wilsonarden55461 ...... Deleted

The press can't follow him when he has his meetings with The Family. If nothing else, that's exactly why he may have shot at power.

The Argentine girl is hot so at least you can say the guy has some taste. Unfortunately voters here are merciless and you have no prayer. I would move to Argentina and crank out some babies while learning the language.....Go with the positive flow.

If the people of South Carolina's 1st District are dumb enough to vote for him then he's their problem. I'm sure those same good Christians were very forgiving of Bill Clinton.

Salud

Well said, TomasGrande!

It's amazing how many people "find God" when they get into trouble like this. If Mark Sanford was really remorseful, he would just go away.

Take your boys and go into the salvage business.

same old song and dance from these "god fearing"....LOL....republicans!!!

go away you cretin.....oh let me guess....He has god on his side so that makes it ok...

if I look up Weasel in the dictionary it would show his face:)

Maybe Sanford could run for President of Argentina, would that be Lady's luck or doom ???

It's the most accepted way for a Man to find God in S.C. Course, some in S.C. may feel slighted that He skipped them for Argentina, but, when all is said, long as she was wearing panties, they'll all find agreeable consensus.

This good ole boy could always start a roadside barbeque stand, he already knows how to get roasted and what it takes to get smoked out.

I'm waiting for Sanford to have a tearful appearance with Jimmy Swaggart! There's a case for the god of second chances!

There's no DESERVED second chance in politics. Let him go back to the private sector and find a real job, something that doesn't give him an opportunity to screw the people that once trusted him!

I agree! Maybe God does second chances but no politician caught with his hand in the till should ever be allowed to run for public office again!

God of second chances?

Is this the same 'God' of convenience, or luck, or wine?

Go hide your face, ask for forgiveness, and live a proper life in silence. You so far have lived a life totaly without morals.

thank god this isn't a major state...if it wasn't for mississippi, they would be 50th in every important category instead of 49th.

What about the idiot Bush lying about WMD's in Iraq. God has nothing to do with politics. That is the republicans main problem.

I, too, believe in a God of second chances, but in this case, I think Mr. Sanford would do better to use his second chance by staying out of the limelight and not continuing to humiliate his four young sons whom he dishonored (not to mention his wife) by the lies, thievery, and adultery he committed while in public office.

If he wishes to redeem himself in the public eye, he should live a quiet life and do good for the poor and uneducated, and perhaps speak at prisons and church gatherings about how he allowed himself to sink to such depths when he essentially "had it all" and threw it away with both hands.

Hey – the most common characteristic among Republicans is hypocrisy. Sanford is probably going to run on Family values and honesty.

Immorality has no political party.

Maybe God does second chances but no politician caught with his hand in the till should ever be allowed to run for public office again!

This is supposed to be coming from the right wing. Is the Left wing really the rigidly unforgiving ones?

EENGINEER, #1.16- What if it's his "Mind" (intent) in the till? same-same, No?

Mac Forrester, #1.13- Interesting hypothesis. Gave you a vote intended to be a chuckle! Happy Prez Day!

Charlie, #1.24- TOO FUNNY!!!

I wonder, would he be willing to let an opponent that had baggage, alone or would he try to smear the opponent while smirking that he thought he was getting away with something. No, I don't think he deserves to be re-elected. His now ex-wife should go ahead and run and remind his supporters everytime the question comes up of what he did.

I agree, Ed.

I wish Sandford's ex-wife, Jenny, would go ahead and run for office as she once considered. She is an intelligent and attractive woman who maturely handled her ex-husband's infidelity, dishonesty, and cold-heartedness towards his family with the outrageous scandal he created. Her prime concern when all this hit the fan, was for her four young sons who she said she was trying to bring up with decent morals in spite of the fact that their father was such a poor example.

It would be perfect if everyone in SC voted for Sanford's ex-wife as a write-in vote, instead of voting for him.

Sanford you are lucky you weren't destroyed by god in a hail of fire and brimstone.

