Sanford Stays Put

Embattled South Carolina Republican Governor Mark Sanford has been given a reprieve from his own party even as he continues to insist that, unlike Sarah Palin, there are no plans for resignation in his political future.

Statewide leaders of the South Carolina Republican Party held a crucial conference call on Monday that would end with a vote on what the state GOP would demand of Sanford. While there was initial speculation that Sanford’s colleagues would call for his resignation, the final word from the party was only a censure of their wayward governor.

10 SC Republican leaders voted to ask Sanford to resign.

Republicans across South Carolina voted Monday to censure Gov. Mark Sanford following his recently disclosed extramarital affair and absence from office while visiting his mistress in Argentina.

The vote followed an evening conference call among state GOP executive committee members from the state’s 46 counties, a call that lasted more than three hours. The decision was a sort of a middle ground — by no means a show of support but one that fell short of a call for his resignation.

Twenty-two members of the committee voted on the formal reprimand of Sanford. Ten voted to ask him to resign, while nine voted to support the governor.

Sanford said in a statement that he appreciates the party’s position and will continue to work to earn back its trust.

Charleston County GOP Chair Lin Bennett, who participated in the call, said Sanford violated the public trust and what the party stands for.

“We just feel the governor’s actions were not in conformance with our basic core values and principles,” she said. “This was difficult on everyone out there. The governor broke their hearts, and he did breach their trust.”

Not that any demand for his resignation by the state GOP would have had an effect on Sanford. The governor is still adamant in his preference to remain in office and not take “the easy way out” by leaving office immediately, no matter what controversy and outrage he has dredged up among his constituents.

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.

Given his aversion to resigning and attempts to paper over his affair controversy, could Sanford stil hold a serious thought about running for president in 2012?

Sphere: Related Content

---

Did you enjoy this post? Why not leave a comment below and continue the conversation, or subscribe to my feed and get articles like this delivered automatically each day to your feed reader.

Political Buzz | Powered by WordPress | ElegantBlue is a custom theme by Nathan Rice