A lot of people have been hurt, disillusioned, disappointed and damaged by Governor Mark Sanford’s selfish actions. We know the list: family, friends, colleagues, constituents …
Among the victims are Sanford’s staff. When the governor took off for Argentina, he left his staff in his wake armed with nothing more than confusion and lies. He left them to twist in the wind accused of being parties to deceit.
It wasn’t the first time, though this episode was unique in magnitude. Through no fault of his making, Joel Sawyer, Sanford’s bullet-riddled spokesman couldn’t answer so simple a question as “Where is the governor?” Only Sanford was to blame, but, at the time, Joel and other staffers were accused of covering up or, worse, lying.
As the governor’s story – and now stature – has fallen apart, his loyal staff is left chained to a crumbling building.
Joel is a good guy. He’s had a difficult job – as is the lot of a spokesperson – though Sanford no doubt made it even more so. Sanford often (usually?) traveled without Sawyer, a quirk attributed to his loner personality and legendary thriftiness. Not one to accept scripted remarks, his own Communications Director never really knew what the governor was going to say and, at times, would have to embarrassingly mop up after him.
I don’t think Joel Sawyer, Chief of Staff Scott English or anyone else on the staff will jump ship. They have been loyal and professional, even when their credibility has been sabotaged by the very person they were paid – and honored – to protect.
In the aftermath, we should remember that these weren’t just footsoldiers “following orders,” but dedicated public servants who were – like everyone else – stabbed in the back.
This emperor has had no clothes for a long time. And his courtiers are either blind, loyal to a fault and to the detriment of the state and the Office of the Governor, or just figure with umemployment so high in SC, they can’t find another job. They were led astray to be sure but its not like they don’t know what they are working with…..
You raise a good point here in looking at how this action affected the professional relationship between the Governor and his staff.
In the public relations and corporate communication field, we’ve had a lot of these dicussions in the wake of things such as Enron, where PR flacks either covered up for misdeeds, or were completely shut out by upper management. In either event, they failed to meet their responsibility to provide full and honest disclosure.
In any other economic situation, if my boss did something like that which left me looking like dog****, I’d quit and move on. Sticking around would damage my own credibility. If this is what Sawyer and others are willing to accept, they’ll find it a little tougher to find an employer willing to hire them in about 18 months – if they have a job that long.
If my employer disregarded me so badly, I’d have to wonder if I’d have a job that long.
Don’t ignore an important word in my post – “loyal.” Having to put up with executive BS isn’t exclusive to politics, it’s just more public. In this instance, the very public sabotage of the governor’s staff by Sanford himself is particularly sad and onerous.
I agree – it seems to be betrayal to me. That’s when smart people start sending out resumes, regardless of the organization.
Don’t cry for these guys. The Sanford gig was just an 8-year ride in the revolving door of the rich-kid libertarian summer camp they’ve been enjoying since college. When Joel, English, et al, get out out they’ll have jobs in D.C. at the Cato Institute, The Heritige Foundation, Americans for Limited Government, U.S. Term Limits, or whichever they they chose. And should they decide to stay in South Carolina they’ll have their pick of the in-state think tanks supported by the ones from D.C.
Does the prospect – true or not – of future employment negate the fact that they were treated shabbily?
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