In the latest example of the dismantling of one of the Palmetto State’s legendary political partnerships, the family of S.C. First Lady Jenny Sanford is reportedly asking S.C. Gov. Mark Sanford for its money back.
The Sullivan Family – which is heir to the Skil Corporation fortune – has contributed substantially to both of the governor’s successful statewide campaigns, and like the First Lady, its members (including Jenny’s parents) initially seemed willing to forgive Sanford for his affair with Argentinean lover Maria Belen Chapur.
In fact, during his meandering confessional earlier this summer, Sanford referenced his father-in-law as having been “incredibly gentlemanly” when the governor informed him of his infidelity.
Recent revelations, however, have prompted a change of heart – and reportedly prompted requests from the Sullivans for the governor to return their campaign contributions.
“Jenny and her entire family are through with him,” a source close to the ongoing drama told FITS. “They neither want nor need this money, certainly, but there is symbolic value to requesting it back and to no longer being associated with the furtherance of his political career.”
Another source close to the First Lady called it “a cleansing of the stain” of Mark Sanford.
Indeed, Jenny has always been both the money and the brains of Sanford’s operation, which has become painfully obvious given the disastrous way the governor has chosen to handle the fallout from his affair.
Sanford – who is not eligible to run for a third-term – has $1.6 million in his gubernatorial campaign account, according to the latest campaign finance disclosure forms.
By Crooner August 17, 2009 at 1:37 pm
Can I get my money back from John Edwards?
By PandaChris August 17, 2009 at 1:41 pm
This is what I find silly.
Sanford shouldnt resign because of his affair, and the story shouldnt be playing out in front of the cameras….so much for Jenny’s “Class”.
He should resign to put his marriage together if that is his goal…but evidently it isnt.
He should resign or be removed for his abuse of his office, however.
By carolyn20 August 17, 2009 at 1:52 pm
This is good-thanks Fits News. You guys are right on this. Maybe NOW the Repubs will escort him to the state line, since there is no money in it for them anymore. Pretty sad if he used her family’s campaign contributions to sneak off with his mistress.
By rocksandfeathers August 17, 2009 at 2:04 pm
Doubt he’s too concerned about his marriage since he’s brought his lover to SC.
By No Name August 17, 2009 at 2:04 pm
Let’s not consider Jenny for martyrdom and sainthood just yet. She’s played the money/power card plenty of times for her inner circle in our little toy state available for purchase to outsiders who have the brains and bucks.
By COURTNEY August 17, 2009 at 2:06 pm
His abuse of power is correct, and for that he should be forced out however when one is obviously as dumb as he has made himself out to be with his chronic, continuous misdeeds and then his need to keep rehashing it all in TV appearances, this is well deserved payback! …..he will feel the wrath of a woman scorned for years to come, I hope! He was lucky to even be given a second chance..that is an example of Jenny’s class ! What a jerk he turned out to be in spite of it ! At least Jenny is showing that she has some testicles!!
By Jonny D August 17, 2009 at 2:07 pm
Fitsnews has a couple of redeeming qualities, they’re not too heavy handed when it comes to censorship of comments, and they’re always on the lookout for Smokin’ Hot Babes. But when it comes to former employer The Luv Guv, Fits has gone all Thane of Cawdor. With bullshit analysis and commentary of its own bogus polls, and fabrication/dissemination of disparaging rumors based upon sources which Fits will not name and evidence which Fits cannot produce, Fits has exemplified the definition of the term “libel”. Or, as I prefer to call it, traitorous character assassination. And that’s the funny thing, because the Sic Meister seems like a loyal enough guy, but just as Macbeth observed so insightfully upon learning that the Thane of Cawdor had turned traitor, “there’s no art to find the mind’s construction in the face”.
By fitsnews August 17, 2009 at 2:11 pm
Jonny D,
You have some Dungeons and Dragons-related issues that need resolving.
-FITS
By shiya August 17, 2009 at 2:18 pm
Interview with Jenny in Vogue…great picture…Mark comes across as a true adolescent in this whole mess with Jenny being so gracious. She has really been looking after 5 boys.
http://www.style.com/vogue/feature/2009/08/jenny-sanford/
By BOYSMOM August 17, 2009 at 2:22 pm
I surely hope this is true because it would make my day. Sorry Jenny did not move to Illinois when she considered earlier…She was worried about her boys… Maybe following this school year. Of Course, Mark can move to Argentina unless Mom Sanford-Peyton is going to support them.(MARK & MARIA)
Too bad AF has not DISHONORABLY DISCHARGED him, then he would lose those funds…We can keep hoping they will wake-up!!!
Jonny D must be on Sanford payroll or has same mental disorder.
By Jonny D August 17, 2009 at 2:24 pm
Fits, not really, but since one of your “sources” referenced “a cleansing of the stain”, I thought a “Macbeth” reference of my own was appropriate. And I actually don’t have a problem with the fact that you are on Jenny’s payroll, just that you should disclose this information in order that your readers can make a fully informed judgment regarding your credibility. As for the fact that you are a traitor to your former employer Luv Guv, that is your issue alone, one that you will have to come to terms with yourself.
