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Poll: South Carolinians Want Sanford To Resign
A new InsiderAdvantage poll finds that 50% of South Carolina's registered voters want Gov. Mark Sanford (R) to resign, in the wake of his disappearance to Argentina and his subsequent admission of an extramarital affair, with 42% opposed.
The option of impeachment by the legislature gets a little less support, with 45% in favor to 46% against, within the ±3.2% margin of error.
Republicans oppose impeachment 63%-32%, Democrats favor it 71%-21%, and independents oppose it 49%-35%. Republicans oppose resignation by a 56%-38% margin, Democrats favor it 70%-20%, while independents narrowly oppose it by 45.3%-44.7%.
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Josh
Matt
Eric
Brian
I don't live in South Carolina, but if I did I'd much rather my legislature spend it's time and money on other things when this guy is a lame duck with 18 months left in his term.
Reprimand him, feed him some saltpeter, and put on a tracking collar.
Spend the taxpayers money on schools and roads just like he didn't want you to do. Don't waste it trying to evict this guy.
June 25, 2009 1:44 PM | Reply | Permalink
Well, I guess it depends whether you think his lame-duckitude would be of the figurehead variety (going along with the lege to avoid being in the news) or the nothing-left-to-lose variety (meaning more of the wingnut grandstanding he was doing before this.) If he chooses the latter category, he could do a lot of damage if he understands that he doesn't have a political future other than possibly earning a place on the wingnut-welfare circuit.
June 25, 2009 4:13 PM | Reply | Permalink
How many of those in favor just wanted him out anyway and feels this is the perfect time to do it?
June 25, 2009 1:58 PM | Reply | Permalink
Asking the same question a different way: What was Sanford's approval rating within South Carolina as of Thursday last week?
June 25, 2009 2:03 PM | Reply | Permalink
Just take away his passport.
June 25, 2009 2:13 PM | Reply | Permalink
And his keys to his security detail's SUV...
June 25, 2009 4:09 PM | Reply | Permalink
Governor Mark Sanford is
also Captain Mark Sanford of the US Air Force Reserve.
It seems that adultery is a violation of Article 134 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ).
Sanford has admitted to a violation that should lose him his military commission.
Article 134 violations were cited in the demotion and forced retirement of Brig. Gen. Janis Karpinski -- if it was good enough for her, it's good enough for Sanford.
June 25, 2009 2:14 PM | Reply | Permalink
I'm amazed at Josh's seeming sympathy for the guy -- I have absolutely no patience for hypocrisy. In addition, he irresponsibly left his state without a head-of-state for 5 days (he could have asked the lieutenant gov to step in), he left his wife to answer the embarrassing questions, he was gone on the day men are supposed to be w/ their children, and he repeatedly lied.
I think his presser was self-serving and a perfect example of the "poor pitiful me" variety of apology. And although he feels so so sorry for himself, he doesn't seem to have the same level of sympathy for South Carolinians losing their jobs, their homes, their futures.
And the way he talked about his Argentinian lover during the press conference made it clear that he was still in love with her and it must have been incredibly humiliating and painful for his wife.
I believe in private lives staying private -- an affair not on government money, not on government time, is only his and his spouse's business. But this guy crossed that line on a couple of scores, not to mention being in direct conflict w/ his stated views on Clinton & Livingston about the sanctity of marriage.
June 25, 2009 2:35 PM | Reply | Permalink
Turnip is right, let the lame duck waddle through the next 18 months and save the taxpayers the $. I say this as a South Carolina Democrat who thinks that both the guv and the lieutenant gov are weird and useless.
Come to think of it, so's DeMint. Graham, nearly, but not quite as much as the others.
June 25, 2009 3:07 PM | Reply | Permalink
If Sanford sticks around, fine with me. Just another hypocrite Reep head-on-a-pike that gets to be out for full public display for another election cycle...
June 25, 2009 3:53 PM | Reply | Permalink
I bet South Carolina Republicans actually have a more favorable view of a new secession attempt than impeaching their lunatic, AWOL governor. How sad.
June 25, 2009 3:54 PM | Reply | Permalink
There is a double standard for the political punishment of adultery based which is based on your political party. If you are a DEM, then the GOP DEMAND that you resign. If you are a GOP, then you go to your "group of elders" and apologize and then all is forgiven.
South Carolinians are the deciders unless Sanford truly believes all his own words when he spoke out about other politicians. Now is the time that we will see his true colors.
Maybe he will be like Ensign...apology was sufficient. it sounds like the GOP have their own unique definition of hypocrisy - it is valid only when it can be used against an opposing political group and serves to demeans other's self interest.
June 25, 2009 4:07 PM | Reply | Permalink
Having lived in SC and knowing about the deep rooted baptist-based mentality toward social issues, Sanford's committed something equivalent to heresy.
Generally people are fed up with Sanford; he's been an embarrassment to many on his rejection of funds for education, particularly when SC educational is so broken.
It all comes down to what Andre Bauer or his surrogates want...if his political detractors want to replace him, we'll see a movement to force him to resign. Those "good ole boys" in Columbia are real hit below the belt kinda pols.
June 25, 2009 4:22 PM | Reply | Permalink
Then he should. But he probably won't. Politicans do not listren to us.
June 25, 2009 5:12 PM | Reply | Permalink
When he was saying how sorry he was & how much he had hurt everyone, his mistress was the first named, not his wife or kids. If that isn't pathetic, don't know what would be. Imagine how that made his wife feel. I don't care what he does, hopefully he will disappear permanently soon, never to be heard from again.
I am sick of hypocritic politicians, regardless of party.
June 25, 2009 6:09 PM | Reply | Permalink