All It Took Was A Handshake

This is kind of all Mark Sanford needs at this point, another example of him being above the law:



The trooper pulls the guy over, the driver says "that's the Governor," the trooper says "That's not a good reason to be speeding," he walks over to the vehicle, the Governor shakes his hand, and that's it.

People in South Carolina, including most Republicans, already think he's abused his office for personal gain. And now this.

Stick A Fork In Him

The South Carolina GOP just abandoned Mark Sanford.

The tide of support from his own Republican Party officially turned against disgraced Gov. Mark Sanford Thursday as the South Carolina GOP called for his resignation.

South Carolina Republican Chairman Karen Floyd and the state party’s executive committee held a 5 p.m. conference call before announcing that they had decided it was time for Sanford to go.

SCGOP spokesman Ryan Meerstein said over two-thirds of those voting favored the governor’s resignation. He added that a letter from Floyd to the governor would be released later in the evening.

That's pretty much it. They say that in politics, if you're explaining, you're losing, and I would say this ridiculously long letter from Sanford's website represents a whole lot of explaining, including the measuring of hours logged on state planed by past Governors. He held a companion press conference today, too. The funniest part of all this is that Sanford, the ultimate conservative's conservative, is being taken down for profligate personal spending, and his facts and figured thrown up to defend himself just don't cut it. That's of course because the forced resignation on these uses of state travel expenses are a sideshow, cover for the SC GOP to just dump him because they fear a backlash from their "family values" base.

Buzzards Circle Over Mark Sanford

Despite having some of the best timing in the history of politics, it really appears that South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford will be forced into resigning after revealing his walk down the Appalachian Trail with an Argentine woman. The Speaker of the South Carolina House has asked Sanford to resign, and 60 other Republicans in the House hand-delivered Sanford a letter with the same message.

I won't cry for Mark Sanford, who should resign for his disgraceful record as Governor more than anything. But this is starting to feel like a witch hunt to me. There are grounds for dismissal - his abandoning the state for two weeks back in June, for example, or his use of state travel resources for personal business. And surely, given how Jim McGreevey and Eliot Spitzer were run right out of town, it might feel rewarding to a Democrat to see someone like Sanford run out of his office. But personal trysts should not form the basis of an assault on someone's public life. There's a public record that should be sufficient for that.

That said, Sanford does look to have abused his privileges as Governor on numerous occasions, and that ought to be enough for an investigation. I'm happy to have him sit there as a national embarrassment and a walking symbol of Republican hypocrisy on family values, however.

Here's another one.

Sanford's Luck Running Out?

Mark Sanford continues to be the luckiest bastard in the world. Every time another twist and turn comes up in his personal saga, some giant event comes along and knocks him off the front page. When new details came out about his affair, Michael Jackson died. When questions were raised about using state money for his personal travel, Sarah Palin resigned. And when talk of impeachment swirled around South Carolina, with his own Lt. Governor calling for his resignation, Ted Kennedy passes away. The timing is really incredible.

But even this run of luck may not be enough to save Sanford's hide:

South Carolina Republican lawmakers are laying plans for a special session legislative session on whether to impeach and remove embattled Gov. Mark Sanford by the end of the year, several senior state lawmakers have told The Washington Times.

Republican lawmakers in the state House will use a regularly scheduled annual retreat in Myrtle Beach this weekend to discuss the governor's fate and the details on whether to call a special impeachment session of the legislature before its scheduled reconvening in January, Rep. Gary Simrill, a Republican, told The Times on Thursday.

Two bills of impeachment already are being prepared - one by a Republican lawmaker and the other by a Democrat, Mr. Simrill said.

Mr. Simrill, who said he has voted about 80 percent of the time with the Republican governor, met privately with Mr. Sanford on Tuesday and urged him to resign but to no avail.

One thing not discussed throughout this is the economic troubles in South Carolina right now. The legislature wants to get this distraction off the table so they can focus on the skyrocketing unemployment happening there. And this may not be as big an issue if the economy was humming along.

As to whether Sanford should be impeached, you have a better argument basing it on misuse of public funds and abandoning the state for a couple weeks, not a personal issue.

Offensive Coordinator

I want to bless every single word of this Jamison Foser post, looking at the timeline of when David Gregory was insistently asking David Axelrod questions about "the White House coordinat(ing) with" Nico Pitney about his question from an Iranian at a press conference, and at the same time telling Mark Sanford's staff that "[C]oming on Meet The Press allows you to frame the conversation how you really want to...and then move on." Somehow that's NOT coordinating.

