In this April 3, 2009 file photo, South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford fields questions during a news conference in Columbia, S.C. Gov. Sanford told a newspaper Wednesday that he was in Argentina during his unexplained 5-day absence, not hiking along the Appalachian Trail as his office previously said.
(Mary Ann Chastain, file/AP)Photos (1 of 1)
Sanford returns home to impeachment rumblings
Did South Carolina's missing governor commit a 'serious offense' by going underground in Argentina?
By Patrik Jonsson | Staff writer/ June 24, 2009 edition
Reporter Patrik Jonsson discusses why Gov. Mark Sanford of South Carolina may have wanted to get out of town – and the public eye – for awhile.
Reporter Patrik Jonsson
UPDATE: Read the transcript of the live blogging session that took place during Governor Sanford’s press conference. “The Vote” blogger Jimmy Orr spoke with Gary Karr during the event. Karr is a longtime South Carolina political pundit serving as a reporter for the State House and as press secretary for former South Carolina Governor David Beasley.
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What began as a story of a quirky Southern governor going on a mystery walkabout took a more serious turn Wednesday morning, with reports of impeachment talk bubbling out of South Carolina’s capital.
The disappearing act by Mark Sanford, a gubernatorial hero of the GOP who resurfaced after a five-day incommunicado absence, has not played well, even among members of his own party. The impeachment rumblings, first cited by Southern Political Report editor Tom Baxter, are more grave, though. In a bulletin Wednesday morning about the impeachment talks, Mr. Baxter quotes “well-placed sources” in Columbia.
The governor’s trip – taken together with the bitter intraparty battles over the budget in South Carolina and Sanford’s profile as a potential GOP presidential contender – is raising questions about whether he committed “serious misconduct” as chief executive, which is an impeachable offense under South Carolina’s constitution.
Complaints are that the governor turned off his cellphone without making plans for succession and that he apparently misled his staff about his whereabouts. According to his office, he had told them he was going hiking on the Appalachian Trail and instead traveled to Argentina, where he’s said to have taken quiet drives along the beach.
More than a ’screwball South Carolina story’
“This story has taken on more gravity because of these revelations in the last few hours,” says Baxter in a phone interview. “I think for the first time now you can pose the question of whether this is just a screwball South Carolina story or something bigger that relates in part to the trouble Republicans are having finding any traction at any level of government.”
It may not be quite “State of Chaos” – as the headline splashed across Tuesday’s Wall Street Journal declared. Sanford, after all, had gone missing before, on industrial-relations trips and during vacations to his summer home on a South Carolina island. He also fulfilled his duty as a national guardsman while retaining power in Columbia. But this was the first time the governor had been completely out of touch, his staff has said.
Sanford is considered to be a somewhat distant executive, who as a congressman during the 1990s left Washington at every opportunity and who at fundraising events would often stand in the corner, quietly chatting with friends.
A tough year for Sanford
Sanford has had, by all accounts, a tough year. He scored big points with conservative Republicans nationally by refusing to take some federal stimulus money for his state (ultimately losing that battle in court), but he’s faced criticism from and fought with state Republicans over budget cuts.
“It’s fairly evident that Sanford has had a rough go of it here with the stimulus, the budget, the recession, and really sort of rank disagreements between a Republican governor and Republican legislators, all exacerbated by his being out of the country and not telling people,” says Charles Bierbauer, dean of the University of South Carolina’s communication department and a former political reporter.
“It’s a head-fake, a diversionary tactic,” Mr. Bierbauer continues, “where we could’ve had the whole [US] Forest Service out marching the Appalachian Trail looking for this guy, when he was down in a bodega drinking Argentine wine and having a nice steak – not huddled out on the trail eating beans out of a can.”
Not exactly ‘chaos’
Political scientist David Woodard of Clemson University, who worked with Sanford on Capitol Hill, says he’s surprised to see the story go national.
“Look, he waited until the end of the legislative session. He knew he was going to get his teeth beat in [by the legislature], so he planned to get out of town as soon as the session was over and he did. I haven’t seen tanks in the streets. You could’ve fooled me that we were in chaos.”
