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President Mark Sanford Is Still Possible in 2012
North Star Writers Group ^ | 2009-06-28 | Paul Ibrahim

Posted on 06/28/2009 8:11:49 PM PDT by rabscuttle385

“No one’s going to save us dude. It’s up to us and us alone.”

These are the words of a text message I received from a fellow conservative upon the revelation that South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford had disappeared for a few days to spend time with his mistress in Argentina. After the cumulative disaster that were the 2008 GOP primaries, conservatives desperately thought that, for once, we might have an ardent conservative – particularly a fiscal conservative – run and actually capture the White House in 2012.

And this was not your garden-variety, self-proclaimed “conservative” Republican who interpreted conservatism as an ideology of merely slower government growth. No, this guy was the real deal. He fought to keep his state from accepting dirty “stimulus” funds from the federal government while other governors gobbled up the money in complete disregard for their supposed principles and for the well-being of the younger generations that must repay the debt. He has attended legislative sessions with piglets under his arms in demonstration of his ardent opposition to pork. He has walked the walk, and is still doing it.

Indeed, media personalities couldn’t be more frustrating when they proclaim that Sanford’s blunder is yet another blow to an already-aching GOP. The fact is that many conservatives didn’t regard Sanford’s affiliation with the GOP as anything beyond an annoying necessity. They viewed Sanford as being in the mold of Pat Toomey, Jim DeMint, Tom Coburn and Jeff Flake – you know, the guys who spend much of their time combating the Republican establishment. They are the guys who never see a scandal in their voracious hunt for smaller government and against politicians’ abuse of public office. The fact that Sanford made conservatives doubt even this already tiny group of political stars is beyond infuriating.

Sanford’s sin, like that of any adulterer, is absolutely nauseating – and, absent repentance, is deserving of a deeper circle of hell than Dante would ever ascribe to it. This is why only a few conservatives would trust Sanford again unless he cuts off all relations with his mistress, demonstrates genuine contrition, works fervently to rebuild his family and earns the forgiveness of his wife and kids.

And indeed if Sanford’s conversion is accepted as sincere even by his most wounded wife, who are we to deny him our support for any political pursuit based on this sin – especially when he has excelled more than most at his job as governor? Democrats never asked Bill Clinton to step down when he cheated on his wife, even when he explicitly lied under oath and to the entire country. Likewise, few if any Republicans withheld their vote from “heroic” John McCain in 2008 for cheating on his wife – and proceeding to marry another woman.

As far as affairs go, Sanford’s story is not among the worst – which does not take away from its intrinsic immorality, but raises questions as to why his treatment has been worse than usual. Some credit the difference to his supposed use of state assets for personal reasons. But the best his opponents have been able to find is that, on a completely legitimate commerce trip he took to Brazil and Argentina last year, he apparently made time to see his mistress. Yet politicians use such opportunity of being in a distant location for personal reasons all the time – and it’s only logical (unlike, say, dropping up to a quarter-million dollars solely to take the First Lady on a hours-long date in NYC).

From a public-duty perspective, Sanford’s greatest lapse of judgment was disappearing without much contact, but rhetoric and attack dogs aside, it’s really not that appalling for a governor to be unavailable for a few days – at least not a big enough deal to disqualify him from the presidency. It’s not like he hung out with a terrorist, or for 20 years espoused a church run by a conspiratorial bigot.

But it’s not really all about cheating and disappearing, of course. By sticking to the laws of economics and fiscal integrity, Sanford has managed to build enemies on both sides of the aisle. Since Obama’s election, but especially since Sanford’s rejection of porkulus funds, Democrats have feared Sanford as a definitively non-McCainiac presidential candidate who could energize conservatives against President Obama in 2012. They have been running ads against him. The third-ranking Democrat in the House played the racism card in response to Sanford’s statement that printing a lot of money could lead to hyper-inflation à la Zimbabwe.

The New York Times wildly sensationalized an article about Sanford by titling it “Governor Used State’s Money to Visit Lover,” while it went on to explain that he merely met up with his mistress while on a legitimate business development trip to Argentina.

And, a bit surprisingly, it seems that some simply have not overcome the embarrassment dealt to them by President Clinton. Also in the New York Times, Gail Collins wrote about a “lesson” to be learned from the Sanford story: “I’m thinking it’s time for the Republicans to apologize for putting us through the Clinton impeachment. We seem to have pretty well established that sexual stone-throwing is a dangerous sport.”

Wow. Never mind that Clinton was impeached on grounds of perjury and obstruction of justice. What is most disturbing is the apparent admission that the heat launched at Sanford is a form of revenge for what Clinton brought unto himself. This behavior makes even more sense in light of a recent Gallup poll showing that Democrats are five times as likely as Republicans to believe that marital infidelity is morally acceptable.

The fact is that even if Sanford was the only politician who has cheated on his spouse (which he most certainly is not), he still would not rank anywhere near the bottom of politicians’ ethical scale. Not because he is a moral giant, mind you, but because all the others are so, so far from being one.

