‘Sanctity of Marriage’ Bites the Dust Again
And another one bites the dust. So much for the ’sanctity of marriage.’ The Republican Party has become a hiding place, a closet, for hypocrites. They pompously wear their religion on their sleeve and condemn gays while preaching the sanctity of marriage. When they are forced out of their hypocritical closets it makes their preaching ‘as sounding brass and tinkling cymbals.’ I Corinthians 13:1
From Herald Staff and Wire Reports
After going AWOL for seven days, Gov. Mark Sanford admitted Wednesday in a bombshell news conference he had secretly flown to Argentina to visit a woman with whom he was having an affair.Wiping away tears, the 49-year-old governor stood in the Statehouse and apologized to his wife and four sons, saying he would step down as head of the Republican Governors Association.”I’ve been unfaithful to my wife,” he said during an emotional speech in which he ruminated aloud with remarkable frankness on God’s law, moral absolutes and following one’s heart.
The Fort Lauderdale native, who had been recently mentioned as a possible presidential candidate in 2012, ignored questions about whether he would step down as governor of the Palmetto State.
As a congressman, Sanford voted in favor of three articles of impeachment against President Bill Clinton, citing the need for “moral legitimacy.”
The governor’s affair deals yet another blow to the emerging leadership of the GOP, which has been searching for potential presidential candidates since the November elections. U.S. Sen. John Ensign of Nevada was considered a rising star before admitting last week to having an affair with a close family friend.
Sanford told reporters Wednesday his affair is over, describing the woman as a ”dear, dear friend” whom he has known for eight years and has been romantically involved with for about a year. He said his wife found out about the relationship five months ago.
E-mail exchanges between the governor and the woman were obtained by The State newspaper and posted online Wednesday.
In the exchanges, Sanford recounted a meeting with Sen. John McCain, then the GOP nominee for president. In that e-mail, Sanford told his lover, whom The State identified only as ”Maria,” that the visit had sparked discussion of Sanford as a possible vice presidential candidate.
During the news conference Wednesday, Sanford declined to talk about specifics of his affair other than to say, “It was wrong. Period.”
His family did not attend the conference, and his wife Jenny Sanford said she asked the governor to leave and stop speaking to her two weeks ago.
The governor says he wants to reconcile — his wife’s recent statement offering some hope her husband has earned a chance to resurrect their marriage.
”This trial separation was agreed to with the goal of ultimately strengthening our marriage,” she said.
Sanford denied instructing his staff to cover up his affair, but acknowledged that he told them he thought he would be hiking on the Appalachian Trail and never corrected that impression after leaving for South America.
”I let them down by creating a fiction with regard to where I was going,” Sanford said. “I said that was the original possibility. Again, this is my fault in . . . shrouding this larger trip.”
Sanford’s admission capped days of speculation about his whereabouts after he disappeared from the state capital for nearly a week. After reporters started asking questions, his office had said he had gone hiking on the trail.
Cornered at the Atlanta airport by a reporter from The State newspaper, Sanford revealed Wednesday morning that he had gone to Argentina for a seven-day trip.
When news first broke about his mysterious disappearance, Jenny Sanford told The Associated Press she did not know where her husband had gone for the Father’s Day weekend.
Sanford began his news conference musing openly of his love of hiking and how he used to guide trips along the Appalachian Trail, and eventually tearfully apologized to his wife, his staff and his friends — but without yet saying what he was apologizing for.
”I hurt a lot of different folks,” he said, occasionally choking up throughout the news conference that lasted about 20 minutes.
With those watching still wondering what he was admitting, Sanford said: “The odyssey that we’re all on in life is with regard to heart.”
He went on to ask reporters not to bother his wife and children. “Jenny has stood by me through campaign after campaign, through hard time after hard time, and neither she nor the boys deserve this. Please offer them your prayers.”
Several residents said they were disappointed.
”He shouldn’t have lied to us. He should have been straight,” said college student Gerald Walker, 19, in downtown Columbia. “It’s very embarrassing for someone in a leadership role that we are supposed to respect, especially me being a young guy.”
Glenn Mitchell, of Columbia, said he felt Sanford’s absence showed a lack of concern for the state.
”He left the state unattended,” said Mitchell, 54, out of work recuperating from surgery. “He just hasn’t been there for us.”
State Rep. Todd Rutherford, D-Columbia, called for Sanford’s resignation.
”There is nothing left to save,” Rutherford said. “There is no reason for him to remain as governor.”
Sanford has deep ties to South Florida. He was born in Fort Lauderdale in 1960 and attended Westminster Academy, a Christian school established in 1971 by the late D. James Kennedy, founding pastor of Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church.
Always a straight arrow, Sanford became a highly decorated Broward Boy Scout, reaching the rank of Eagle Scout. In the 1970s, Sanford was a member of Westminster’s track team and was state ranked as a short-distance runner. Before his senior year at Westminster, his parents moved to a plantation near Beaufort, S.C.
He received his bachelor’s degree from Furman University and went on to the University of Virginia, where he received an MBA in 1988. He spent two years on Wall Street and eventually returned to South Carolina, winning three terms as a congressman. He was elected governor in 2002 and has more than a year remaining in his second term.
The libertarian-leaning Republican was seldom a firebrand. But he was known for salting tales of family life into policy discussions.
He criticized the $787 billion federal stimulus law and efforts by legislators to claim a share of it by saying in tough times a family would sit around the table and find ways to cut spending.
His vocal battle against the Obama administration over the stimulus money won praise from conservative pundits, but ultimately, a state court order required him to take the money.
Jenny Sanford, a millionaire whose family fortune comes from the Skil Corp. power tool company, has been central to Sanford’s political career. She ran his congressional campaigns and his first race for governor. She was an almost daily fixture at senior staff meetings, and often could be seen driving a minivan away from the Statehouse in the mornings.
The two met when Sanford was on Wall Street; she was working at a brokerage house while he was entering a financial training program.
As governor, Sanford has had seemingly endless run-ins with the GOP-dominated Legislature, once bringing pigs to the House chamber to protest pork barrel spending. He also put a ”spending clock” outside his office to show how quickly a proposed budget would spend state money.