Sanford, when reached Tuesday by his staff, was apparently taken aback by the furor over his mysterious absence.
No help for national party
The now-solved case of the missing governor comes at a difficult time for Republicans. Already struggling to fashion a message for an ever-more-diverse country, they are seeing some of their top names stumble on national TV, a la Bobby Jindal, and feud with network stars, a la Sarah Palin with David Letterman. Now there’s Sanford’s disappearance to Argentina, a country known for its legacy of the politically “disappeared” during the “Dirty War” in the late 1970s.
For at least one South Carolina politician, impeachment would be a mistake. State Sen. Ralph Anderson, a Democrat, says Sanford’s absence did not rise to the level of serious misconduct. He says he would personally filibuster any impeachment hearings.
“Impeachment would create the worst image of South Carolina throughout the nation than anything else,” said Senator Anderson, in a phone interview. He blamed the governor’s problems on his unwillingness to compromise with the legislature.
Whatever happens with impeachment talks in South Carolina, Sanford’s decision to leave the state is likely to have national political consequences.
“The worry is that this is going to come back as the governor who went walkabout,” says Bierbauer at University of South Carolina.
Comments
2. dccyclistguy | 06.24.09
Argentia, Appalachia–the two are easily confused. I like to get away incommunicado too, only I’m not married with kids and I’m not the chief of anything. He has a higher level of accountability whether he likes it or not.
3. Georgess McHargue | 06.24.09
I am a Democrat from a state with a Democratic governor. I can tell you I’d be both angry and alarmed if our chief executive were to put himself under the jurisdiction of a foreign power without security, without leaving a contact with staff or even family, and without, evidently, the common sense God gave a goose. A teenager who did this would be grounded for life — maybe not a bad idea.
4. Hilary Smith | 06.24.09
It’s not so much that he was in Argentina but that he didn’t want anyone to know he was there. I wonder what he was doing or who he was with. I wonder if deals were being struck. Those are the thoughts that I have about this.
5. AJ Luckenbaugh | 06.24.09
On my, do you liberals have nothing to do but to try and destory the one man in SC who actually cares about the welfare of its citizens. All you attackers will have to pay along with the rest of us when Obama Mama wants his money back in two years that Sanford was forced to take and then could not use as our state saw fit.
Lets hear from you when your taxes triple.
Keep drinking the cool aide kids and oh yeah look the other way. Be cause right now you have a fall guy.
ajl
Greenville, SC
6. Marcos El Malo | 06.24.09
The idea of impeachment is ridiculous. Nobody died while Sanford was on his little vacation. South Carolina wasn’t invaded by North Carolina. Let him serve out the rest of is term, after which his political career is probably dead. However, his show biz career is just starting. I predict he is even now getting offers from Hollywood for a reality show. Something along the lines of “Where in the World Is Mark Sanford?” or “I’m a Repubican Politician, Get Me Out of Here!”
7. R Elliot | 06.24.09
The only thing that appears to be wrong, is that the govenor did not let anyone know of his plans and a way for contact. If this is an impeachable event in SC, then so be it. However, how this governor’s behavior has anything to do with conservatives in general or the Republican Party is guilt by association, not something that should be blamed upon conservatives in general or the National Republican Party.
8. richard wolfe | 06.24.09
I think his trip should be investigated to see if he was engaged in anything illegal. Going to a foreign country secretly for drives along the beach sounds BOGUS to me. Selling government secrets? Drug related? Mental problem? We sure don’t want him for President or any other office if he is going to disappear for any reason, especially on just a whim.
9. Chuck-O | 06.24.09
Seriously…. who cares if the guy took a couple of days off. There was nothing in session and he turned off his cell while on vacation.
10. Tootenheimer | 06.24.09
Why is this a huge deal? Can’t a guy dip off for a little sanity time without everyone freaking out?