Jeff Clark-3703724

What about the idiot Bush lying about WMD's in Iraq.

And all the Democrats bought into it.

Just like they all bought into "I did not have sex with that woman"

Heinous Anus,

You probably are aware of this already, but your user name and photo are a complete and utter affront to public decency as well.

To everyone who keeps bringing up Demo "sins"

Its the republicans who run on the platform of Christian Values

I could care less if someone is cheating on their spouse

Are they doing their job in an ethical way and getting results

if yes,then i don't care about their personal life

While I do believe that God is a God of second chances...

...I do not believe people are. You got to worry about that and not the God you worship if you want in office Mark Sanford!

Toldin-2366624 - I fully agree! Both sides do really stupid things! One party is not better than the other and the sooner everyone realizes this the better off we will be. As long as they do their jobs and produce results that's all that matters.

laker

Senator Menendez in NJ is still employed after having sex with little children in the Dominican

You are so full of @!$%#!

To everyone who keeps bringing up Demo "sins"

Its the republicans who run on the platform of Christian Values

Which is to say that Democrats get a pass on everything because fidelity and honesty mean nothing to them?

I could care less if someone is cheating on their spouse

Are they doing their job in an ethical way and getting results

if yes,then i don't care about their personal life

Part of ethics is how you treat people - especially those you have pledged fidelity to. If one can so easily abuse the trust on the ones they profess to love than what keeps them ethical to those he has not personal connection to?

That said I believe in redemption. I have witnessed many times the ability of people to confront their weaknesses and make lifelong changes. One example is Cris Carter who went from abusing drugs and alcohol and becoming so disruptive he was waived by the Philadelphia Eagles. He went on to change his life and is now a Hall of Fame inductee. You always have to be wary of those who profess that they have changed their ways but you can't be completely dismissive either.

Being forgiven doesn't mean we want you making any decisions which affect our country.

What, Whitz? -- the morals of elected official should not be considered? -- give me a break! What planet are you from?

If the man truly believes in second chances from God, he should go to work for God. The people of South Carolina can't smite him with lightening when he screws up again.

sebreb

"thank god this isn't a major state...if it wasn't for mississippi, they would be 50th in every important category instead of 49th."

It's a point of pride down here. Of course there is some sort of librul cunspearasee behind these quality of life surveys. Wii shud bee #50! The higher the number the better, right? This isn't golf! Seriously, people here sincerely believe they are smarter than the rest of the nation despite the wealth of evidence that does not support any such conclusion. The papers are full of this ignorant arrogance. I am out of here as soon as my personal obligations are lifted. Strange that I stayed here to work for one of the most progressive companies in the world but then they moved most of the office to Oregon because there is so little creative energy here. I wish I had moved but I could not leave because of my sick girfriend and aging mom. Now I work for a very conservative company.

This place is constantly turning further and further to the Right. If Romney had won I might be shackled in the city stocks right now.

voxrationis-

i had the 'pleasure' of living in kingstree myself. great bbq, nice people and sterling parking places, but only if you wore a white hood to certain community events.

someone has GOT to tell them they LOST that war.

As a conservative it sickens me when I see guys like Sanford throw God's name around as a tool for them to garner votes. Maybe he should learn about accountability, a God of taking responsibility for one's own actions and an understanding that life is not all about Mark Sanford and what he wants. Just because you're forgiven doesn't mean life goes on as if nothing happened, Mark. It's amazing that this guy can keep managing ways to find new lows. What a sanctimonious ass.

This is supposed to be coming from the right wing. Is the Left wing really the rigidly unforgiving ones?

You'll note I didn't say anything about Republicans or Democrats. Why are you surprised? This is about the "public trust", not about party affiliation. Let me repeat:

No politician caught with his hand in the till should ever be allowed to run for public office again! I really don't give a damn whether they are Republican or Democrat - they should never be allowed to run for public office again!

Mr. Sanford, yes Jesus loves but everybody else thinks your an @sshole! Hopefully your fellow citizens are not that dumb to vote for you again.