So, Gregory was not only coordinating with Sanford's staff about what topics Gregory would ask Sanford about, should the South Carolina Governor agree to appear on Meet the Press -- he was telling the aide he would allow Sanford to "frame the conversation how you really want to."

And then, just a few days later, Gregory took to the air to denounce the White House and Nico Pitney for coordinating about the subject of a question. Incredible.

The difference, of course, is that Gregory thinks he has a "press" card in his little hat, while Nico Pitney is just one of the unwashed dirty masses.

The Fiscal Conservative Twins

Funny how these right-wing governors have trouble holding to their principles.

Mark Sanford and Rick Perry held a "Tea Party II" a couple months ago, where they came out against stimulus spending and for fiscal responsibility. That was then, and this...

In March, Texas Gov. Rick Perry rejected $555 million in federal stimulus money that would have expanded unemployment benefits for Texans. Perry argued at the time that accepting the stimulus dollars would force the state to expand eligibility to include thousands of low-wage workers — including part-time employees like single mothers, college students and senior citizens — which Perry bemoaned would burden tax payers with “higher taxes and expanded obligations.” When explaining the decision, Perry told Fox News, “this was pretty simple for us.” But now Perry is reversing his decision. Texas has asked the federal government for a $170 million loan to ensure the state is able to continue paying out unemployment benefits.

...is now:

South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford shed his fiscal conservatism on several taxpayer-funded international trips, including a South American jaunt that included time with his mistress, choosing expensive first-class or business-class seats while his aides sat in coach.

Sanford, who once criticized other state officials for costly travel, charged the state more than $37,600 for one first-class and four business-class flights overseas since November 2005, expense records show. Other state employees flew in the back of the plane at a fraction of the price, according to the documents.

The Republican governor, who balked at taking federal stimulus money after arguing it was an unwise use of taxpayer funds, charged the state $8,687 for a Delta Airlines trip to Brazil last year that included a leg in business class, state expense records show.

I really can't listen any more to these privileged men talking about being good stewards of taxpayer money and then treating themselves to perks, or talking about rejecting a handout from Washington and then asking for a bigger handout.

Journamalism

Two pretty incredible scandals over the past couple weeks in the world of journalism really lay bare how corroded the Beltway media structure truly is. First we had the Washington Post Pay-2-Play scandal, which as their ombudsman reports was far more widespread than at first disclosed, with key editors in the newsroom knowing about it for months. And now, from South Carolina's flagship paper The State, we learn about how access drives everything inside the Beltway.

National media blitzed Gov. Mark Sanford’s staff, offering big ratings and, possibly, a sympathetic venue in an effort to land the first interview with the governor after his six-day trip to Argentina.

In addition, a blogger and state leaders reached out to Sanford’s office to try to coordinate a way to “push back” on the growing mystery surrounding Sanford’s absence.

The behind-the-scenes maneuvering is detailed in e-mails released by the governor’s office this week in response to The State’s request under the freedom of information act.

The e-mails show some outlets promised Sanford “friendly ground,” while others objected to early reports that questioned his disappearance.

“If you all want to speak on this publicly, you’re welcome to Washington Times Radio,” wrote staffer Joseph Deoudes to Sanford spokesman Joel Sawyer on June 23. “You know that you will be on friendly ground here!" [...]

Another reporter, Griff Jenkins of Fox News, invited Sanford on to set the record straight.

“Having known the Governor for years and even worked with him when he would host radio shows for me,” Jenkins wrote to Sawyer on June 23, “I find the story and the media frenzy surrounding it to be absolutely ridiculous!” [...]

“If he wants something more personal for the blog to push back, I’m happy to help,” wrote Erick Erickson, a writer for RedState.com. On June 23, Erickson ripped “media speculation” about Sanford’s whereabouts.

“I wasn’t trying to be a reporter. I wanted to curtail the story,” Erickson said by e-mail. “Well that didn’t work.” [...]

The media e-mails also illuminate the tactics of national outlets to land the big interview.

ABC News White House reporter Jake Tapper e-mailed Sawyer twice on June 23, both to note coverage of competitor NBC.