11. Elizabeth | 06.24.09
My family has lived in North Carolina for 6 generations and we have long regarded our neighbor state to the south as a sort of intemperate backwoods cousin. (Charleston is an exception. Charleston went to finishing school.) Calling Governor Sanford “quirky” is putting mildly—we call him “nutty as a fruitcake.”
12. Deborah | 06.24.09
I feel that his family knew exactly where he was, but respected his privacy enough not to disclose it to the press. Sometimes everyone needs to get away; even the governor!! Impeachment seems to be extreme in this case. SC had no emergency issues that needed the governors attention. If there had been an emergency, I would like to think our other elected officials would know what to do. I really do not understand why some people are making such a big deal out of this. Other parts of the world are in turmoil and the media should concentrate on issues that are more pressing.
13. Alison | 06.24.09
Oh, so he isn’t entitled to a few days of privacy? The Lt. Gov cold have handled any emergencies - that’s how the law reads. he’s human, this is a tough time, and I don’t blame him from wanting a break.
I suppose the media would still be trying to burn him at the stake if he’d taken his wife on a $100K broadway show/dinner date in NYC at the taxpayers of SC’s expense??
Oh… wait.
14. freddie mac | 06.24.09
There is just no nice way to say that the Governor, his family, and his staff are lying to in an attempt to cover up improper behavior, is there? He might want to consider resigning today, rather than continuing to dig a hole lying about his secretive escapades in Buenos Aires. I mean, c’mon! “Quiet drives on the beach?” At this point does anyone really believe that?
15. robert young | 06.24.09
would it be nice if all politcal leaders would gather up everything they took from everyone in america and took a one way flight and give this country back to the indains
16. Kenna Millard | 06.24.09
Has anyone done a study about Governers taking unannounced trips, their frequency, and their ability to generate news coverage on a collective and case by case basis ? This information is presented in an antiseptic context. The reader immediately assumes because of this that this is either the first such incident or in some other way spectacular. If that is miscast- the rest of the information is grossly inapropriate. In arguing about the role of the media we often forget to mention that whichever side of public opinion you reside on; the media must sustain itself as a business in a market environment. How often have we seen stories like this, with seemingly no legs, be tailored in a fashion that creates enough intrigue to give them a bottle rocket like life within the news cycle ? That the stories and the premises that support them are not really sustainable is not the issue…That another few days of advertisement sales are generated for the news BUSINESS is.
17. juliet | 06.24.09
Why is no one asking what he really did while he was in Argentina? I don’t believe that all he did was drive along the beach. Why be so secretive about it and not even tell his wife where he was, or at least instruct her to tell everyone else she didn’t know where he was? Why doesn’t someone find out what he was doing there, and whether he met with anyone?
18. Gemini | 06.24.09
He was cheating on his wife with some unknown woman from Argentina.
He blatantly lied to his wife, his staff, the people of South Carolina, of his whereabouts, while committing adultry. Then he tries to say he’s a good Christian. He has completely lost his mind.
This is a major problem with all the Republicans. They are honestly looking ridiculous. Standford tried to not take the money the government had available to the STATE, whereas, the PEOPLE of the state asked to help get the schools running. Standford wanted to talk against President Obama & reject what the people of his state wanted.
This goes to show that Standford & Republicans who are speaking out against the President, & his policies, while doing & saying things that 1.) Make no sense, 2.) have no backup or alternatives to why their are against the President & his administration, and 3.) are doing things to benefit themselves and NOT the PEOPLE as a whole.
This is a perfect example of where the Republican party is.
On the other hand, maybe this is just where we need to be more open about RELATIONSHIPS. I think Sanford has watched too much Big Love.
Bottom line, he cheated on his wife. His mind is not right & he’s simply not focused on his job. He needs to resign, and bottom line, he & republicans like him need to start supporting the President & the people. Not to waste time, but to get things done.
There is possibly an underlying issue in Politics & the value that a
FAMILY brings to your political career. Well, it’s the 21st century, and we do things different. Politics & Family shouldn’t mix. And you should’ve been open to yourself & the people that if you wanted to be a playboy, or didn’t want to be with your wife anymore, JUST SAY IT! Stop wasting peoples time.
