Should South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford quit/be impeached?

[BrendaHupp 0]

I think at this point there is too much damage to recover and he will just become less effective as governor. Resigning would allow the state to recover and move forward.

[marks2065 0]

yes he should leave office, either voluntarilly or by force. he screwed up and lost the trust of the people and missused funds. I call it stealing.

[quade 4]

You left off the option for convicted.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't he use state funds to finance his trips?

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

[BrendaHupp 0]

Sorry, I just kind of figured that would follow the impeachment.

[quade 4]

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Sorry, I just kind of figured that would follow the impeachment.

Impeachment is a misunderstood word by most people. Simply impeaching somebody doesn't mean they necessarily even get tossed out of office let alone go to jail. It's a bit more than a political wrist slap, but not much more than an official notice that they've done something the rest of the legislature doesn't think is right.

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

[marks2065 0]

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Sorry, I just kind of figured that would follow the impeachment.

Impeachment is a misunderstood word by most people. Simply impeaching somebody doesn't mean they necessarily even get tossed out of office let alone go to jail. It's a bit more than a political wrist slap, but not much more than an official notice that they've done something the rest of the legislature doesn't think is right.

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? impeachment is removal from office, just ask nixon and blago

[quade 4]

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Sorry, I just kind of figured that would follow the impeachment.

Impeachment is a misunderstood word by most people. Simply impeaching somebody doesn't mean they necessarily even get tossed out of office let alone go to jail. It's a bit more than a political wrist slap, but not much more than an official notice that they've done something the rest of the legislature doesn't think is right.

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? impeachment is removal from office, just ask nixon and blago

No. Impeachment is the first step in the process. Most reasonable government officials resign as soon as they're impeached (Nixon), but the impeachment itself does NOT remove them from office.

Think about it in terms of being arrested.

The cops catch a person.
They then see if they have enough evidence to take them to trial.
(That's the equivalent of impeachment)
THEN they hold a trial.
It doesn't mean the person gets convicted and tossed in jail.

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

[lawrocket 3]

He should not be governor. To me it has nothing to do with an affair. The travel issues are but another strike.

My issue is the fucking guy disappeared for a week. He quit his job for a week without notice to anyone.

It was a knowing and willful abrogation of his duties.

SeeYa!

My wife is hotter than your wife.

[wmw999 2,452]

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impeachment is removal from office, just ask nixon and blago

Um, no.
Nixon resigned. Congress had just decided to proceed on impeachment, which does not actually have to end in removal.

Andrew Johnson was impeached, but not removed from office. According to wikipedia:

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Impeachment is the first of two stages in a specific process for a legislative body to consider whether or not to forcibly remove a government official from office. The impeachment itself brings the charges against the official.

Blagojevich was first impeached (Jan 8) and then convicted (Jan 29) before being removed from office.

Wendy P.

There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown)

[lawrocket 3]

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? impeachment is removal from office, just ask nixon and blago

Or Bill Clinton. Or Andrew Johnson.

My wife is hotter than your wife.

[wmw999 2,452]

That's an opinion I can get behind.

Wendy P.

There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown)

[JohnnyD 0]

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He should not be governor. To me it has nothing to do with an affair. The travel issues are but another strike.

My issue is the fucking guy disappeared for a week. He quit his job for a week without notice to anyone.

It was a knowing and willful abrogation of his duties.

SeeYa!

Absolutely.
How many of his constituents would still have a job if they just didn't show up for a week?

[downwardspiral 0]

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You left off the option for convicted.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't he use state funds to finance his trips?

If only it worked that way. Unfortunately what we seem to do is make the politician pay back a small portion of the misused government monies and then fire the IG when he makes a stink about it.

Personally I think any laws broken while in office should come with a multiplier like laws broken while in the carpool lane.

www.FourWheelerHB.com

[quade 4]

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You left off the option for convicted.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't he use state funds to finance his trips?

If only it worked that way. Unfortunately what we seem to do is make the politician pay back a small portion of the misused government monies and then fire the IG when he makes a stink about it.

Personally I think any laws broken while in office should come with a multiplier like laws broken while in the carpool lane.

Well, "any" laws might be going over the top because it's possible to break some laws without even realizing what you're doing, however, anything that is clearly willful, yeah, I'd agree to that.

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

[Andy9o8 2]

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You left off the option for convicted.