When Marion Barry got caught with a Ho and crack, went to jail, and then got re-elected nothing surprises me. It mostly seems about name recognition. Jesse Jackson Jr had tons of controversy about him and he got re-elected very easily. Now probably going to jail.

Blagojavich could probably get re-elected in Chicago when he gets out. It's a strange thing people tend to do voting for people like this. Sanford just got him a side piece and is relatively tame compared to a lot of people that get re-elected with "issues".

Charlie Rangel anyone???

I would give odds Weiner runs again sometime in the future and guaranteed he gets elected again.

My opinion there are plenty of good people besides those listed above, including Sanford, we could elect instead. I hope Sanford loses in the primary.

this is called "pre" news. its only a sideshow unless the GOP decides to support him. i don't think they will. he will die off, as he should, and the GOP will pick someone guaranteed to have a better chance of winning in a general election. still cute, along with colbert's sister.

People keep bringing up Marion Barry in these conversations. Hard to equate a mayor of D.C. (basically a single city) with a Congressman. A bit of a reach don't you think? The District of Columbia doesn't even have any representation in the Congress.

On to more cheerful news ...... out today Obamacare will impose an over $100 Billion excise tax on Insurance companies. Bad insurance companies. As the CBO and american tax center says it will be passed on to ...... the consumer. An average of $720 per family per year in increased taxes. So all the Obamacare and BO supporters out there wanting this and higher taxes ...... there you go. Enjoy. Open up your wallet just for this one provision and grab another $60 a month for uncle Sam.

David, it's not a particular position. Senator, House member, Govenor, PTA leader, whatever. It's the ethics of these people and the voters keep putting them back in. Just astounds me to no end but people keep voting for these clowns. I won't vote for anyone i perceive as "ethically challenged" but there are a whole lot of people that do. Barry is probably the most extreme example with what he did and got re-elected. After that pretty much everything else pales in comparison.

While i'm on Obamacare, there have been 135k of the estimated 400k pre-existing condition applicants sign up. They had to shut down applications as they said ..."it cost more than we estimated". Imagine that. Gets more interesting every day.

No words from Sanford will ever undo what he did to his family and his disregard for the office of Gov. of SC.

His ambitions in life are self-centered.

Too bad his ex-wife Jenny Sanford won't run... She's smart, charismatic, well-spoken, Christian (as opposed to her ex-husband), wealthy and Republican. Oh, woops, there are some reports out there that she might favor gun control.. so, maybe not electable in SC after all.

EEngineer

One hand in the till the other hand near her furry bucket! Politics should be close to virginity, you only get one pop at it.

Heinous Anus:: And you conveniently forgot Newt Gingrich? He ran around on wife number one while she was ill, and when she was in the hospital he told her he was divorcing her for mistress number one. Then he conveniently found mistress number two-- and divorced wife number two. Oh that's right-- he is a republican't so that doesn't count in your book.

And did you forget John McCain? He stole a friend's wife and married her. While he was a POW she was in a vehicle accident. When he came home from war, she wasn't the trophy wife he had married so he kicked her to the curb and married another trophy wife. This time a rich trophy wife. Another republican't, so that doesn't count in your book either.

If you would open your eyes you just might find some republican'ts who aren't perfect-- they can sin just like any other. But you can't see that-- you are a republican't.

If memory serves me correctly, I thought liberals thought that having an affair was not a reason for disqualifying someone for office. "It was only sex." Isn't that what you all said when President Clinton had an affair with Monica Lewinsky in the oval office? If President Clinton was not disqualified for lying to a Grand Jury, which ultimately got him disbarred. This would not be a double standard, would it? A Republican has an affair and you bring it up as to why he should not be in congress, but a Democrat has an affair and it should not even be discussed as a topic for the President of the United States? Don't vote for him because of issues, but the standard for acceptable conduct in office should be the same regardless of party.