19. Steve | 06.24.09
He should not be impeached, but the people of S. Carolina, or anyone else who has an opportunity to vote for him should seriously consider his terribly poor judgment, his lack of leadership, and his shirking of the duties he asked for.
20. Rose | 06.24.09
It’s ridiculous to respect this man for “being honest” or “being a man”… he only held this press conference because he got caught lying. What a typical, complete Christian hypocrite, and GOP “family values” liar. He should resign asap from elected office and then go chase skirts. Until then, he’s just another jerk who got caught with his pants down. What a loser.
22. Cass | 06.24.09
I’m not seeing the correlation between being a “hypocritical GOP family values liar Christian” has anything to do with his ability to lead and make decisions based on the economic evaluations of his state. Obviously he didn’t want to take the stimulus money because he knew that it would eventually lead to more economic crises. I’m not saying that what he did was right, my point is that the media is smearing this man over a poor decision purely because he wanted to do what is best for his state and went against the grain. Apparently you are not allowed to do this in politics. Ever. We have to remember that politicians are PEOPLE TOO! And nobody is perfect.
23. Enzo | 06.24.09
He was obviously having an affair…someone said in particular “hillary smith” that he was striking deals. Absolutely, striking deals in the bedroom..
24. Richard | 06.24.09
Governor Sanford is in the SC Air National Guard. Adultery is punishable offense under the Uniform Code of Military Justice. Will he be held accountable?
25. Rick | 06.24.09
I could care less that Sanford took off for a couple of days… however, what concerns me is that he did so very irresponsibly. He is the leader of the state. There is protocol that he must follow and must do so for good reasons. To romp off to sites unknown to have an “affair” without at least following the protocol for governing officials makes me question whether or not he needs to be govenor. He is clearly placing his “sexual” wants above his official responsbilities (his family responsibilities as well, but that really is none of my business).
27. Silber Igel | 06.24.09
I think he’s a typical Republican politician. Since he’s involved in an affair with a foreign national, he needs to be investigated by Homeland In-Security and the FBI for possible national security violations. As a Governor he’s privy to a lot of confidential/classified/OUO information.
Who knows who his ‘friend’ is??
28. Dana Gencarelli | 06.24.09
Sanford was a very harsh critic of Bill Clinton during the Lewinsky scandal. In fact, he called for the President’s resignation. Funny how that stuff can come back to bite you in the end.
29. Sammie | 06.24.09
Mark Sanford should resign, since he proved he is untrustworthy and not capable of making good choices. He definitely did not have his family or his constituency in mind when he “disappeared”. One must remember, not only did he make himself unavailable if South Carolina should have had an emergency situation, but I gather he was using time on the job to visit, email, phone and text the other woman when he should have been working on state issues. He claimed that this woman was a “dear, dear friend.” Shouldn’t his wife and the mother of his children be his dearest friend in whom he confides? Also, what kind of father spends Father’s Day with his mistress instead of his children? Well, maybe it isn’t such a surprise, since he didn’t seem to care about the school children of South Carolina when he rejected stimulus money. I believe all sins can be forgiven by our gracious Lord, but I don’t believe a person with poor decision making skills should hold an important public office. South Carolina deserves better!
30. Robert M. | 06.24.09
I don’t think disappearing without anyone knowing is an impeachable offence (if it’s an offence at all), so people should stop talking nonsense in that respect.
It is, however, highly irresponsible, specially coming from a governor who touts personal responsibility as paramount. Thi is just the latest example of cognitive dissonance in government officials, specially in the last three or four years, starting with Bush on down, and across party lines.
The more serious question, and one that I think Silber Igel got correctly, should be, who is this foreign national that Gov. Sanford had an affair with? She/he is probably just an innocent bystander who had an affair with Sanford, but it could easily turn into a more serious issue. What if this person is the agent of a foreign government, or is extorted by one into telling them what she/he knows about South Carolina and its government? I know it seems far-fetched or even alarmist, but it is a possibility. Sanford should come completely clean, if not out in public, at least with the Secret Service, so they have a chance to check this person out and make sure that there was no breach of security.