By No Name August 17, 2009 at 2:25 pm
Ladies do not fight in public. It is almost as if she is standing in the middle of the trailer park with all her family screaming, “And give us back the big screen tv my daddy cosigned for.”
By follydude August 17, 2009 at 2:28 pm
how much of the $1.6 million is from Jenny’s Daddy?
By Martha August 17, 2009 at 2:30 pm
You go, FITS!! Wonderful reporting. And good for Jenny’s family! Wonder how long Maria will stick around when Mark loses his funds.
By anonymous August 17, 2009 at 3:36 pm
Mark Sanford should give everyone’s money back.
ALL OF IT!
BTW, Jenny should get the farm down in Beaufort.
hahahaha! hhehehehehehe!
By Commonman August 17, 2009 at 3:55 pm
Everyone but Sanford and his staunchest allies and other duplicitous politicians (of which we have too many) know it is time for him to go. Maybe the Ethics Commission should look into whether he should return the contributions while we get the Commerce Department to arrange one more Argentian Junket. That should take a little while.
By James the Foot Soldier August 17, 2009 at 3:58 pm
Were any of the cash transfers termed “loans” on disclosure forms?
Nexsen Pruet has an attorney that would be better suited in funding her cougar years.
By Archer August 17, 2009 at 4:07 pm
Martha – or when he’s a nobody who has to go back to hustling commercial real estate on the coast?
Anon – I think his mother kept ownership of the plantation. Maybe she knew something about him that the rest of us didn’t all along?
By 1+1=3 August 17, 2009 at 4:20 pm
If she strangled him, not a jury anywhere would convict her.
By just wonderin August 17, 2009 at 4:30 pm
Can they legally get the money back?
The guy won the election they paid for and made Jenny a first lady and now has given her a platform for self-righteousness that could get her elected to some office somewhere at sometime.
These folks deserve each other. Jenny seems like a controlling cold fish. Mark seems like the republican version of Robert Redford’s character in the movie “The Candidate”.
And the poor boys are just camera fodder and one day will make up their own minds about which highly manipulative parent or parents they will spend time with.
The state of South Carolina, on the other hand, does NOT deserve this cast of out-of-state opportunists. Better luck to ya’ll in the next gubernatorial elections.
By Brian August 17, 2009 at 4:43 pm
I am so surprised to see all the cries of “traitorous character assassination” on here lately. Who are you guys? This was a character suicide.
I was initially for Sanford staying in just so we could avoid Governor Bauer, but WTH… It might be fun to watch the guy crash and burn.
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By Jeffy August 17, 2009 at 5:42 pm
Sic…I have been dropping D&D dork references on Loser at Large BIN. Are you comparing Johnny to BIN? That’s low bro. .
By GGIH August 17, 2009 at 6:13 pm
Just wonderin — you got it right on all fronts.
By CNSYD August 17, 2009 at 7:02 pm
No Name, not only is she not a lady, more importantly she is not a Southern lady. This is probably how they do it back in Illinois (that paragon of political purity state).
By anonymous August 17, 2009 at 7:17 pm
Where is Mark Sanford?
Where is our freakin’ governor?
Is he workin’ yet?
Is he ever goin’ to do anything to benefit this state?
Sanfraud
FIFTY-TWO DAYS:
52: The number of business days Sanford has either been on vacation or had no official duties on his calendar THIS YEAR.
ONE out of every THREE:
1 to 3: The ratio of Sanford’s vacation days or days with no scheduled duties to work days.. There have been 148 work days in 2009. On 52 of those days the governor either has been off or had no scheduled duties.
TEN out of TWENTY-FIVE:
10: The number of days Sanford has worked beginning with his secret trip to Argentina. There have been 25 business days during that span, including a day off for Independence Day.
The next TEN business days: VACATION
Two weeks in Europe baby!
Sir, where are you going in Europe? uh uh uh well, that’s an undisclosed location uh uh uh wait, let me finish …
Sir, if you’ve taken off fifty-two days off already this year and you are taking another ten business days vacation? uh uh uh well, I need a vacation …uh uh uh wait, let me finish…
Sir, that would be a total sixty-two days this year? uh uh uh look, I need a break …uh uh uh, all these vacations are just wearing me down …uh uh uh …wait, let me finish …
Sir, are you concerned at all about the State of South Carolina and would you please answer the question? uh uh uh well, I can take care of all of this from Europe, besides, I have a cell phone and you guys just call me if you need anything …uh uh uh …
Sir, are you telling us that you can manage the entire State from a cell phone out-of-the country while on vacation at an undisclosed location in Europe? uh uh uh well, I guess I never thought about that before now …uh uh uh …look, ya’ll need to get back to work cause my cell phone doesn’t work well at an alitude of 45,000 feet uh uh uh ….