"People keep bringing up Marion Barry in these conversations. Hard to equate a mayor of D.C. (basically a single city) with a Congressman. A bit of a reach don't you think?" - David

Average population that a Congressperson represents: 710,000

Population of Washington, D.C.: 618,000

No, David, there really isn't much difference at all.

The proper thing for Sanford to do is to fade into oblivion.

Sanford was married at the time -- and he used taxpayer money to pay for another trip to South America when he visited his lover. He eventually reimbursed the state for the costs.

Sanford is now engaged to the Argentine woman, Maria Belen Chapur.

LOL......Oh, I have no doubts the hypocrites will elect this hypocrite to office. After all, like a couple of you said above, SHE's HOT!!! LOL!!!

I remember some guys saying that about Palin, and actually Bachmann too, nothing about their credentials, or experience, just that you would elect her because she's hot. LOL...

Now, does this Argentina lady become an instant citizen once YA'LL elect him to office and he marries her/cheats on her?

^^ Just kidding, I know the answer to that question.

Bill-2910238

^ There, Sandford just got his first vote!!! LOL

What would Dubya say about this Sanford guy?

"There's an old saying in Tennessee — I know it's in Texas, probably in Tennessee — that says, fool me once, shame on — shame on you. Fool me — you can't get fooled again."

I heard a rumor his ex wife was going to run against him in a primary. Now that would be great!!

VERILY Brethren, I say unto you that it came to pass that the GOD OF SECOND CHANCES DID hear Mark's plea, and HE WAS MOVED to laughter.

So GREAT was HIS laughter that HE DID VOMIT, covering the coastline from Charleston to Myrtle Beach.

And a great WEEPING coupled with COPIOUS GAGGING DID ARISE from the people.

He also used public money to finance his little Argentinian explorations! He only paid it back when he got caught. His lack of integrity is just incredible, but say "obamacare, bad", 'Federal Govt, bad" and the republican voters eat it up around here.

He's also a shining example of Republican Family Values! Audrey is correct that Republican voters don't care that he does what politician like him condemn, as long as he continues to spout the Party line. He obviously doesn't follow it, but that's never stopped a voter from choosing him because they are against someone else.

Typical Republican Conservative rightwing Tealiban !!!

@Audrey CP#2.1: S.C. always pulls some money outta the general fund and designates it to their "pubic fund". Sanford, being a law abiding, and God fearing soul likely used money from that fund.

I know God gives second chances! But this is ridiculous! Now he has seen the light and wants to be forgiven but he still is going to marry his mistress?? When you ask Jesus for forgiveness, He says you have to turn away from SIN! You can't have it both ways. You can't have your cake and eat it too. He has lied, stolen, wrecked his home, left his family in shambles. He was the GOVERNOR! And now he thinks he can work his way back up the ladder by Congressional seat. I wished his ex-wife would of ran and beat him by a wide margin. Payback is a pain.

I hate that people keep saying obamacare is a bad thing. It's not bad it just needs to be fixed. Obamacare is in it's beginning stages.

also used public money to finance his little Argentinian explorations! He only paid it back when he got caught.

Unfortunately, politicians use the government accounts for travel, whether by accident or by intention. Even in intention, it is not always provably illegal because if they have a practice of reimbursing the expense. Not only that but his staff assumed the trip was for improving trade, they did not ask. It is the staff who usually collects any personal bills and forwards them to the office holder to reimburse. This is all on record. Since Sanford this was the only one incident and not a trend, he only needed to reimburse the state for the trip.

The other governor (of New York) at the time was Elliot Spitzer. He made repeated trips to rendevous with a high priced call Girl, all on state funds. He got nailed for this and rightfully so.

Now if Sanford hand been not caught on the first time, but rather caught after repeated stunts like this, I think most other people in the country.

The other huge difference is that Spitzer was not known to have marital problems, but Sanford was. Tracing his story, this affair germinated while on two other trips and this trip to Argentina was apparently just the latest eroding of his relationship with his wife.

