Sanford’s Latest “L’Etat D’Etat”

S.C. Governor Mark Sanford’s seventh State of the State address last night sounded several familiar themes … which, ironically, has become a familiar theme all its own.

As he has on six previous occasions, the governor took the podium before a joint session of the S.C. General Assembly last night to ask for income tax relief, educational choice, spending restraint and a comprehensive modernization of state government.

And while the details of his plans have differed from year to year, he’s pretty much asking for the same things he asked for the first time he stepped into the House Chamber six years ago.

Which leads to the obvious question … why hasn’t he been able to get them? Particularly when his job approval ratings six years after taking office remain better than most politicians during their honeymoon?

Has Sanford compromised too little? Too much? Has he pushed too hard? Or not hard enough?

Or are legislators simply not going to hand anything resembling a victory to the man they view as having earned his prodigious popularity by tap-dancing on their backs?

Whatever the answers to those questions are, the end result is that the “State of the State” address has gradually become less relevent to the political debate in South Carolina, forcing an already poor orator into an awkward position of trying to glean some relevance from his annual remarks.

Clearly, last night’s speech was offered against a backdrop of increased citizen attentiveness, though.

The downward spiral gripping the global, national and state economies has people increasingly worried about their families, jobs and homes, and they are looking to their leaders to offer concrete ideas that will improve their lot in life.

Did Sanford do that last night?

We think so.

Which is not to say it was an excellent, or even a good speech.

After all, it’s Mark Sanford, whose adult ADD, run-on phrasing, awful sense of timing and refusal to use a teleprompter conspire to muddy even the most mellifluous of well-intended prose.

We know this better than most, of course, because our founding editor has co-authored three of these speeches in the past.

But in a political environment in which even the slickest politicians are running out of sound bites, Sanford’s fumbling honesty comes off as, well, honest … and thus pretty well-received out in the hinterlands.

And in another political anomaly, a big part of that welcome reception comes from the meat of what he’s actually saying … or more specifically, the fact that there’s actually some meat there to begin with.

For example, we don’t think Sanford’s tax plan – which he spent way too much of his speech discussing, by the way – goes anywhere near far enough in positioning our state to thrive at a time when other states will almost certainly be jacking taxes, fees and other revenue enhancers to dig their way out of budget holes.

Nor do we think the governor is wise to so inextricably tie his cigarette tax increase proposal to a plan that doesn’t include structural reform of our health care delivery system and eligibility standards – although he is proposing those things separately.

But you know something?

You at least have to give the guy some credit for throwing specific numbers out there and saying “this is what I’m proposing,” instead of simply saying “I’m for lower taxes” and then doing absolutely nothing to achieve them.

Similar props would go to Sanford for the detail provided for his proposed spending caps and structural reforms, although we believe a revenue cap is a much more ironclad way of clamping down on excess government growth.

For all his glaring deficiencies in delivery and style, though, and for all his infuriatingly oscillating and frequently inadequate policy proposals, you can’t call Sanford’s speeches devoid of substance.

This is not brain-dead fumbling (of the sort we’re used to from the soon-to-be-former most intellectually incurious President of all-time), it’s the disjointed staccato of a man with plenty, perhaps too much sense to make.

Professor Sanford, if you will.

Observing the Democratic response to Sanford’s speech – delivered this year by State Sen. Vince Sheheen – the drop-off in substance becomes stunningly obvious.

Within a minute of beginning his twangy rebuttal, Sheheen had already thrown out the ubiquitous “they want to spend public money on private schools” to debunk Sanford’s school choice support, which is of course really code for “we don’t have any ideas of our own and are just trying to demonize the other guy’s plan.”

Sheheen, who is mentioned as a likely Democratic candidate for governor, certainly didn’t show us anything in his speech beyond a bad accent and five-year-old talking points, which quite frankly the people of this state are as sick of hearing as they are trusting their kids to a failed public education system.

Sanford’s speech did have its pathetic moments, of course, such as his curious love affair with Barack Obama that continues to manifest itself in repeated instances of insufferable pandering.

Seriously, Mark. You like black people. We get it …

All in all, though, Sanford managed fairly well in this, his penultimate address to the people of South Carolina.

In particular, he scored a nice internal PR hit in welcoming and pledging to work with a huge group of freshman lawmakers, who consitute a full fifth (easy, Rep. Young) of both chambers.

Ironically, had Sanford gone out and campaigned against a few more worthless incumbents in 2004 and 2006 (as he was accused of doing, but really didn’t do), then he might have been staring down at many more friendly faces in the legislative crowd.

Now the question for Sanford’s final two years is whether or not he will be able to get less than is needed done with fewer supporters than he could have had.

Not an ideal spot to be in, but compared to previous General Assemblies, this one at least has a fighting chance to force the issue on some long-overdue common sense reforms provided Sanford refrains from blinking.

WEB EXTRAS:

Watch Sanford’s State of the State Speech (and Democratic Response)

Read Sanford’s Prepared State of the State Speech

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