With a subject line of “NBC spot was slimy,” Tapper e-mailed Sawyer a “Today” show transcript of Sanford coverage, calling it “insulting.” Later, Tapper forwarded Sawyer a Twitter post by “Meet The Press” host David Gregory.

Jeff Schneider, a vice president at ABC News, said Tapper was “carrying some water for producers who knew he had a relationship with the governor’s office.”

My favorite is actually from "Governor" Stephen Colbert, although he actually comes off looking just as bad as the rest of the media - though he's not a member of it and thus looks a bit better.

The media really favors the "get" over the truth, and it took a paper like The State to actually do some reporting on this story. Good for them for publishing these emails, by the way, because it's quite illuminating. Now, a for-profit business like journalism could maybe be given a bit of slack for wanting to chase a popular story. But these are the same people who call for blogger ethics panels at every opportunity, who put themselves on some kind of pedestal where they are unassailable objectives observers, when that clearly isn't the case. They drive stories based on external events, access and ego-massaging, and it happens much more than anyone thinks.

Censure and MoveOn?

The South Carolina Republican Party took a page from the largest progressive organization in America. Never thought I'd write that.

After nearly four hours of deliberation and multiple rounds of balloting, the South Carolina Republican Party voted Monday night to censure Mark Sanford for traveling overseas to visit his mistress -- but stopped short of calling on the governor to resign.

Members of the South Carolina GOP's executive committee approved a resolution censuring Sanford for conduct that demonstrated "repeated failures to act in accordance" with the party's core principles and beliefs, according to GOP sources on the teleconference.

The resolution also reprimands the governor for "falling below the standards expected of Republican elected officials."

Sanford issued a short response to the censure through his spokesman late Monday.

"The governor fully appreciates the party's position, and he intends to work diligently to earn back its trust," said spokesman Joel Sawyer.

The censure is a first for any sitting Governor in South Carolina, but it looks like the state GOP will let it lay there.

Just like they did for Bill Clinton.

Right?

(Incidentally, Clinton didn't leave America without telling anyone to go huddle with Monica Lewinsky for a week. That would be the difference.)

Luckiest Man On Earth

Mark Sanford made his big announcement about walking the Appalachian Trail with a woman not his wife, and the next day Michael Jackson died. He gave maybe the biggest no-no of an interview to the AP, where he called his mistress his "soul-mate," and within a couple days the Quitta from Wasilla stepped up to the mic. At this rate, Sanford will strangle a bear cub live on South Carolina television, and the next day Osama bin Laden and Britney Spears will announce a secret wedding in Vegas. The guy has timing.

But while it's slipped off the radar nationally, locally in South Carolina the story continues. FWIW, Sanford doesn't want to resign.

After spending the holiday weekend with his family in Florida, Mark Sanford is apparently intent on fighting off calls for his resignation and staying in office, according to one South Carolina Republican who spoke with the governor on Monday.

Richard Yow, a member of the South Carolina Republican Party executive committee from Chesterfield County, received a phone call from Sanford on Monday afternoon. Yow said he spoke to the embattled governor for ten minutes, during which Sanford asked Yow for his forgiveness.

Yow said he told Sanford he could forgive him, but he told the governor that he should resign for the sake of the state and his family. Sanford, he said, rejected the idea.

"He said resigning would be the easy way out," Yow told CNN.

There's a conference call for the South Carolina Republican Party to decide on a formal response to the Sanford troubles. That could range anywhere from a show of support to a formal call for resignation. It's really anyone's guess.

Words You Shouldn't Use To Describe Your Mistress

Especially while you clain to be still trying to patch things up with your wife:

"soul mate"

Forget this guy being done in politics, which I think is starting to become a foregone conclusion. He's done in polite society. Could any women, single or married, with any sense of self-respect look at this guy without finding the nearest cane or umbrella and letting him have it?

The other thing is, yes, dude, go be happy, if Maria Belen Chapur will have you. That's clearly your wish. I mean, Argentina's ruling party just lost an election, maybe there's a political opening for a neo-Hooverist with a romantic side.

Sanford's Peculiar "Honesty"

I heard a lot of liberal commentators react to Mark Sanford's tearful admission of an adulterous affair with admiration that "at least he got everything out there" and told the truth like a stand-up guy. Except, of course, he didn't:

South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford admitted Tuesday that he saw his Argentine mistress more times than previously disclosed, including what was to be a farewell meeting in New York chaperoned by a spiritual adviser soon after his wife found out about the affair.

