Jake Knotts, another Sanford critic within the party ranks, called up Reggie Lloyd himself this past Saturday, loaded for bear regarding a rumor that the governor was away “again,” and he essentially trapped Lloyd into making statements that sounded as if he were concerned about “succession.”
The thing no one outside the region realizes, is that the level of acrimony over Sandford’s rejection of federal stimulus money has been extremely high, even between Republicans in SC. There have been efforts to tie Sanford down, to tightly control him, spinning directly off of his refusal to accept the funds.
This ties directly to the wild tale of the disappearing governor. It’s all about Porkulus and control.
People familiar with the situation say it was one of Mr. Sanford’s appointees, Reggie Lloyd, head of the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, whose concerns prompted elected officials on Monday to investigate whether a temporary handoff of control was needed. Elected officials decided against doing so after being told by aides to the governor that they knew Mr. Sanford’s location.
After declining for hours to reveal his location, Mr. Sanford’s office said late Monday that he was hiking along the Appalachian Trail and was difficult to reach.