Sanford’s “Friendly” Fire
Disgraced S.C. Gov. Mark Sanford is aggressively recruiting candidates to run in Republican primaries against the GOP sponsors of an impeachment resolution against him, sources tell FITS. In targeting these lawmakers – including one who has supported his policies in the past – the governor is said to be “sending a message” to other Republicans who might be contemplating joining the effort to impeach him.
“It’s saying ‘back off,’” one lawmaker familiar with the governor’s recruitment efforts told FITS, noting that Sanford still has a sizable political war chest at his disposal.
Lagging for weeks, the impeachment movement picked up some steam last week when the S.C. State Ethics Commission announced that it would be moving forward with charges against Sanford. That decision was based on its preliminary investigation into his administration – an investigation which was not made public but which reportedly found that the governor broke “several” state ethics laws.
Obviously one of the lawmakers the governor is allegedly targeting, Rep. Greg Delleney, has never been a supporter of the governor and has in fact become the leading antagonist of the Sanford administration in recent weeks.
But another lawmaker reportedly in Sanford’s sights – Rep. Gary Simrill (R- York) – has been one of Sanford’s strongest allies in the state legislature for years.
Indeed, Simrill has done a lot more than just support the governor, he has “carried Sanford’s water” on multiple occasions, one State House insider told FITS.
A source close to Simrill told FITS that the alleged threat from Sanford wouldn’t change the veteran lawmaker’s approach to dealing with the impeachment process or any other issue before the General Assembly.
“Gary has supported many of Mark Sanford’s reforms since before Mark Sanford was even elected,” the source said. “He has supported them with Sanford in office, and he will continue to support them even if the governor chooses to go down this road.”
Joining Delleney and Simrill as sponsors of the current impeachment resolution are Reps. Keith Kelly and Mike Pitts, two Upstate RINOs.
Sanford’s administration came under intense scrutiny earlier this year when the governor took a secretive trip to Argentina to see his Latin lover, Maria Belen Chapur. After being caught lying about his whereabouts, Sanford later confessed to the affair.
Shortly thereafter, the governor refunded several thousand tax dollars that went to fund a prior “economic development” mission to Argentina, a trip that now appears to have been set up solely for the purpose of facilitating a liaison between Sanford and Chapur.
Multiple additional travel and campaign finance violations have been alleged, some of which may have exposed the governor to a tax liability.
Delleney’s resolution addresses only Sanford’s secret trip and the admitted dishonesty associated with it, leaving the Ethics Commission to investigate the rest.
Comments
By me on November 23rd, 2009 at 3:10 am
good, i hope he takes as many rinos down with him as he can
By Mohanna on November 23rd, 2009 at 5:05 am
Impeach Sanfraud now before he can do any more damage. He really is a scuzball. He is going to try and take down everybody.
By Ynot on November 23rd, 2009 at 6:30 am
Sanfraud can fire but We the People vote. People are sick of Sanfraud. People won’t vote incumbants out for impeaching him. People will vote incumbants out for not taking action.
Sanfraud would serve himself well to tuck his lying tail tween his legs and limp it out of the mansion… pronto.
It’s his bogus campaign expenses/refunds to himself, that will get him in the end.
By Liberty For Me on November 23rd, 2009 at 6:33 am
Good….he has evey right to do this.Maybe we can get some real patriots in government and get more things happening like the Boeing deal.
By blackjack on November 23rd, 2009 at 6:53 am
Kudo’s to Mark Sanford for landing the Boeing deal & his attempt to rid the corrupt legislature of RINO’s.
By AMAZING on November 23rd, 2009 at 7:49 am
Sanfraud has a criminal mind.
He acts more like someone that is in the mafia than a governor.
Sanfraud is bad news, bad news.
By Toyota Kawaski on November 23rd, 2009 at 8:04 am
Same junk he tried in Aiken County with very disappointing results
By York Rino Hunter on November 23rd, 2009 at 9:11 am
Simrill a rino? Absolutely not. Sanford’s got another thing coming if he thinks he can take Gary down. Truly disgraceful to go after one of the most conservative guys in the house just because he supports impeachment. Says a lot about the governor. A lot bad.
By Gillon on November 23rd, 2009 at 9:21 am
Same old self-absorbed, selfish Mark. Instead of spending his time thinking of ways to help the people and the state that he has disgraced, he spends it in his usual way–looking out for himself. What a pitiful man and situation.
By Pat Hendrix on November 23rd, 2009 at 10:12 am
The voters in York County will never turnout a man with such perfectly coiffed hair. Throw in a little party in the rear, Gary might become the unchallenged Huey Long of York County politics.