31. kwik2laugh | 06.24.09
Well, as with Bill Clinton and many more men, the little brain has done the thinking. I feel for the family, especially his children. I hope his wife is not as ignorant as John Edwards wife. I hope that Sanfords wife kicks him to the curb. All politicians are human and we must remember that. I do not believe his trip was for anything but a romp in the hay. As far as impeachment, I wouldn’t worry about it. I would let him run his term, because the people of SC will impeach the next election.
32. Karen | 06.24.09
I think he’s a disgrace to his family, his children, and his state. If he doesn’t resign, he should be impeached for not properly transferring power to the Lt. Governor in his absence when he apparently planned on being unreachable.
33. Cooper | 06.24.09
There is not anything wrong with taking a vacation, and if you change your mind, let someone in charge know for the sake of the State. What if something would have happened to him in Argentina, and the whole state of SC is looking for him on the trail. How much would the State of SC taxpayers have to pay for that? Sounds like he needs to grow up and take the responsibility that was given to him by the taxpayers. He knew when he took the oath what he was in for.
34. america | 06.24.09
In addition to the SC Governors girlfriend, a bigger issue is that he broke the uniformed code of military justice and must be courtmartialed immediately.
35. Frank | 06.24.09
Now that Sanford is well-versed in foreign affairs, he might be a future Secretary of State………………
37. Simplicio T. Soriao | 06.25.09
The governor is a public servant, a public property, and subject to public scrutiny for as long as he spends the taxpayer’s money. A recall is appropriate in this situation because he violated the public trust.
38. angry in SC | 06.25.09
What an example for our young folks! Time for him to leave office and go back to Argentina.
39. hal | 06.25.09
His kids should impeach him as a father for choosing to see his mistress in Argentina over sharing father’s day with them.
40. Judas Iscariot | 06.27.09
One wonders if it ever occurred to the Hon.Gov. that he was risking ruining his sons’ future, even if he did not care how his wife would view this romp, considering that she had placed him on probation w.r.t. their marriage.
41. Andrew | 06.27.09
Mr Governnor — Why not quit while you’re ahead dude- The American thing to do - then leave the wife and kids, change your name to Pedro or something and go live with the love of your life in B.A.; you’ll be much happier; I’m sure the State can get by without you. I mean put things into perspective, we have to go on without Michael Jackson, now that is a tragedy, a great loss. So Mr. Guv - Hasta La Vista Baby.
42. Coleman Hatfield | 06.27.09
Gov. Mark Sanford should resign immediately. I am a South Carolinian and have no more use for him as my governor. Personal problems can limit his effectiveness. Just shows he doesn’t have it all together upstairs. Whan an airhead
43. samallen | 06.28.09
I’m not one of the liberals, but agree he should resign or of not, be removed. For him to leave with no method of communication and without transfering power shows he is irresponsible. He was NOT thinking of his state, but acted in an arrogant, egotistical, selfish manner… it was all about him. And what is he saying now? That to resign would be easy but he will not as he wants to regain the trust of the people and his family? Again, his commeant ways it is all about HIM, that he is staying for HIS image… not what he can do as governor or for the people of his state. He’s finished in politics and he should be finished as governor immediately. Since he seems only concerned about himself, then he should resign as after all, people will think he did the right thing. And while you are returning money for that one trip, turn in your income for the time you were AWOL. They say governor’s and Presidents are available at all time and ‘at work’ whether at home or not. If you were unavailable for even an emergency, you were NOT due an income while you were gone. (It’s tornado season. Who was there to declare a disaster or call out the National Guard if needed??? Nobody. )
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1. VirginiaMom | 06.24.09
Gov. Sanford says he went for “quiet drives along the beach”? But there are only 2 miles of coastal highway near Buenos Aires. Wanna try another story?