I think it's reasonable to leave off that option, at least until the conclusion of the trial that follows impeachment. As you and others have noted, impeachment is basically the "indictment" phase; then there must be a trial in/by the state legislature.

For the record, I think he should resign (for all of the reasons already stated); and if he doesn't, I think he should be impeached. Let the impeachment prosecution proceed, AND give Sanford full and fair due process to present a defense at trial.

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Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't he use state funds to finance his trips?

I believe that he did, AND that he did so improperly. But he's entitled to an impeachment trial in which the prosecution has the burden to prove that belief by competent evidence, and in which he has a fair chance to defend himself if he chooses.

[billvon 2,998]

>I think at this point there is too much damage to recover and he will
>just become less effective as governor.

I don't think he should resign because of the affair (although that was poorly handled) or the disappearance (although that was even more poorly handled.) After all, people do take vacations, and they do meet other women. The using state money to support his affair is a bigger issue. And if he's guilty of that he should resign - but he also has the right to have that determined by a court.

However, you are right in that he may no longer be effective because of all the brouhaha. In that case, hopefully he will exercise the good judgment to resign.

[kallend 2,027]

He should be sentenced to hike the Appalachian Trail from end to end, for real.

...

The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.

[kelpdiver 2]

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>I think at this point there is too much damage to recover and he will
>just become less effective as governor.

I don't think he should resign because of the affair (although that was poorly handled) or the disappearance (although that was even more poorly handled.) After all, people do take vacations, and they do meet other women. The using state money to support his affair is a bigger issue.

Most employees will be fired if they go AWOL for a week. It wasn't a planned vacation. He didn't designate a fill in for him in his absence. He abandoned his post. This is bad enough even without knowing the reasons why he did it. The spending of money, if true, is just another violation in his duty to the state.

[BillyVance 34]

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He should be sentenced to hike the Appalachian Trail from end to end, for real.

With only the pair of hiking boots he starts with.

"Mediocre people don't like high achievers, and high achievers don't like mediocre people." - SIX TIME National Champion coach Nick Saban

[billvon 2,998]

>Most employees will be fired if they go AWOL for a week.

Hmm. If most of the people I worked with said "I'm taking off for a week, see ya!" they might get grief about things left uncompleted - but they wouldn't get fired. But everyone's different, and I am sure there are some places where you'd get the boot.

> It wasn't a planned vacation. He didn't designate a fill in for him in
> his absence.

I agree - he handled it _very_ poorly.

[kelpdiver 2]

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>Most employees will be fired if they go AWOL for a week.

Hmm. If most of the people I worked with said "I'm taking off for a week, see ya!" they might get grief about things left uncompleted - but they wouldn't get fired. But everyone's different, and I am sure there are some places where you'd get the boot.

Yes, if I had a really really shitty work where I was out 20 hours on the weekend fixing a production problem/project, my manager would probably tell me to take off Monday, and if I asked for more and it was feasible, he'd grant it. But there's still an actual request here. Not showing up without notice is grounds for termination with cause.

And of course, the governor has a higher visibility/responsibility. Unless the Lt Gov takes over, I think he has to be reachable by cell phone.

[marks2065 0]

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>Most employees will be fired if they go AWOL for a week.

Hmm. If most of the people I worked with said "I'm taking off for a week, see ya!" they might get grief about things left uncompleted - but they wouldn't get fired. But everyone's different, and I am sure there are some places where you'd get the boot.

Yes, if I had a really really shitty work where I was out 20 hours on the weekend fixing a production problem/project, my manager would probably tell me to take off Monday, and if I asked for more and it was feasible, he'd grant it. But there's still an actual request here. Not showing up without notice is grounds for termination with cause.

And of course, the governor has a higher visibility/responsibility. Unless the Lt Gov takes over, I think he has to be reachable by cell phone.

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isn't california one of those states that it is illegal to fire someone for not showing up? maybe that is what bill is hung up on.

[SpeedRacer 1]

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He should be sentenced to hike the Appalachian Trail from end to end, for real.

I might do that next year! Do I need to hook up with some chick from Argentina first?

Speed Racer
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[kallend 2,027]

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He should be sentenced to hike the Appalachian Trail from end to end, for real.

I might do that next year! Do I need to hook up with some chick from Argentina first?

Well, if you do it solo you risk blindness and hair grows on your palm.

...

The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.

[kelpdiver 2]

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isn't california one of those states that it is illegal to fire someone for not showing up? maybe that is what bill is hung up on.