Sanford's hobby? Being governor
Sanford's hobby? Being governor
By S.C. Sen. John Land
Special to SC Statehouse Report
JULY 10, 2009 -- It was early on the afternoon of Monday, June 22, when I received a phone call telling me Gov. Mark Sanford was missing. I was told no one knew where he was, not even his wife. Folks remarked how odd it was that our state's chief executive would disappear and not tell anyone where he was going. Was he safe? Who's in charge of the state? When will he return?
By now we all know what developed over the next 10 days for Gov. Sanford. First the bogus story of hiking the Appalachian Trail, the half-truth about being in Argentina for a coastal drive to clear his head, and then the nationally-televised press conference admitting to an extramarital affair.
But the one aspect of this whole saga that I find the most troubling is the report that Gov. Sanford's trip had originally been planned as a 10-day Argentina rendezvous. He cut his trip short only after learning of the firestorm that had developed back home. What kind of governor books a 10 day international getaway and fails to inform the lieutenant governor or his staff? What kind of governor demonstrates such a disregard for the job he was elected to do? Answer: a governor that thinks his job is just a hobby.
We were promised during the 2002 campaign that a new governor would be a leader, someone who would work to make South Carolina a better place. But what we got was something different all together. We got Mark Sanford.
During his first year in office, a contentious state budget debate was raging in Columbia. State leaders were facing tough decisions on South Carolina's future. Instead of being at the Capitol to offer critical leadership and broker an agreement, Sanford was off in Bermuda enjoying a yacht race. And as the state’s unemployment rate began to rise to one of the worst in the nation, well above the national average, where was Gov. Sanford? He was on a statewide bicycle ride. And recently we learned about pleasure trips to China, Tibet, Nepal, India, Thailand, Hong Kong and Uruguay from the e-mail exchanges with his Argentine mistress.
Sanford's cavalier attitude towards his job has hurt our state. And as he enters his final year as governor, one word can be used to describe his legacy: failure - failure to lead, failure to accomplish anything, failure to govern. Time Magazine named him one of the nation's worst governors in 2006 for good reason. South Carolina has fallen further and further behind. Our state's once solid reputation as a formidable economic development powerhouse has been reduced to a national embarrassment.
We were promised leadership but all we got was a part-time governor who lacks any real commitment to his job.
Land is the SC Senate Democratic Leader. He can be reach at JCL@scsenate.org
By S.C. Sen. John Land
Special to SC Statehouse Report
JULY 10, 2009 -- It was early on the afternoon of Monday, June 22, when I received a phone call telling me Gov. Mark Sanford was missing. I was told no one knew where he was, not even his wife. Folks remarked how odd it was that our state's chief executive would disappear and not tell anyone where he was going. Was he safe? Who's in charge of the state? When will he return?
By now we all know what developed over the next 10 days for Gov. Sanford. First the bogus story of hiking the Appalachian Trail, the half-truth about being in Argentina for a coastal drive to clear his head, and then the nationally-televised press conference admitting to an extramarital affair.
But the one aspect of this whole saga that I find the most troubling is the report that Gov. Sanford's trip had originally been planned as a 10-day Argentina rendezvous. He cut his trip short only after learning of the firestorm that had developed back home. What kind of governor books a 10 day international getaway and fails to inform the lieutenant governor or his staff? What kind of governor demonstrates such a disregard for the job he was elected to do? Answer: a governor that thinks his job is just a hobby.
We were promised during the 2002 campaign that a new governor would be a leader, someone who would work to make South Carolina a better place. But what we got was something different all together. We got Mark Sanford.
During his first year in office, a contentious state budget debate was raging in Columbia. State leaders were facing tough decisions on South Carolina's future. Instead of being at the Capitol to offer critical leadership and broker an agreement, Sanford was off in Bermuda enjoying a yacht race. And as the state’s unemployment rate began to rise to one of the worst in the nation, well above the national average, where was Gov. Sanford? He was on a statewide bicycle ride. And recently we learned about pleasure trips to China, Tibet, Nepal, India, Thailand, Hong Kong and Uruguay from the e-mail exchanges with his Argentine mistress.
Sanford's cavalier attitude towards his job has hurt our state. And as he enters his final year as governor, one word can be used to describe his legacy: failure - failure to lead, failure to accomplish anything, failure to govern. Time Magazine named him one of the nation's worst governors in 2006 for good reason. South Carolina has fallen further and further behind. Our state's once solid reputation as a formidable economic development powerhouse has been reduced to a national embarrassment.
We were promised leadership but all we got was a part-time governor who lacks any real commitment to his job.
Land is the SC Senate Democratic Leader. He can be reach at JCL@scsenate.org
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