Mark, Mark, Mark...*sigh*

Oh dear. Mark, Mark, Mark. Governor Sanford you did it again. How could you? Do you not remember what happened the last time you left town without letting the Lt. Governor know where you were? You know how upset Lt. Gov. Bauer gets when you fail to let him know of your whereabouts.


So now what do you think is happening? Well, the house is now debating a bill that will require, by law, when a Governor leaves the state that the Lt. Gov. be notified. Because, we all know, in South Carolina the Governor has so much power...well, no, actually SC has one of the weakest Governor positions in the country. But, ok, whatever. I guess I see the point, at least if the Governor is going to be out of contact, say, hiking the Appalachian Trail somewhere, than sure the Lt. Gov. needs to know he is, by default, "in charge"...kind of like when the teacher leaves the classroom and appoints someone "in charge". Does that make everyone feel better??


Sen. John Courson, R-Columbia, one of the co-sponsors of the bill, says, "In today's climate, with the international terrorism that this country is facing, the possibility of, where we're located, storms, tornadoes coming through, that it is important that the line of succession be notified."  Sure, the line of succession should be notified, but mostly, only if the Governor is where he can't be reached, otherwise, he is still in charge. He can still make decision and he can still be in control.  


This, to me, just sounds like much ado about nothing. Basically it is everyone that is so upset at Governor Sanford for not resigning trying to punish/embarrass him. It is like a bunch of school kids throwing a tantrum. Sure, I do get the point, what Governor Sanford did last year was reprehensible. Saying he was going to be one place, heading to another, shaking his security detail, all extremely irresponsible and did leave our state unmanned. However, I feel we would have handled it had something happened. I know Lt. Governor Bauer was waiting by the phone to take swift action should he have needed to.


This trip to Florida that has all these fellas in an uproar? Yes, it has been confirmed the Governor was in constant contact with his staff. They knew where he was at all times.  So, ok, boys in Columbia, go pass your little bill and make this a law if that makes you feel better. It is a shame we have to make something so obvious a law, but that is the state of things these days, isn't it? I mean after all I am sure had this been a law last year then none of the would have happened, right?? Hmm....


Oh, and if you are curious, as I was, if the Governor was with his Argentinian Soulmate? I don't know...no one does apparently. But he was with a dark haired woman so it's up to you to decide if you think it was her...there are lots of reports from South Carolinians that happened to see him while he was in the Keys that say it looked like her, so I'm betting it probably was. But here's the thing, he is divorced now, you know!

Is Jenny Sanford "Staying True"?

Unless you have been living under a rock, and even then I'm sure you have heard about South Carolina's infamous Governor Mark Sanford and his trip hiking the Appalachian Trail  to Argentina to see his soul mate Maria Belen Chapur. His now estranged wife, Jenny Sanford, has just released her book, "Staying True".

I will tell you what has amazed me the most about her current book tour. As you know from reading my blog (if you have) I listen to a local radio show, "The Morning Buzz" in the morning while I am working. They have been discussing Mrs. Sanford's book at great lengths lately and it seems the consensus is SHE is the one that is wrong. The vast majority of the callers, and the radio host himself, seem to think that there is no reason Mrs. Sanford should have written a book. That she is just "out to make money". That if she really cared about protecting her boys as she claims, she wouldn't subject them to this.


I call foul. First of all, have you ever heard of Skil Saw, and the Skil corp? Yeah, that's her family, so this is not a woman that needs money. She also has a degree in finance from Georgetown University and worked on Wall Street for an investment banking firm. She is wealthy in her own right, without a book.


She has every right to tell her side of the story. We were subjected to Governor Sanford, for months, telling us about his "soul mate" and how he was in "luv" (yes "luv" not "love"). How, he was going to end contact with his Argentinian Maria and "try" to fall back in love with his wife. Mrs. Sanford has every right to tell us how she felt. What she went through. How it all started and what lead to the path they are now on. 

