First of all, I want to make it quite clear that these opinions are my own, as a resident of South Carolina, and not as a member of any political party. I don’t speak for the leadership or the membership of the SC GOP, although some of them may share my views on the Sanford affair. I represent no one other than myself in taking this position, and I trust that everyone reading this will take my comments from that perspective. With that disclaimer out of the way, here we go…
I am calling on Governor Sanford to resign. My initial reaction to the revelation of his affair and his lies to cover his trail when he left to visit his mistress in Argentina was shock, disappointment, and frustration, as well as anger at his stupidity. I still have all those feelings. Watching the majority of the news coverage gave me the impression that he was sincere in his desire to reconcile with his wife, and to repair the damage he has caused to the local Republican Party as well as to his own reputation. After reading the transcript of his press conference and watching the small clip of him during that cabinet meeting today, I am no longer convinced that he is interested in changing direction or even breaking off the relationship with the woman in Argentina. That is a point he might want to clarify in the attempt to hang on to his job.
Governor Sanford has lost our trust. He has lost our confidence by his reckless behavior. There needs to be more significant consequences than the possibility of losing his marriage. The only appropriate course of action for someone who hasn’t chosen to come clean and then fly straight is to lose his job and political future. That’s all I have to say.
I’m going to refrain from calling for his resignation. Trust me, being from Illinois I know what it’s like having a liar for governor. It’s up to the people of SC to decide what comes next for Sanford. If we hadn’t learned that he used tax payer money to pay for his love romps then I would definitely say he shouldn’t resign. Since cheating on your wife isn’t illegal. But he actually betrayed more than trust when he forced everyone in SC to pay for his affair. If people say he should resign because of his misuse of tax money, then I can agree with that. But not just for the affair. Either way it doesn’t matter to me, it’s just sad the whole thing had to happen.
I wouldn’t ask Sanford to resign just for the affair. Affairs are common enough. But his behavior before and after this revelation was embarrassing to the state and to the SCGOP. Every day he’s losing more and more Republican support. That said, he may just survive this. It would be nothing short of a miracle, and the result of some Republicans choosing to put their own political futures above the principle involved here.