In a lengthy and emotional interview with The Associated Press in his Statehouse office, the governor described five meetings with Maria Belen Chapur over the past year, including two romantic, multi-night stays with her in New York before they met there again intending to break up.

He said he met her two other times — their first meeting in 2001 at an open-air dance spot in Uruguay and a coffee date in New York in 2004 during the Republican National Convention. He said neither time was romantic.

It was the first disclosure of any liaisons with Chapur in the United States and contradicted a public confession last week during which Sanford admitted to a total of five encounters over their eight-year relationship.

By next week, we'll learn that he created a backdrop of Charleston somewhere in Buenos Aires and lived there all last winter.

The guy's obviously in love with this Argentine woman, and he should probably just follow his heart and go off with her. I don't think that, at this point, the people of South Carolina will miss him.

...Now there are multiple women.

COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford says he "crossed lines" with a handful of women other than his mistress — but never had sex with them.

The governor says he "never crossed the ultimate line" with anyone but Maria Belen Chapur, the Argentine at the center of a scandal that has derailed Sanford's once-promising political career.

During an emotional interview at his Statehouse office with The Associated Press on Tuesday, Sanford said Chapur is his soul mate but he's trying to fall back in love with his wife.

He says that during the other encounters he "let his guard down" with some physical contact but "didn't cross the sex line." He wouldn't go into detail.

So honest and forthright!

Deep Thought

Happiest man in America right now? Mark Sanford.

What're You In For? Adultery?

The fact that Mark Sanford's adultery may be criminal under South Carolina law isn't a black mark on Sanford, but on SOUTH CAROLINA. While as Governor, Sanford probably should have known the relevant statute, I cannot believe that adultery would be punishable by fine or imprisonment. That's kind of appalling, yet unsurprising in a "The Ten Commandments should be the basis of our legal system" kind of way.

Of slightly more importance is the report that some of Sanford's trips to Argentina were taxpayer-funded. That does strike me as serious, although there's no specific causality that's been revealed yet.

Walking The Appalachian Trail And Trampling On The Voices Of Freedom

Roger L. Simon gives us the reductio ad adsurbum of warblogging:

Nevertheless, Mark Sanford’s out-of-control Father’s Day jaunt to Buenos Aires is particularly ill-timed, not just because of the obvious disrespect to his wife, children, friends, citizens of his state, political party, etc.

Reason: IRAN.

At this moment, the eyes of this country should be fixed on the horrific events coming from that company and the struggle for freedom against all odds by many of its brave citizens. They need our support more than anything.

I hope you're listening, politicians, stop everything in your personal lives or you'll make the protestors cry. For that matter, sure, we could debate fundamental health care reform, but how will that carry on the spirit of Neda?

I think even Andrew Sullivan would be embarrassed by this.

Moral Superiority

Given the Sanford affair today, for some reason I view this standing ovation for John Ensign in a new context. Again, his personal life is none of my concern, but the same people who stand on a soapbox made out of Bibles really look like ridiculous moralizers right now. Everyone shut up about everyone else's sex life and get your nose out of my bedroom.

Anything Happen While I Was Away?

I was out this morning until now, anything up?

Anything at all?

After going AWOL for seven days, Gov. Mark Sanford admitted Wednesday that he had secretly flown to Argentina to visit a woman with whom he was having an affair. Wiping away tears, he apologized to his wife and four sons and said he will resign as head of the Republican Governors Association.

"I've been unfaithful to my wife," he said in a bombshell news conference in which the 49-year-old governor ruminated aloud with remarkable frankness on God's law, moral absolutes and following one's heart. He said he spent the last five days "crying in Argentina."

Sanford, who in recent months had been mentioned as a possible presidential candidate in 2012, ignored questions about whether he would step down as governor.

At least one state lawmaker called for his resignation. As a congressman, Sanford voted in favor of three of four articles of impeachment against President Bill Clinton, citing the need for "moral legitimacy."

Oh, that. Anything else? Slow news day.

OK, a few things. First, powerful men thinking they're invulnerable? Go figure. These things are actually not widespread; despite the anecdotal evidence, a small percentage of politicians have affairs on their spouses. But to the extent that they are, they are internal matters between these people and their families. Nobody really knows what goes on in someone else's marriage, and I really don't care about my representatives' faithfulness. In fact, none of us should. But where this breaks down is when these sanctimonious "family values" types want to police personal behavior of their constituents when they cannot keep it in their pants themselves.

