All Blog Posts from Political Hotsheet

Republican South Carolina senator Lindsey Graham, who was formally censured by members of his own party earlier this week for playing nice with Democrats on climate change and other legislation, has spoken out in his own defense, according to Capitol Hill's newspaper Roll Call.

The Charleston, South Carolina Post and Courier reported that the Charleston County Republican Party voted on Monday to censure Graham for not upholding the Republican platform. The group cited his cooperation with Democratic senator John Kerry on the proposed cap-and-trade bill and his support for the Troubled Asset Relief Program, Obama's $700 billion bailout plan.

"U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham -- in the name of bipartisanship -- continues to weaken the Republican brand and tarnish the ideals of freedom, rule of law, and fiscal conservatism," the resolution reportedly reads.

"There have been a lot of things over the years that people have been dissatisfied with the senator for doing but I think the cap-and-trade issue is the straw that broke the camel's back," Lin Bennett, the county GOP chairwoman, said according to the South Carolina State. "We have a state platform that if you want to run as a Republican in our state part of that platform includes ideals and goals we would like to see and one of them is smaller, and less government intrusion into people's lives."

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With friends like these...

Last week, State Senator Bakari Sellars wrote in The State that United States Senator Jim DeMint, R-S.C., had failed to do enough to get federal funding for the state. On Sunday, a couple of South Carolina Country Republican Chairmen defended DeMint in a joint letter to a local newspaper where they resorted to the stereotype of penny-pinching Jews to make their point.

In their response, published in The Times and Democrat, Bamberg County GOP Chairman Edwin Merwin and Orangeburg County GOP Chairman James Ulme offered the following logic:

"There is a saying that the Jews who are wealthy got that way not by watching dollars, but instead by taking care of the pennies and the dollars taking care of themselves," Ulmer and Merwin wrote in their letter. "By not using earmarks to fund projects for South Carolina and instead using actual bills, DeMint is watching our nation's pennies and trying to preserve our country's wealth and our economy's viability to give all an opportunity to succeed."

A spokesman for Sen. DeMint was not immediately available for comment.

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South Carolina's attorney general is reportedly requesting an investigation into whether Gov. Mark Sanford violated state ethics laws through his use of state planes, or by other means.

State Attorney General Henry McMaster sent a letter Thursday to Herb Hayden, executive director of the state Ethics Commission, according to the Associated Press.

"This is to request the South Carolina Ethics Commission to investigate these allegations involving the use of state planes and any other potential violations of the State Ethics Act," McMaster wrote, the AP reports.

The request follows a report from the AP that Sanford used state planes for personal travel, in violation of state budget law. Additionally, a probe by the state legislature showed that Sanford broke state law by using taxpayer dollars for business and first-class commercial flights, rather than more economical flights.

In an op-ed published in local newspapers on Thursday, Sanford said the accusations took his use of state planes out of context and that he actually used the state plane less than previous governors did.

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South Carolina's top Republicans voted overwhelmingly to censure Gov. Mark Sanford – who admitted to a lengthy affair with an Argentine woman – but fell well short of calling for his resignation.

The state's GOP executive committee met for about three hours Monday. Twenty-two members supported the censure. Ten voted to call for his resignation and nine others voted against any reprimand.

In a statement, Sanford says he appreciates the party's position and will continue to work to earn back its trust, the Associated Press reported.

The governor has said repeatedly that he will serve his remaining 18 months in office.

Some members of the state's Republican party reportedly do not want Sanford to resign because they wish to compete for the governor's mansion in 2011 and the state's current lieutenant governor, Andre Bauer, might have an advantage in running for reelection as the incumbent governor.

Tom Davis, South Carolina state senator and former chief of staff of Gov. Mark Sanford, said his former boss' confessed affair with an Argentinian woman "blew me away."

Sanford went out of his way to apologize to Davis at Wednesday's mea culpa news conference, in which he admitted to cheating on his wife with a woman named Maria.

The confession came after Sanford was caught returning from a five-day trip to Argentina, during which his staff claimed he was hiking in the Appalachian mountains.

Davis said he was "tremendously surprised" by the admission during and appearance on CBS' The Early Show Thursday.

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South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford admitted today that he had an affair with a woman in Argentina. The GOP star and rumored 2012 presidential contender had been missing for several days, drawing national media attention as his staff issued a series of oblique and contradictory statements about his whereabouts.