At this point it does not matter who did what in his first marriage, or who wouldn't do enough to keep the relationship going. It failed. Hopefully for Governor Sanford, he is now in a better match, just as Gingrich took 2 marriages to find the right partner.

Instead of hiking the Appalachian Trail, he was chasing Argentinian tail. Hell no he doesn't deserve a second chance, any more than John Edward- no matter what party you're in!

"Sanford is now engaged to the Argentine woman, Maria Belen Chapur."

Why not make an honest woman out of her and marry the woman instead of "shaking up"? Probably because he thinks it would just make people in his own district hate him more. He's just an average, everyday hypocritcal Republican to me, like that other Republican guy who was going to "Promise Keepers" (known for "keeping their vows" to their spouses) while having a mistress on the side all along.

Everyone deserves a 2nd chance who asks for one, but why not take that 2nd chance and move on with something else, not the same pile-a-tricks.

Sanford reminds me of the "Play and Song" called - Evita, don't cry for me Argentina !

His sexual philandering was between him and his now ex-wife. I really don't give a rat's a$$ about his infidelity except as it affects his job performance. Being "unreachable" when he's on the clock? Fraud. Using public funds for very personal travel? Fraud. None of us would get hired back by the same company we stole from-neither should Mark Sanford.

Exactly, California Nurse. He showed extremely poor judgement and total lack of responsibility for those who were his constituents when he was following his little head around. Untruthful, unfaithful, irresponsible, dishonest, self-absorbed. Perhaps what SC wants representing them - if so, they can have him.

woof...

.

Diogenes ... live life like a dog (the life of Mark Sanford - one of the cynics).

.

A pig-tale ... that's about life like a pig

That would actually require working.

Dio. This guy cannot handle a real job, didnt you know that he is a member of the Stupid Party. All Stupid Party members do is whine about Obama, My god, Obama is Black. Obama takes a few days off. Obama wants fairness for the middle class and the poor. Obama wont start any wars. How is the Stupid Party going to get there Stipends from the Warring companies. No, The Stupid Party cannot handle a real job.

That sounds like a pigs tale, Oink, Oink !!!

such short memories you libs have...you guys the pot or the kettle??

But fool, aren't you Republicans always howling that Bush's ineptness and decables aren't revelant because it's 'the past?' You all called for Obama's hide concerning the Benghazi tradegy, but you turn into the 'see no evil, speak no evil, hear no evil' lot when attacks under Bush killed 60+ people at 12 consulates, embassies and posts, and NO upgrading of defenses occurred, NO investigations occurred, NO blame occurred?

Justsayin.. fool - Yes Bill Clinton did cheat on his wife, but he was a GOOD president. So as far as I'm concerned him cheating was something he needed to work on with his wife. Granted, should he have lied? NO!!! Now Mark Sandford took money from the people to go see his MISTRESS! That's wrong, period. Personally I wouldn't trust him ever again.

TO: justsayin..fool who wrote:

"such short memories you libs have...you guys the pot or the kettle??"

What does that mean, that Republicans can't remember back 10 years to George "Curveball" Bush, but Republicans CAN remember back 20 years to Bill Clinton?

LOL, like a republican could ever work...there's a reason their voters top the welfare rolls.

First Palin, now Sanford. The cream of the GOP crop rises again. Good luck in recycling these two losers.

At least he still hates gay Americans and loves baby Jebus. That should be enough to get him elected in SC.

http://www.towleroad.com/2012/08/anti-gay-ex-gov-mark-sanford-gets-engaged.html

... not to mention, the two nut-jobs on their presidential ticket.

Yes, her husband is related

I just hope the people in South Carolina are smart and say no! Because really what is that telling people? That it's okay that Sanford stole money from them?

Because James....if Dumbacrats can do it...why can't the republicans?

TO: justsayin..fool who wrote:

"Because James....if Dumbacrats can do it...why can't the republicans?"

Well that flies in the face of the Republican mantra "2 wrongs don't make a right" crap.

