three terms in Congress.

Until revelations of the affair with the woman Sanford met on a trip to Uruguay in 2001, the governor had been considered a possible 2012 Republican presidential candidate.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090807/...us_sc_governor