Interesting story coming out of South Carolina, where Republican Governor Mark Sanford is playing a high stakes game of chicken with the state's Employment Security Commission over seeking federal loans to cover shortfalls in the state's unemployment compensation system. Seems that Governor Sanford has the absolute temerity to demand that the Employment Security Commission answer for how money is being spent, and he wants an independent audit conducted to provide some answers. The folks at the ESC don't want to play ball with the Governor, and so the state's unemployed are likely to go without checks until this thing is settled.
Good for Governor Sanford. This guy is the real deal--a Republican to be reckoned with and a future player on the national scene. He ran for the House a few years back on a three term limit pledge, and he stuck to it. He's in his second term as governor now, and he's fighting an uphill battle against a state constitution that was changed in the late 19th century to create powerful commissions and cabinet offices arrayed against a governor--all in the fear that a black person would be elected governor.
By way of full disclosure--I had several long chats with Governor Sanford about coming down to Columbia and working in his administration when I left the Navy. He was looking for a strategic thinker with demonstrated leadership skills to help organize his staff and to help create the strategy to redress the power imbalance in the state between the Office of the Governor and the commissions/cabinets. I was looking at what I was going to do with myself when I took the uniform off. Ultimately, I took my name out of contention for good reasons and bad (good: wanted to make more money, didn't want to be away from the Kitten--bad: wanted to be Chief of Staff, not Deputy Chief of Staff), but I came away from the experience with a deep and abiding respect for this man's wisdom and integrity. He has a passion for good government and a genuine sense of distaste for the people's money being wasted. This is the kind of Republican we need more of.
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
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4 comments:
I would contend that this is the type of politician, Republican or Democrat, we need more of... after all, our elected officials should certainly have good stewardship of the people's money as a tip priority... no matter what their political ideology may be.
okay, so it should have said "top priority"
tip top priority. couldn't agree more.
All politicians should be good stewards of the public's trust and resources. So why does he come across as extremely weak and poorly informed when questioned on simple policies? Now some in my household, who know the governor and his wife, think the wrong Standford holds office.
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