Sir, are you on an airplane right now? uh uh uh …I think our cell connection is breaking up …uh uh uh call me next month, we’ll do lunch uh uh uh one last thing, ya’ll get back to work uh uh uh ….wait, let me finish …
Sir? Sir? Sir? are you there? Dang it! we lost our cell connection.
By MKinVA August 17, 2009 at 7:35 pm
The Sullivans didn’t give Mark that money for his campaigns. They bought Jenny a Congressman and a Governor. They got what they paid for. Now they want the money back so that he can’t use it to make political contributions in furtherance of some kind of a cushy appointment down the road. Jenny has obviously threatened him w/ his financial future a number of times. He mentioned it in his AP interview (don’t want to hurt my future earning potential), she mentions it in the Vogue interview (“Mark is worried about what his next job is. He worries about making money…). He married her for her money and social standing. She married him because she thought she could mold him into what she wanted–prominence. Turns out he wasn’t a good long term bet. Women make this mistake all the time. If the Sullivans get their money back, can I get my wedding gift back??
By No Name August 18, 2009 at 7:54 am
Now that we’ve thrown the Vogue article into the mix, we’re treading on sacred ground. Our lurid little peek into the lifestyles of the rich and infamous has whetted our appetite for more details! Please help us with some answers! We hayseed native South Carolinians, admittedly non-urbane, are in dire need of additional hints concerning the “how tos” of fine, fit, casual coastal living. Exactly how does one become SC first lady or SC poet laureate? Must one be from SC? How may I, too, have a McMansion view of my native soil’s lovely beach? Where do we get these things called bookshelves and how much is a Bible like the Sanfords have? And is knowing someone for years and not being able to tell by her behavior that she is a Christian a good thing? Enlightenment please.
By liz August 18, 2009 at 8:05 am
I thought this was about LOVE not M O N E Y
Could it be…. the affair was really something about money too????
By CNSYD August 18, 2009 at 9:14 am
Poor little rich girl! Mommy and Daddy bought her a Congressman/Governor. Now she is unhappy and wants new toys but has to find out how to get rid of the old one without looking like it is her fault. If, as FITS has implied, Markie Mark has been seeing other women for years I don’t buy her story that she just found out. She saw that her time in the spotlight was fading with Sanfraud so she is looking for her next gig. How about a Dr. Phil type show where she has “wronged” wives spill out all their troubles. No wait. We already have Jerry Springer.
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By Leftovers? August 18, 2009 at 6:22 pm
Man Jenny looked hot in that Vogue picture…I wonder if she dates younger guys…
By stjuste August 18, 2009 at 10:07 pm
The Governor of SC is now a ridiculous man. He should know it, and I don’t think a few thousand emails to that effect would be unfair. If he is still moping about the Governor’s mansion ( you know, the one that is in Columbia and which is now inferior to the sort of house that gubernatorial candidates own privately), drenching his hanky with puerile tears over his so-called soul-mate (?!), he deserves his current status. But please, if there is a God in the universe do not let us poor residents of SC suffer the double blow of following this governor-sans- achievement with the Tartuffe-like falsity, greed, and stupidity of Andre Bauer, or the screwball conservatism of Henry McMaster. Let’s also reject the mediocrity of Gresham Barret, sage of the U.S. House and throwback to (the supposedly historical, but silly and corrupt ‘class’ of)1994. Sure, he was elected later, but this is SC, and guys still wear helmet haircuts down here. Just sayin’, GB, no offense. Let Mr. Handsome, Mark Sanford finish his term–without achievement–as the lamest of ducks and see where his real principles have taken him.
By Nelly August 18, 2009 at 11:42 pm
It’s unfortunate for the people of South Carolina who are now suffering due to the greed of Wall Street and their ilk. I think it’s sad that people are out of work when all they ever did was go to work and do their work. They should have a job and at least be able to earn their own living, though some conservatives probably disagree.
Having said that, it’s a mystery as to why the people of South Carolina voted for Sanford. They wanted a man of god and godly person who would be the kind of person they would like to drink a beer with and who would do whatever was required to protect those South Carolinians from the bad people who wanted to cause them harm. The Democrats, if you remember, were soft on terrorists and it was their fault that the tragic events of 9/11 occurred even though it was a Republican God’s Own Party member who was at the helm when the warnings went unacted upon. You might recall the August 6th briefing that warned of trouble that might be coming. In spite of that, it was just ducky for the leader of the free world to continue a month-long vacation instead of dealing with that warning. Consequently, the results have been 2 expensive wars that have crippled the nation as well as a welfare-state for defense workers. Why are the people outraged at Sanford? Is it because of the wars of choice that he supports? No. Is it because of the shredding of the Constitution? No. Is it because of spying against innocent ‘murkins who never broke any law? No. Is it because innocent people have died? No. Is it because adultery is a sin or because now the people are broke due to the GOP’s SOP of derailing the economy every time? You tell me.