CBS News senior political correspondent Jeff Greenfield discussed today's revelations with anchor Katie Couric on the CBS Evening News Wednesday.

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After causing a controversy with his unexplained four-day absence, South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford plans on returning to his office tomorrow, according to his communications director, Joel Sawyer.

Sanford left the governor's mansion Thursday in a black sports utility vehicle, leaving his destination unknown to many in government and his family. He also turned his cell phones off. His office revealed late Monday, however, that the governor has been hiking along the Appalachian Trail.

Sanford called to check in with his chief of staff this morning.

"It would be fair to say the governor was somewhat taken aback by all of the interest this trip has gotten," Sawyer said.

As of Monday, neither Sanford's office nor the State Law Enforcement Division had been able to reach the governor since he left Thursday, The State newspaper reported.

"It isn't unusual for the governor to be out of pocket for several days after the legislative session," Sawyer said in an earlier statement. "We knew he would be difficult to reach, and that he would be checking in infrequently."

The governor's wife, Jenny Sanford, told the Associated Press Monday that she did not know where the governor was but that she was not concerned about her husband's absence. She said he needed time apart from his children to write something.

After taking a long weekend to himself, South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford finally made contact with his office today, The State newspaper reports.

As we posted a short time ago, the paper reported that neither his office nor the State Law Enforcement Division had been able to reach the governor since he left his mansion in a black sports utility vehicle on Thursday.

Sanford’s office has contacted the governor and told the office of Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer that they now know where he is and that he is fine, according to the State.

"The governor put in a lot of time during this last legislative session, and after the session winds down it's not uncommon for him to go out of pocket for a few days at a time to clear his head," Joel Sawyer, the communications director for Sanford's office, told CBS News. "Before leaving last week, he let staff know his whereabouts and that he'd be difficult to reach. Should any emergencies arise between the times in which he checks in, our staff would obviously be in contact with other state officials as the situation warrants before making any decisions."

The governor's wife, Jenny Sanford, told the Associated Press Monday that she did not know where the governor was. Bauer also said he did not know where Sanford was -- but that he had not been put in charge in the governor's absence.

Jenny Sanford told the AP she was not concerned about her husband's absence and that he needed time apart from his children to write something.

The governor's office initially would not discuss the specifics of Sanford's travel or security arrangements but issued statement saying, "Gov. Sanford is taking some time away from the office this week to recharge after the stimulus battle and the legislative session, and to work on a couple of projects that have fallen by the wayside."

Sanford recently lost a court battle to refuse federal stimulus funds that were specifically dedicated to educational purposes.

South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford left his mansion in a black sports utility vehicle on Thursday and hasn't been heard from since, according to reports.

The governor's wife told the Associated Press Monday that she does not know where the governor went. Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer also said he does not know where Sanford is -- but that he has not been put in charge in the governor's absence.

Neither the governor’s office nor the State Law Enforcement Division is able to reach Sanford, according to The State newspaper in Columbia, S.C.. A mobile telephone tower picked up a signal from Sanford's phone near Atlanta, making that his last known whereabouts, the newspaper reported. The governor's phones, however, have been turned off, and he is not responding to phone calls or text messages.

The governor's wife, Jenny Sanford, said she is not concerned about her husband's absence. She said, the AP reported, he needed time apart from his children to write something.

The governor's office reportedly will not discuss the specifics of Sanford's travel or security arrangements but issued statement saying, "Gov. Sanford is taking some time away from the office this week to recharge after the stimulus battle and the legislative session, and to work on a couple of projects that have fallen by the wayside."

Sanford recently lost a court battle to refuse federal stimulus funds that were specifically dedicated to educational purposes.

There is no indication of foul play, the State newspaper reported.

Like a handful of other Republican governors, South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford defiantly protested the stimulus funds President Obama has been doling out to the states. He is, however, the only governor to take his opposition to the federal bailout money to court.

On Monday, the governor saw a major setback in his fight to refuse $700 million in federal funds, the New York Times reported.

A federal judge on Monday said two lawsuits seeking to compel Sanford to accept the money should be heard in state court. The state Supreme Court will hear the arguments in the cases, filed by two students and the South Carolina Association of School Administrators, on Wednesday.

South Carolina is eligible to receive up to $2.8 billion in stimulus funds, and the state has already accepted some of the money, according to the Wall Street Journal. Sanford has said he would only accept the $700 million in question if it could be used to offset the state's debt; the money, though, is slated to mostly pay for education.

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