They (Republicans) fly in their own face on a regular basis. You'd think we'd all be use to it by now.

Yeah, you'd think they'd learn to whiz downwind so it won't get on 'em....

Jenny wouldn't stand a chance. Being a smart, articulate, driven women around these parts immediately labels you a b i t c h! How do you think Mark won this governorship or 1st term as congressman? Jenny ran & helped financed all his previous campaigns and managed his public image (well, until that last bit....).

He is too old to start back at the bottom. Plus he has no shot at getting elected even to a state position. The man is a two-faced loser. Look what he did to his children by ruining his family. Get lost.

Yeah, well, if you're GOP you gotta have this God thingie as your buddy or your pewbound electorate just won't give you the time of day. "God of second chances" -- except, well, for hell, right? Jeez, Xians just crack me up...

How did she answer the question?

As a business person representing a major shipping line (charleston is a port city) and later as a rep for Clemson's wind turbine project, she voted for pols in the republican primarieswho she thought would be sympathic to the company/projects she represented. You have to understand that here in SC, most seats run with no democratic (or any other party) opposition; you got lemons - make lemonade. THe republican stranglehold is slowly easing and I have to give her credit for coming out of the closet, so to speak. It's time to bring SC into the 21st century and this race is a good start.

Thanks

zen609,Best comments so far.

Zen, I couldn't agree with you more regarding personal situations that shouldn't be a factor in a political contest-- unless said politician runs his mouth about "family values" and how he's right with jeezis. That makes his personal peccadillos a fair and juicy target.

I didn't mean that it wasn't fair game to attack Sanford's hypocrisy - that's perfectly fair - but only that the reason that he should not be given a "second chance" is that he misused public funds for his trysts.

Sanford's handlers have clearly set this up by making the infidelity the issue rather than the corruption. It intentionally frames the issue as a question of "Does a repentant man deserve a second chance?"

So, discussing Sanford's infidelity is exactly what his handlers want. "He's a not a corrupt politician, he's just a guy who made a mistake. We all make mistakes. Doesn't he deserve a second chance - especially after being so honest and up front about his mistake? That's true character: a man that admits his weaknesses and just wants the chance to prove himself. Isn't that what America is all about - character, honesty, second chances, proving oneself, redemption?"

The narrative itself is full of holes. For example: the fact that he's engaged to the woman means that it wasn't really a mistake, was it? But you can't really have this narrative without the incident being a mistake - we all make mistakes that we regret and wouldn't we all feel treated unfairly if we were judged by one mistake which we regret and have remorse? But it wasn't a mistake, he doesn't regret it, and certainly has no remorse. He may regret getting caught, but he certainly doesn't regret anything else. He's engaged to the woman.

The Sanford campaign wants non-conservatives to criticize his infidelity and take the position that he doesn't deserve a second chance, because conservatives will automatically take the opposing position - and he really only needs to convince them, because once through the primary, that district is a slam-dunk for a conservative.

So, yeah, it's a political ad that spins the incident into a frame that works to get Sanford elected - that's it's purpose. It intends to make infidelity and redemption the issue. And that's a red herring. The reason he should not be trusted to public office isn't his infidelity, but because he's a crook. But you can't really make an ad asking for a second chance after misappropriating public funds for extravagant personal expenses.

rwb, You forgot lie, and that is very important.

Thank God he is only running for the house. If I had to listen to him for a 6 year senatorial term, I'd go ape-s h ! t.

The man doesn't have a religious bone in his body, that I've seen over the years! However, this part of America is very religious. So, when in Rome (so to speak - Catholics are viewed here with a stink eye by the old guard)...............pander to the gullible and naive.

he's pandering to the base of conservative voters in this area - that is all. Anyone with half a brain here knows that, but he has an (R) after his name, so he must be good /s

Well ... They're in Carolina, so ...

...there's a big difference between the palmetto and the walnetto state, probably about 50 iq points in favor of the latter