The Opinion Blog

Last chance for truth

Friday's editorial suggests that lawmakers still have yet to do due diligence in their investigation into the Sanford affair.

Believe us: we're as tired of Mark Sanford as you are.

We're tired of this unending fixation on a middle-aged man's love life. We're tired of the pain this saga must still be inflicting on his family. We're tired of everything that happens in our State Capitol being about Mark Sanford, and we're tired of everyone we know elsewhere in the country asking us how he can possibly still be our governor.

But even more than all that, we're tired of politicians who abuse their office and our money, knowing that even if caught, their consequences will depend solely on crass political calculations unrelated to their misdeeds. And as the last official investigation into Sanford's activities winds to an inauspicious end - grateful though we are to see the light at the end of the tunnel - it's disgraceful that Sanford's most likely abuse of power and money was never given more than cursory examination.

The Unturned Stone

Sunday's editorial argues that lawmakers involved in impeachment proceedings should first determine whether Gov. Sanford misspent state money in pursuit of his affair.

Impeachment proceedings began against Gov. Mark Sanford this past week, but the political apparatus in Columbia still seems intent on missing the point.

More Bang For Your Buck?

Friday’s lead editorial questions the need for a sales-tax holiday on gun purchases.

It's the Friday after Thanksgiving – the perfect time to buy a gun, right?

Change Not in Cards Now

Friday’s editorial suggests that the governor and the legislature share the blame for letting a worthwhile restructuring plan fall by the wayside.

Transfer of political power is not easily accomplished, so it is no surprise that a S.C. Senate subcommittee would prefer to maintain legislative control of the Department of Health and Environmental Control rather than place the agency's director in the governor's cabinet.

New Jobs, Same Worries

Saturday's editorial takes an updated look at Gov. Sanford's hold on his office.

Amid the continuing spectacle of the post-Argentina Mark Sanford administration, a number of interpretations are possible of his role in marketing firm Red Ventures LLC's announcement this week that they will hop over the state line from Charlotte to relocate 1,000 employees in Lancaster County.

Checkup for S.C.

Sunday's editorial examines the case for restructuring several state agencies.

The very phrase "government restructuring" may cause some to tune out. But residents who want their state government to run better and at less cost, and to be more responsive to the people it serves, will pay attention.

Long Fall From Grace

Saturday's editorial explores the trajectory of Atlantic Beach Mayor Retha Pierce's path from a well-liked community fixture to, frankly, an embarrassment to that same community, and suggests she step down so the town can move forward.

As news of Atlantic Beach Mayor Retha Pierce's fourth arrest since her 2007 election played across the Grand Strand this week, many doubtlessly wondered how she was ever elected in the first place.

Scandal Shows Need for Real Ethics Reform

Sunday's editorial suggest that some good could come out of the Sanford scandal after all: strong ethics reform to remove the gray areas where he is currently fighting to retain his job.

Gov. Mark Sanford's new full-time job of throwing statewide pity parties for himself is disturbing in its own right, but one protest he repeats ad nauseum has been particularly jarring: Everyone else does it, so why can't he?

Sanford's most direct threat to date? [UPDATED]

[Original post from Tuesday, with updates noted below]

S.C. Speaker of the House Bobby Harrell has just released a letter calling on Gov. Mark Sanford to resign, which will surely provide the grist for this week's episode of the Sanford saga. (Harrell's comments are after the jump.)

It is worth noting, however, that the loss of public support from Harrell (never an old chum of Sanford's to begin with) is significant on its own merits. As Speaker of the House, it will be partly up to Harrell (in conjunction with S.C. Senate President Glenn McConnell) whether to reconvene the legislature this fall for impeachment proceedings. Further, if impeachment becomes contested in the House, Harrell can assign the resolution to any committee of his choice - perhaps determining in one decision whether the impeachment effort lives or dies.

Also of note: While in Myrtle Beach for the Republican caucus meeting, Harrell essentially stopped his party members from sending a large, caucus-wide demand for Sanford's resignation. Now that he's sent his own letter (pre-emptively?) I'm curious whether other members will follow suit.

[UPDATE] On Wednesday, 60 of the 72 Republicans in the S.C. House of Representatives sent Sanford their own letter, also calling on him to resign. All of the Republican representatives from Horry County (Barfield, Clemmons, Edge, Hardwick and Hearn) signed it, except state Rep. Thad Viers of Myrtle Beach. The 51 House Democrats have yet to weigh in, but it's widely assumed they would join any move to impeach Sanford. More: http://www.thesunnews.com/news/breaking_news/story/1059214.html

That's the politics. The substance of the issue is the growing sense that the two months since the discovery of Sanford's affair have seen little energy by the governor spent on anything other than himself - perhaps justifying the most vocal of his critics who early on said the revelations would render Sanford unable to govern. 

(The Sun News editorial board, as we've pointed out, did not join those early calls for resignation, preferring to see instead whether Sanford broke any laws in the course of his affair. But we too are losing patience with the governor's seeming narcissism: his public schedule this week, for example, lists only three events, and they are all more stops on his apology tour.) 

We've periodically asked the question, but I'll pose it again: Will Sanford finish out his term? If not, how much longer does he have in office?

Home-Court Advantage?

Thursday's editorial notes the strong showing the Grand Strand's tourism industry received during this weekend's Republican Caucus meeting, but laments that the Port of Georgetown was overlooked.

Perhaps it was the venue, but during the S.C. House of Representatives' Republican caucus meeting in Myrtle Beach this weekend, it seemed no regional voice was louder than that of the Grand Strand.