A great majority of politicians, from both parties, continuously engage in wasteful spending, pork and other abuses of taxpayer money. They subsidize the businesses of their campaign donors and choke the rest. They take actions that they affirmatively believe will harm the economy if it will help their re-election. They are dirty.

Putting Sanford’s marital infidelity aside, the governor has been a hero to anyone who has ever paid taxes, and more importantly, anyone who wishes to live in a prosperous country. It may be for this reason that only 18 percent of South Carolina voters, even after the recent hullabaloo, say that Sanford’s ethical standards are lower than most politicians’. It is incredible then that so many seem to care more about Sanford’s sin in Argentina than about the hundreds of remaining politicians putting every American into debt for decades to come. Our priorities are more than skewed.

If a Mark Sanford presidency would look anything like the Mark Sanford governorship, and if Sanford would respect the small-government roots of the U.S. Constitution like he respected small-government principles in South Carolina, America would be better off than it would be under nearly any figure in the American political scene. Much, much better off.

And it is still possible. Following the debacle, Sanford said: “What I find interesting is the story of David, and the way in which he fell mightily, he fell in very very significant ways. But then picked up the pieces and built from there.” Any Christian, and most Americans must believe that aside from whether or not he will actually do so, Sanford is capable of picking up the pieces and rebuilding. He might never again be regarded as highly as he once was. But he could unquestionably be regarded higher than most in his league.


TOPICS: Candidates; General Discussion
KEYWORDS: 2012; 2012gopprimary; lping; marksanford; realconservatives; sanford; sanford2012
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To: Star Traveler

FReepers are not particularly representative of Republicans in general, and I suppose that they might not even be representative of the “Christian right.” I still think it is an interesting poll result, given the amount of criticism that Romney receives on FR.


61 posted on 06/28/2009 10:37:54 PM PDT by TChad
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To: TChad

You said — I still think it is an interesting poll result, given the amount of criticism that Romney receives on FR.

And FReepers should also know this, too.... LOL...


Unlike Romney’s “National Council for a New America,” Free Republic is a conservative site!
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2243314/posts
by Jim Robinson

If there is anyone here who doesn’t understand why we cannot support a slick socialist politician like Mitt Romney, God help you, but you’re on the wrong website. We went through this with the abortionist, gay rights activist, illegal alien supporting, gun grabbing Rudy Giuliani until someone created another website call WAnkers for Rudy and they all flew the coop. Hopefully, before too much FReeper blood is shed, someone will create a WAnkers for Romney site and we can be left to fight the good fight as we see fit!

FR is not for everyone!


It’s hazardous to one’s health on Free Republic to not be conservative, doncha know... (no really.., I mean it, and Romney certainly isn’t conservative, as we all know...)


62 posted on 06/28/2009 10:46:26 PM PDT by Star Traveler (The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is a Zionist and Jerusalem is the apple of His eye.)
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To: TChad; Star Traveler

Romney was my third choice after Hunter and Thomson fell. Of the ones remaining he seemed the most competent, and the one who I thought could stop McCain. He withdrew right at the climax, right when I thought he ought to have fought. It looked to me like he calculated the odds, it looked like he analyzed the situation like an actuary and made his decision to withdraw on that basis.

But politics isn’t just about calculations, it is about ideas you care enough about to fight for even when you’re on the losing end. While it might have been smart to withdraw by some calculations, it struck me as gutless to abandon ship right at that moment, and abandon his supporters leaving McCain as the nominee. So while I don’t hate Romney in the way a lot of people here do, I can’t get past the notion that he is gutless.

And the fact that he didn’t consider stopping McCain worth fighting for also told me he didn’t see things the way I hoped he saw them. He may not know it, but that was his moment, and his moment has passed for good.


63 posted on 06/28/2009 11:35:23 PM PDT by marron
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To: marron

Well, at least we know that Romney is not a conservative... at any rate...

(per post #62...)


64 posted on 06/28/2009 11:41:43 PM PDT by Star Traveler (The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is a Zionist and Jerusalem is the apple of His eye.)
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To: marron
He may not know it, but that was his moment, and his moment has passed for good.

Much of the FR criticism of Romney hits home, but he remains at least plausible. We have such a shallow bench of candidates that "plausible" may win the nomination, though it won't beat Obama.

65 posted on 06/28/2009 11:52:47 PM PDT by TChad
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To: TChad
Wrong. Romney won only one (1) poll at FR

FLASHBACK:

FRee Republic Member Opinion
Thompson 66.8% 1,658 - WINNER
Romney 12.7% 315

Post Election Rasmussen poll - GOP voters:
Palin -- 64% - WINNER
Huckabee -- 12%
Romney -- 11%



66 posted on 06/29/2009 3:48:34 AM PDT by Diogenesis
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To: BradyLS

>> It wasn’t but a few weeks ago that Bill Bennett and company were pooh-poohing Palin over Willow and then saying we need to here from heavy-weights like Sanford.

