Pressure Mounting on South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford to Resign
By David Saltonstall
DAILY NEWS SENIOR CORRESPONDENT
A day after calling his Argentine mistress his "soul-mate," more and more South Carolinians were calling Wednesday for something else: Gov. Mark Sanford's resignation.
In all, 12 of 27 Republican state senators have now urged Sanford to call it quits, after he publicly pined over his mistress and revealed on Tuesday that he had "crossed lines" with other women during his 20-year marriage.
"It's as though we're looking at a completely different person—one we didn't know existed," Sen. Larry Martin, the Republican chairman of the Senate Rules committee, told The State newspaper.
In addition, at least six South Carolina newspapers called on Sanford to resign. They included The Greenville News, which as recently as Sunday editorialized that Sanford's resignation would be too damaging to the state.
But the governor's disclosure on Tuesday in an interview with The Associated Press that he had "crossed lines" with other women—although not the "sex line", he insisted—led the paper to change its mind.
"He has rendered himself incapable of serving the remainder of his term," it declared.
In the AP interview, Sanford, 49, detailed some seven liaisons with this Argentine mistress, Maria Belen Chapur, an athletic, 41-year-old former TV journalist and mother of two. Four of those meetings took place in New York City or the Hamptons.
He called Chapur his "soul-mate" but insisted he was working hard to try and fall back in love with his wife, First Lady Jenny Sanford, with whom the governor has four young sons.
"I don't want to blow up my time in politics," he told the AP. "I don't want to blow up future earning power, I don't want to blow up the kids' lives. I don't want to blow up 20 years that we've invested [in our marriage]."
But in the same breath he conceded that he still pines for Chapur.
"If I'm completely honest, there are still feelings in the way," he added. "If we keep pushing it this way, we get those to die off, but they're still there and they're still real."
Sanford's spokesman, Joel Sawyer, has said the governor will not step down, and that his purpose in pouring out his heart was "to have a full accounting of what he's done."
"He's determined to remain on as governor and determined to continue the work of this administration," Sawyer said.
The drumbeat for Sanford's resignation grew considerably louder Tuesday night, after Sanford's latest revelations, when seven senators jointly issued a letter demanding that he leave office because he has lost the trust of South Carolinians.
"The bottom line is that the Governor's private matters should remain private," they wrote, "but his deception and negligence make it impossible for us to trust him, and for him to govern in the future."
- More coverage from the New York Daily News
Reader Comments
He's Not In His Right Mind
Sanford lies to his staff to cover for him. What an embarrassment for them. Abandons his post and his responsibilities to the State. Doesn't have a second thought about spending lavishly on his own whims during this difficult economic time when most families are trying to keep their jobs and are watching every dime. Doesn't tell his family where he went to. *** Abandons his four sons on Father's Day weekend. *** Lies to the reporter that caught him coming back into the country. Lies when he says that we will release all financial records to prove that he is on the up and up. Lies, lies, lies.
Now he 'comes clean' and says that he has had a handful (read - five...or more) of liaisons with other women out of the country in addition to his South American conquest during his 20 year marriage. What a hypocritical jerk. And how do we know this is full disclosure? For Sanford a handful may really be 20+...one fling for every year of his marriage.
His comments regarding his star-crossed love affair with his Argentina mistress are just insulting. Women can try to forgive men if their affair was just a physical one. That he calls this woman his 'soul mate' over and over to the media is unforgivable for 99% of women out there. Emotional bonds are so much more threatening for a spouse than just a physical fling. He is saying this so it is repeated to Maria Belen Chapur in the Argentina newspapers. He obviously is not considerate to his wife's feelings as he is saying this. I applaud Jenny in distancing herself and her children from this pig pen. I admire her strength and her setting boundaries to keep this nonsense out of her life at present.
I just don't think Mark Sanford is in his right mind.
Mark Sanford - Ethics
Politics is about ethics and trust. He lied to his wife, his staff, and his kids about his actions. Supposedly the 5 closest people in his life and job he dearly wants to keep. What makes you think he would ever tell anyone from SC the truth again? Because you confess doesn't mean you change. He got caught at the airport and told another lie till confronted by a reporter. If he hadn't be caught, he'd still be doing it. He is a selfish person that should not be thought of with sympaphy. He's an adult who can't make up his mind what is right and wrong while telling other people what is right and wrong. These guys are a dime a dozen. Someone who lies to get what they want, always lies. Once you lose your ethics you've lost everything. There's such a small distance for him to fall. He was already near the bottom and he knows it. Now he just worries about keeping his job and what a divorce will cost him. He had power and abused it. Same old story. Happened to the governor of NY too. Lets show outrage when warranted. He doesn't deserve our pity. He can apologize for lying and not doing his job, and move on. A governor you aint!
I'm too old for this kind of nonsense!
I am a South Carolinian, a reasonably intelligent human being, and an educated citizen but I wake up every morning hoping that the events of the day before were all a bad dream. I thought we had reached a new low when Clinton declared that he
"never had sex with that woman." Apparently I just didn't know how much worse things could get.
I wish Sanford would move to Argentina. Now.
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