That's the usual disclaimer. But this Sanford case is much, much different. He left his state, in fact he left the country, for seven days without telling anybody. Setting aside the fact that going to Argentina to "say goodbye" for seven days doesn't make any kind of sense, and if he got away with this I'm sure there would be additional hikes on the Appalachian trail, so to speak, in the future, leaving the country with no proper explanation is a severe dereliction of duty. He apparently lied to his own staff, lied to the Lieutenant Governor, and left his state in the lurch, despite the unpredictability of events (aren't we in hurricane season?). That's probably a firing offense. If I was a South Carolinian, it would be to me, regardless of party.

The larger story is the complete ineptitude of this crop of Republicans to capitalize on what could actually be a treacherous road for Barack Obama in 2012. Sanford has an affair. John Ensign has an affair. Bobby Jindal does an impression of Kenneth the Page from 30 Rock in his coming-out party. Newt Gingrich calls Sonia Sotomayor a racist. And on and on and on. If the economy fails to improve, and if health care fails to pass, Obama is actually vulnerable. That is, if there was a second political party in this country.

Somewhere, A Village Was Missing Its Idiot

This is weird:

The whereabouts of Gov. Mark Sanford was unknown for nearly four days, and some state leaders question who was in charge of the executive office.

But Sanford’s office told the lieutenant governor’s office Monday afternoon that Sanford has been reached and he is fine, said Frank Adams, head of Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer’s office on aging.

Neither the governor’s office nor the State Law Enforcement Division, which provides security for governors, had been able to reach Sanford after he left the mansion Thursday in a black SLED Suburban SUV, said Sen. Jake Knotts and three others familiar with the situation but declined to be identified.

First lady Jenny Sanford told The Associated Press earlier Monday her husband has been gone for several days and she did not know where.

She said she was not concerned [...] Jenny Sanford said the governor said he needed time away from their children to write something.

So great. He was off typing his awesome campaign book, The Audacity of Nope. But when you're a Governor of a state, can you just go walkabout for four days and not identify anyone of your whereabouts? South Carolina doesn't operate on auto-pilot. There could be a fire, a flood, all sorts of matters requiring executive attention.

Irresponsible selfishness from the chief neo-Hooverist in the GOP.

Only Astroturf Front Groups Deserve Handouts

Mark Sanford's getting a lot of heat in his home state. People have set up a tent city in front of the Capitol and called it "Sanfordville," bearing an eerie resemblance to the Bonus Marcher's tent city that bedeviled Herbert Hoover. Maybe Sanford will call in the National Guard to shoot them, too.

For now, he's put up a TV ad explaining himself.

A nonprofit group with close ties to Gov. Mark Sanford will spend $230,000 on television ads defending Sanford’s opposition to some federal stimulus money.

Sanford will appear in the ads, sponsored by Carolinians for Reform. The group was founded by a handful of Sanford campaign donors and aims to educate the public about the governor’s positions. Sanford frequently has appeared in ads by similar groups that support his agenda.

Sanford said the ads, which begin airing today, are meant to clear up “confusion” about his position. Opponents, including lawmakers and the Democratic National Committee, have tried “to frighten a lot of teachers and law enforcement,” Sanford said.

How has this group, Carolinians for Reform, raised the money to put up ads in the past?

The group that is paying for the ads has been the subject of controversy.

Sanford directed more than $100,000 left over from a 2006 national governor’s conference, held in Charleston, to Carolinians for Reform. The convention had received a $150,000 state grant.

After state Sen. Jake Knotts, R-Lexington, discovered the transfer, Carolinians for Reform returned the money to the state. Sanford said there was nothing illegal or wrong about sending the money to the group though it did create an image problem.

In other words, Sanford has vowed for months not to give state money to help build schools or increase unemployment insurance, but he has no problem giving state money to a wingnut welfare front group that glorifies him in TV ads. Unbelievable.

What A Putz

After all that sturm und drang, all the speeches about values, all the high-minded talk of massive debts and staying true to conservative principles, Mark Sanford chickened out.

Gov. Mark Sanford will comply with a midnight Friday stimulus deadline and become the last governor in the nation to seek millions of dollars in federal economic-recovery funds for his state, aides said late Thursday.