I simply can’t understand how the “GOP Heavyweights” (and I use the term loosely!) can find moral equivalence between an error in judgment by Palin’s young DAUGHTER (not the candidate herself!) and Sanford, a grown man who should KNOW better, and who IS the governor and IS the presumptive candidate.

Has the entire political world gone off the deep end and abandoned all logic and reasoning?


67 posted on 06/29/2009 4:23:25 AM PDT by Nervous Tick (Stop dissing drunken sailors! At least they spend their OWN money.)
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To: Josh Painter

>> Well, he wouldn’t have gotten “set up” if he had been thinking with the big head instead of the little one.

Ah, everyman’s Achilles heel. The Good Lord in His infinite wisdom only provided us enough blood to run one of them at a time.


68 posted on 06/29/2009 4:27:08 AM PDT by Nervous Tick (Stop dissing drunken sailors! At least they spend their OWN money.)
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To: Star Traveler

>> You had the McCain liberal wing/establishment and the Romney goons after her before the election was even over...

Why McCain could not find the courage to vigorously defend his chosen VP candidate against the slings and arrows is a mystery.

Guess he was too busy slipping behind enemy lines oops I mean “across the aisle”, giving aid and comfort to the Bambi ‘Rats, to pay attention.

But just remember, McCain told us Bambi wasn’t a bad fellow, we shouldn’t fear him, and he’d make a good President.

spit


69 posted on 06/29/2009 4:30:09 AM PDT by Nervous Tick (Stop dissing drunken sailors! At least they spend their OWN money.)
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To: Lurker
I'm with you. This guy needs to resign and it's more about the way he did this than the fact that he did it.

There's a huge difference in the way the Ensign affair went down than Sanfords.

I'll trust Ensign far sooner than I'd trust Sanford. This guy needs to go.

70 posted on 06/29/2009 4:33:50 AM PDT by Conservativegreatgrandma (I)
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To: rabscuttle385

Ha ha ha! Good one!


71 posted on 06/29/2009 4:35:11 AM PDT by 9YearLurker
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To: rabscuttle385
If a Mark Sanford presidency would look anything like the Mark Sanford governorship...

At this point, that’s what I’m afraid of.

Sorry, folks...the only way President Sanford would be possible in 2012 is if Bill Clinton had never existed. Sanford is done.

72 posted on 06/29/2009 4:35:48 AM PDT by RichInOC (No! BAD Rich! (What;'d I say?))
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To: rabscuttle385

Repent and go away, Gov. Sanford.


73 posted on 06/29/2009 4:40:50 AM PDT by rabidralph
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To: rabscuttle385; 1010RD; Babsig; Clemenza; djsherin; ellery; Famishus; FlashBack; FreedomPoster; ...
FYI, I'm still maintaining the Sanford ping list.

    Gov. Mark Sanford Ping!



Want on or off this ping list? Just FReepmail me.

74 posted on 06/29/2009 6:06:34 PM PDT by upchuck (Psalm 109:8 ~ Let his days be few; and let another take his office.)
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To: La Lydia

LOL!

Agreed. Sanford needs to quietly go away.


75 posted on 06/30/2009 12:03:56 AM PDT by NucSubs ( Cognitive dissonance: Conflict or anxiety resulting from inconsistency between beliefs and actions)
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To: Norman Bates

Why do you think Sanford completing his term will secure a dem? I was in Murrell’s Inlet when the story broke. The locals were sick over it, they love him and believe he is doing a great job for the state. He couldn’t run again so another Rep. would have to run anyway. South Carolina is a very conservative state.


76 posted on 06/30/2009 4:56:21 AM PDT by panthermom
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To: rabscuttle385
Nope.
Not only did he cheat on his wife, he abandoned his station without handing it over the proper subordinate.
He cheated on Father's day.
And he cheated so ineptly he was caught without the remotest chance of plausible deniability.

Penitence might earn forgiveness, but it doesn't earn a shot at the presidency. He's simply not competent enough for the job.

77 posted on 06/30/2009 5:59:53 AM PDT by Little Ray (Do we have a Plan B?)
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To: lilylangtree
"Before or after he’s taken the Argentina former journalist as wife?"

Ahhh, the sarkozy model to election? :-)

Frankly, sanford needs to go away...viva la Sarah!

78 posted on 06/30/2009 6:02:43 AM PDT by newfreep ("Liberalism is just Communism sold by the drink." - P.J. O'Rourke)
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To: TorahTrueJew

I think the affair is a big deal.

If a man will stand before God and swear faithfulness to his wife, then ditch her and his kids on father’s day to go boink his mistress, how faithful do think he will be to the Oath of Office, eh?


79 posted on 06/30/2009 6:06:03 AM PDT by Little Ray (Do we have a Plan B?)
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To: rabscuttle385
on a completely legitimate commerce trip he took to Brazil and Argentina last year

BS!! The trip was origianlly scheduled for Brazil; Sanford added Argentina to the itinerary so he could see his bimbo on the taxpayers' dime.

80 posted on 06/30/2009 11:07:04 AM PDT by steve-b (Intelligent design is to evolutionary biology what socialism is to free-market economics.)
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