By 2 cents on November 23rd, 2009 at 10:54 am
It does seem like he would have the decency to leave office instead of putting SC through an impeachment trial it can’t afford.
As far as mafia, he does act like one, from the “C” Street mafia. It’s what they call themselves, the Christian Mafia. His wife’s actions are disappointing as well, she & her husband have shown to be media lovers and ones willing to milk whatever they can for attention & support.
By weighing in on November 23rd, 2009 at 12:10 pm
Wow, you people actually believe Sanford had something to with Boeing?? Does he even know what they do? When asked if they needed to meet with the Governor, Boeing said…ahhh NO!
By PandaChris on November 23rd, 2009 at 12:13 pm
If I were a challenger in a GOP primary, I cannot think of a single endorsement that I would want less than that of Sanford.
Seems to me that ANY GOP candidate who could label their opponent as a lackey of Sanford would be strongly favored to win.
By Judy on November 23rd, 2009 at 2:55 pm
is he really going to visit the “soul mate” for Thanksgiving holiday? he’s SICK
By Elliott on November 23rd, 2009 at 3:02 pm
I hope you will publish a list of the candidates Sanford is supporting. I want to know who to vote against.
By Marvin on November 23rd, 2009 at 4:06 pm
Voice-of-reason time, people. It doesn’t matter who the governor is. This one has stood up for taxpayers more than any of his predecessors, and probably spent less taxpayer money on junk than they did as well. His sins are a drop-in-the-bucket compared to those of the legislature. Whatever the motives are in trying to impeach him (which is just freakin’ ridiculous!)instead of just leaving him alone to his rather pitiful rantings, they ain’t likely to be in the long-term best interests of taxpayers, or about the public good at all. Some weird Columbia power-mafia is at work here, and whatever it wants, I am pretty sure I don’t want.
If we care about ever having a vibrant economy (which we don’t have, and haven’t in decades) then we won’t be focused on another big-government incentive package. Why do we keep letting those guys do that stuff? We need to cut that state budget by at least half, and then make sure all citizens and all businesses — from BMW and Boeing, to the ice-cream parlor and gas station — have long-term substantive tax relief. But before we can do that, we need to quit letting politicians tell us that’s impossible, and instead we need to shut up and leave the economy to them. After all, they’ve taken such good care of us so far, right?
By Liberty For Me on November 23rd, 2009 at 4:39 pm
Marvin….THANKS>>>I am glad I am not the only person with a grasp of reason and intellect around here.
By southernmapart on November 23rd, 2009 at 6:11 pm
Go Sanford! Yeah!
By BIN News Editorial Staff on November 23rd, 2009 at 7:17 pm
You can get sic(k) willie’s services for the same price!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M8sZ1DWsAHE
By Doris on November 23rd, 2009 at 7:27 pm
Judy, how do you know he’s going going away for Thanksgiving?
By Mike Honcho on November 23rd, 2009 at 9:58 pm
Will, are you working on the 2010 version of a fake hitlist that we’ll read all about in the Free Times?
By AMAZING on November 24th, 2009 at 1:17 pm
Governor Sanford’s beautiful Argentine mistress identified as Maria Belen Chapur
Argentina News.Net
Friday 26th June, 2009
South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford’s Argentine mistress has been identified as Maria Belen Chapur, a 43-year-old divorcee and high-powered international businesswoman.
The athletic brunette at the center of a media storm following Sanford’s confession of an affair, lives in an upscale apartment building next to the Buenos Aires Zoo, in a trendy neighborhood that is also near the US Embassy. Maria has two children, speaks English, Portuguese and Chinese, Terra Argentina reported.
A witness who works in the building described her to Buenos Aires Continental Radio as a beautiful brunette with big eyes who plays tennis on a nearby lawn and runs every morning in her neighborhood.
The witness told the radio station that someone matching Sanford’s description arrived at the complex, alone, with a small sports bag last week and asked to go inside the building.
According to their lovesick emails that were given to South Carolina’s State newspaper, Shapur also makes semi-regular trips to New York City, the Daily News reports.
Celebrity gossip website TMZ quoted Buenos Aires bar owner Carlos Soto as saying he saw the governor and his mistress last week.
He said they were “all over each over” in his Italian bar and restaurant, “kissing, holding hands and drinking wine.” Soto said Maria has green eyes, dirty blonde hair and an impressive figure.
Sanford, who caused a national furor when he went missing last week, told the press on Wednesday that he had been in Argentina for six days.
http://www.argentinanews.net/story/511885
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