Sanford will continue contesting $700 million in education and law enforcement money for South Carolina, but his 11th-hour move to meet the deadline buys time for schools fearing mass teacher layoffs and draconian cuts.

Sanford's month-long fight over stimulus money placed South Carolina in the national spotlight and put him at loggerheads with President Barack Obama.

"Tomorrow the governor is going to send the (Section) 1607 certification for everything except the stabilization funds," Sanford's spokesman, Joel Sawyer, said Thursday evening. "The governor will apply for that (additional) money if the General Assembly is willing to compromise and pay down some debt with it."

They are all a bunch of frauds. And great work by the Obama Administration to force this confrontation. Now every time Sanford tries to contest this or that provision of funds, lawmakers in his state can point to this decision. And laugh.

Don't Worry Be Happy Conservatism

Eric Cantor thinks everyone should chill out.

GOP Whip Eric Cantor thinks his party can retake the House in next year's midterm elections -- and accused Democrats like Rahm Emanuel of "overreacting" to the economic crisis by embarking on a federal spending spree.

The Virginia Republican, speaking to reporters at the Christian Science Monitor breakfast Thursday morning, praised Rush Limbaugh for his "ideas" and for avoiding the Democratic error of "overreacting, if you will, which this town often does, to crisis. ... Rahm Emanuel said, 'We're not going to miss the opportunity to take advantage of this crisis because we're going to do all the things we couldn't get done before."

I think Steve Benen is largely right. Regardless of the specific context of Cantor's remarks, he is broadly saying that the biggest worry at a time of massive unemployment and financial turmoil is that policymakers do too much. Therefore doing nothing, by contrast, is seen as a greater virtue than doing something. I just don't think that the 669,000 people tossed out of work and onto unemployment last week would agree.

This can be seen with the jockeying-for-position conservative governors who want to reject stimulus money to look "tough":

WINNSBORO, S.C. -- By Friday, South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford must decide whether to accept $700 million of federal stimulus money that he considers wasteful, or risk the wrath of residents in a state with the nation's second-highest unemployment rate.

Mr. Sanford's dilemma underscores the web of fault lines running through Republican and conservative circles, especially in the South. Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal are among a handful of GOP governors who have protested at least some of the federal stimulus money. In response, some lawmakers in Alaska and Louisiana have promised to request the federal money even if their governors don't [...]

And as South Carolina's unemployment rate rose to 11% in February, second only to Michigan, even his supporters have expressed dismay.

"I'm real disappointed in the governor that he's doing what he's doing for political reasons, apparently," said Lexington County Sheriff James Metts, a Republican who echoed the rising indignation among the governor's core base of conservative voters. "We have programs that are being cut, school teachers being cut, jobs being lost by the thousand across the state."

Jimmy Ray Douglas agreed. The 66-year-old owner of Carolina Furniture Co. whose donations to the national Republican Party earned him Christmas cards from former President George W. Bush, said: "We need every cent we can get in South Carolina."

Cantor and Sanford aren't simply expressing an unpopular opinion, but the wrong one. Economic stimulus, in historical terms, works. Aggressive government intervention does disrupt and stave off economic crises.

The best takedown of Ms. (Amity) Shlaes’s thesis came from Eric Rauchway, a historian, who pointed out that her favorite statistic did not count people employed by New Deal programs to be employed. Excluding the effects of the medicine, the patient is as sick as ever!

When Roosevelt stuck to a stimulus program, unemployment fell markedly, and the biggest stimulus of all — World War II — did the rest. It’s true that economic models say the economy shouldn’t work this way. When resources are sitting idle, businesses should find a way to use them profitably. But they often don’t.

People become irrationally pessimistic during a downturn. They are driven by what Keynes called animal spirits. Only government can typically change the dynamic.

Could the government spending eventually lead to inflation and crippling debts? Absolutely. But the mistakes of the last 80 years have gone in the other direction. During the Great Depression, Japan’s lost decade, the Asian financial crisis and even the last 18 months, governments didn’t act aggressively enough. Deflation and lack of growth ended up being the real risks.

The Obama Administration is playing a game of chicken with these GOP governors, arguing that they cannot be bailed out by their legislatures, and that they must request stimulus funding in order to receive it. Sanford and his pals wanted to look tough on stimulus without passing the effects on to their constituents. Obama's team shut off that option. So they must have the courage to tell their citizens they refused help for them. After all, they can just relay that they don't want to overreact.