Tuesday, Jun. 30, 2009

Sanford: I'll 'serve as best I can'

Republican bids to oust Sanford lose steam

Efforts by some state senators and Republican Party activists to oust Gov. Mark Sanford lost steam Monday: There were no plans to collectively call for the governor’s resignation.

Sanford told reporters Monday he has been changed by the controversy over his admitted affair and will not step down partly because his friends worry a resignation would hurt statewide reform efforts he has spearheaded — and that it would impact the 2010 gubernatorial race.

“To be human is to, on occasion, fall flat on your face,” said Sanford, who said he misled his staff and others as to his whereabouts during his secret trip to Buenos Aires, Argentina. His staff said he was hiking the Appalachian Trail.

“I’ve done it in the most public of circles. The question is, what do I learn from it and what do others learn from it?” Sanford said.

“My job is to love and serve as best I can,” he said.

A political firestorm among GOP gubernatorial rivals has been brewing since Sanford confessed to an extramarital affair with an Argentine woman.

Sanford also admitted to seeing the woman last June on a state-funded economic development trip. He promised to reimburse the state about $8,000 for that portion of the trip, but has not yet done so.

A few of the state’s top Republican activists, including Glenn McCall, one of South Carolina’s two national representatives to the Republican National Committee, have said Sanford should resign and follow his own philosophy of holding leaders accountable.

U.S. Sen. Jim DeMint told Fox News’ Sean Hannity Monday night he was disappointed in Sanford and was still undecided about whether Sanford should resign.

“We’re still looking at it,” DeMint said, in explaining Republican leaders are weighing how the scandal might affect Sanford’s ability to serve.

A deciding factor, DeMint said, would be Sanford’s success in repairing his personal life.

But Sanford allies like John Rainey, the state’s chief economic adviser who encouraged Sanford to run for governor in 2002, said he dined with Sanford on Sunday and encouraged the governor to stay on.

“The state would lose momentum. A change in administration would take months to adjust to,” Rainey said. “I said (to him) ‘You must stay. It is your duty to stay.’”

Rainey said Sanford now must focus on job creation. South Carolina ranks third in unemployment with 266,000 jobless workers.

“We’ve got people underemployed and unemployed. We’ve got (food banks) with empty pantries,” Rainey said. “We are in the vortex of an economic storm. Things are going to get worse before they get better. The state’s success is tied to (Sanford’s) success.”

Rep. Nikki Haley, R-Lexington, a Sanford ally and gubernatorial candidate, also said Monday the governor should remain in office to try to build on such statewide reform efforts as on-the-record voting by lawmakers and the recruitment of businesses to the state.

A second Republican considering a gubernatorial run, Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer, said Monday it’s up to the governor as to whether he should step down. Bauer also is considering a scenario in which he would serve as governor — but not run for office in 2010 — should Sanford decide to resign.

Bauer said his plan would limit the political posturing among GOP candidates jockeying behind the scenes to make the most of Sanford’s possible resignation.

“It’s sad that some people are putting politics before the people of S.C.,” Bauer said. “Somebody has got to act like an adult.”

Bauer said if the governor were to resign and he took Sanford’s place for the next 18 months, he would focus on job creation.

“It would (be) jobs, jobs and jobs,” Bauer said. “I would be covering the world, encouraging companies to locate in South Carolina.”

But some say it’s Bauer who is working behind the scenes to take the governor down.

Haley said Bauer would not focus on reform efforts and is trying to hijack the governor’s seat.

“I’m not going to let the last few years (of the reform movement) be lost over someone trying to cut a deal to get into (the governor’s) office,” Haley said, adding Bauer has worked against meaningful reform, including a controversial senior program his office oversees.

Monday, The New York Times published an e-mail from a Bauer political consultant to another national consultant, asking for help ousting Sanford.

Bauer said consultant Chris LaCivita sent the e-mail on his own.

S.C. Attorney General Henry McMaster, also a GOP gubernatorial candidate, Monday declined to comment on Bauer’s plan.

“I’m not going to get involved in all of the palace intrigue,” said McMaster, who added he’s awaiting the State Law Enforcement Division’s decision on whether a criminal investigation will be launched into Sanford’s activities and is encouraging all those involved not to mix politics with law enforcement.

“I’m not going to let the grand jury be used as a political tool for political ends,” McMaster said.

U.S. Rep. Gresham Barrett, another GOP gubernatorial contender, could not be reached for comment.

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