From Lame to Dead
June 29th, 2009 Comments Off
It was going to be hard enough for SC Governor Mark Sanford to accomplish anything in the last year of his tenure. Frequently at odds with a hostile General Assembly and his vetoes routinely overridden, Sanford stood his philosophical ground even though he had no leg on which to stand.
Whatever populism he might have inspired to be twice elected was not powerful enough to convice the Senate and House to follow his lead.
Now, his credentials are irreparably damaged and ANY chance he may have had to reform a poorly constituted state government is gone.
Mark Sanford is no longer just a lame duck governor, he’s a dead duck politician.
I wish it weren’t so. But it is.
I never had delusions that he would be a viable presidential candidate. Other than ideas, he had no record to offer. This wasn’t his fault – much. The state constitution and an imperial General Assembly prevented him from creating a viable portfolio. And running as governor of a state with a dismal education system, world-class unemployment and seat-of-the-pants governance hardly gave him a platform to attract voters nationwide.
As we’ve seen with these latest revelations, Sanford is also too much of a loner to hold high national office. Too much interaction and compromise is required. It would not have been pretty.
Whether or not one believes that Lt. Governor Andre Bauer is a legitimate leader is really beside the point. The best thing for the state is for a dead duck governor to be put to rest and move on.