She tells how before they got married, Mark decided they would drop "faithful" from their wedding vows. She says, "It bothered me to some extent, but...we were very young, we were in love...I questioned it, but I got past it...along with other doubts I had." Well, she is getting a lot of flack for this concession. But, let's remember, they were young, were in love, and full of hope, faith, and trust in one another. It probably was a mere blip on the radar screen at the time. Of course, hind sight being 20/20, it's easy to say what a naive young girl she was to agree. But does omitting the word, in and of itself, omit the promise? 


I am really surprised at how much criticism she is getting. Mrs. Sanford is being made out to be the bad guy for publishing a book. I guess I just see it differently. I think she has every right to tell her side. I am sure it is only a matter of time before Maria Belen Chapur and Mark Sanford have book deals. If people will buy it, and they are buying Jenny Sanford's book, then obviously there is a demand and there are people interested in hearing what she has to say.

The State of South Carolina Politics

South Carolina seems to like to keep the comedians full of jokes these days.  One local radio host says that our politicians are an "economic stimulus plan for talk show hosts." I, unfortunately must agree.

We are home to Congressman Joe Wilson whose outburst, "You Lie!" was the two words heard 'round the world. My family has known Joe and his family since before I was born. When I had a paper due on the Declaration of Independence Joe had his office send me a HUGE box of anything and everything imaginable on the D of I. He is the epitome of decorum. This "situation" he found himself in the middle of is so outside of his personality it is amazing. When I first heard about this, I was sure they must be mistaken. Had Joe simply sat quietly through the speech and then presented his side as the "republican rebuttal" to the reporters after the speech it would have gone over so much better. However, I don't know if it would have received anywhere near the attention. I don't agree with his method, however, I do think he had a point.  I am proud to see he behaved himself last night during the State of the Union. Of course, we all joked and wondered if someone had duct taped him to keep him under control. Don't you know President Obama must have glared towards him a time or two?

Then we have our "Luv Gov" as a friend of mine likes to refer to him. Our Governor Mark Sanford who flew off to Argentina after losing his security detail to spend time with his "soul mate". Thanks to the Governor "hiking on the Appalachian Trail" has taken on a new meaning.  

Of course this leads me to our latest headline grabbing politician. Our illustrious Lt. Governor Andre Baur, who this past week compared welfare recipients to stray animals. And the rest of the country wonders why we did not want to impeach Governor Sanford? I give you exhibit A. Trust me the alternative was much, much worse. If you think we are in the headlines a lot now, you should see what would happen if we had a Governor "do you know who I am" Baur. Baur has had his share of bad publicity, speeding tickets, a plane crash and his latest comments about welfare. 

John Stewart has had a great time with this latest saying:

“It’s not always easy to fill a half hour comedy program with three minutes of comedy, that’s why we are especially grateful to those frequent contributors, those who give more than their fair share,” Stewart said during his show Monday night. “Like the state of South Carolina, whose elected representatives yell ‘you lie!’ at the President, whose governors use taxpayer funds to fly to Argentina to see their mistress and whose ordinary citizens get arrested for having sex with a horse.”

“The same horse … on two separate occasions,” Stewart notes.

If you haven't had a chance to see Stewart's 3 minute video from the Daily Show about South Carolina then you must click here. It is so funny and well worth your three minutes. Seriously take a look...Stewart calls South Carolina politics the gift that keeps on giving. 

While I do love South Carolina, I must admit, we have had more than our fair share of media attention for our elected leaders. If you think these are the only three examples, I invite you to google: Roland Corning (busted for having sex in a cemetery. With an 18 year old exotic dancer), Rusty DePass (my Godfather, actually), Earle Morris, and Charles Sharpe. Of course there was also Operation Lost Trust and I won't even mention that although he serves in NC John Edwards  was actually born in SC. Hmmm, is there something in the water?  I know there is corruption everywhere, we in SC just seem to want to air all our dirty laundry at the same time. 


Hey at least it's giving John Stewart (and the rest of the country) some good laughs!