update: news articles I’ve been quoted in: Anderson Independent Mail, Greenville News
As one of Governor Sanford’s vocal supporters in the General Assembly, the phone’s been ringing off the hook. I’ve been approached by many asking my thoughts on Mark Sanford’s recent actions. My initial reaction is that I’ve felt like I’ve been kicked in the gut. Speechless. Shocked. Angry. Disappointed. This is what happens when a good, decent person of principle gets caught up in sin. It makes him do foolish things that hurt himself, his wife, his family, and in this case the citizens of South Carolina. As we’ve witnessed, a crystal clear reputation can evaporate very quickly.
Elected officials should role models that people can look up to.
I’ve been asked if he should resign as Governor. We need to consider what’s best to heal his marriage and his family. Also, we need to consider what’s best for South Carolina and this movement of reform that I and other conservatives in the legislature are committed to. I can’t answer this question at this time.
Governor Sanford asked for forgiveness from all South Carolinians today:
“First and foremost, I apologize to my wife and my four boys. I have made decisions that have hurt and will continue to hurt them, and for that I’m sincerely sorry. 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.
“I apologize to my staff. I misled them about my whereabouts, and as a result the people of South Carolina believed something that wasn’t true. I want to make absolutely clear that over the past two days at no time did anyone on my staff intentionally relay false information to other state officials or the public at large. What they’ve said over the past two days they believed to be true, and I’m sorry to them for putting them in this position.
“I apologize to the people of South Carolina. There are many people out there right now who are hurt, angry and disappointed with me, and rightfully so. Over the time that I have left in office, I’m going to devote my energy to building back the trust the people of this state have placed in me.
“I ask for your forgiveness, and your prayers for everyone who I’ve hurt,” Sanford said.
Is forgiveness possible? Reconciliation? Restoration of public trust? Only time will tell. The State Newspaper has extensive coverage of Gov. Sanford’s public confession and timeline of the affair.
I appreciate the First Lady of South Carolina’s impressive statement. In closing, she asks for protection of privacy for her and their children. I hope we can honor her request in the court of public opinion. Here’s her statement:
Statement from First Lady Jenny Sanford
I would like to start by saying I love my husband and I believe I have put forth every effort possible to be the best wife I can be during our almost twenty years of marriage. As well, for the last fifteen years my husband has been fully engaged in public service to the citizens and taxpayers of this state and I have faithfully supported him in those efforts to the best of my ability. I have been and remain proud of his accomplishments and his service to this state.
I personally believe that the greatest legacy I will leave behind in this world is not the job I held on Wall Street, or the campaigns I managed for Mark, or the work I have done as First Lady or even the philanthropic activities in which I have been routinely engaged. Instead, the greatest legacy I will leave in this world is the character of the children I, or we, leave behind. It is for that reason that I deeply regret the recent actions of my husband Mark, and their potential damage to our children.
I believe wholeheartedly in the sanctity, dignity and importance of the institution of marriage. I believe that has been consistently reflected in my actions. When I found out about my husband’s infidelity I worked immediately to first seek reconciliation through forgiveness, and then to work diligently to repair our marriage. We reached a point where I felt it was important to look my sons in the eyes and maintain my dignity, self-respect, and my basic sense of right and wrong. I therefore asked my husband to leave two weeks ago.
This trial separation was agreed to with the goal of ultimately strengthening our marriage. During this short separation it was agreed that Mark would not contact us. I kept this separation quiet out of respect of his public office and reputation, and in hopes of keeping our children from just this type of public exposure. Because of this separation, I did not know where he was in the past week.
I believe enduring love is primarily a commitment and an act of will, and for a marriage to be successful, that commitment must be reciprocal. I believe Mark has earned a chance to resurrect our marriage.
Psalm 127 states that sons are a gift from the Lord and children a reward from Him. I will continue to pour my energy into raising our sons to be honorable young men. I remain willing to forgive Mark completely for his indiscretions and to welcome him back, in time, if he continues to work toward reconciliation with a true spirit of humility and repentance.
This is a very painful time for us and I would humbly request now that members of the media respect the privacy of my boys and me as we struggle together to continue on with our lives and as I seek the wisdom of Solomon, the strength and patience of Job and the grace of God in helping to heal my family.
It was the gays! See what happens when you let gays get married! Even the most intolerant, holier-than-thou conservatives start having sex outside of their marriages! Defend marriage, stop the gays!
“Kicked in the gut”. That’s a good way to put it.
I just wish I could get a hold of that Delilah.
Loserman, you’re back!! What’s your point here? I can’t wait to get going again. Thanks for adding some excitement back to my day.
Mark Sanford’s take on Democrats who commit adultery:
“The issue of lying is probably the biggest harm, if you will, to the system of Democratic government, representative government, because it undermines trust. And if you undermine trust in our system, you undermine everything.”
John Ensign’s response to Larry Craig’s infidelity:
“That’s one of the things that I’m proudest about our leadership is the swift action, not only calling for an immediate Senate investigation, ethics investigation, removing him from his committees but also sending the signal to him that it was probably best that he resign”
Romans 2:3
I am praying for Gov. Sanford, his wife, his children, and even his mistress. It has been said that the Grace of God, is getting something that we don’t deserve, and that the mercy that He bestows upon us all, is not getting something that we do deserve.
Jesus said let he who is without sin cast the first stone. I will be keeping my stones locked up tightly and thanking God that He is merciful, gracious, and forgiving to us ALL, even though none of us deserve it. He says that if we lust, we have already commited adultry in our hearts. Since that is sin also, I would say that takes all of out of the whole “high and mightier” clique. Just something for the stone throwers to chew on. Thanks, Kevin! I have enjoyed hearing your take on this. I would be dissapointed if Governor Sanford resigned, unless he felt that it would benefit his family and the healing process.
I’m not saying whether or not the Governor should resign, but I would like to point out that forgiving someone is not releasing them from the consequences of their actions. Forgiveness is about relationships, not responsibilities.
Loserman…Loserman..where are you?
Tease
How can this man stay in office? He cannot be trusted, and he is a sanctimonious hypocrite.
He has been a very good governor for SC. I don’t care what anyone says, I still believe that most of the things he has done as governor were right, and were done only for the good of SC.
If he were a sanctimonious hypocrite, he wouldn’t have confessed and come clean about his failure.
Priscilla,
You ARE kidding , right? This is what passes for honesty? Coming clean after going to great lengths to cover up your philandering and being flat busted by the press???
No, Ron, I’m not kidding. The Governor’s actions were disgraceful and despicable, but a thorough hypocrite would go to ALL lengths to cover-up as Clinton did even after being found out. I’m not saying the Governor’s actions were honest, far from it. But the only way to get back on the right track is to confess and repent of sin. And the fact that he has confessed seems to indicate that that is what he wishes to do. Sure, he covered up for a while, and he could have gone to all lengths and covered up a while longer, but he didn’t. He came clean, and that BEFORE his sin was discovered.
I sincerely hope that Governor Sanford has genuinely repented and ended his affair, and that he and the first lady will be able to restore their marriage.
Priscilla,
You should read up on the facts and get a grip on your naivete. You can start with The State newspaper. It’s the McClatchy newspaper with the largest distribution in SC, based in Columbia. Where in the world do you get your information? Or do you just believe what you want? Or are you very young?
Palmetto Con,
Loserman? You really are a sanctimonious smear-merchant, aren’t you? You check to see if I’ve posted at 7:22 on a Sunday morning and I’m a loser?
How are things going at the smear-factory? Oh, I forgot, you only answer questions with questions. You are a coward.
I dub you Palmetto Coward.
Well, keep on wrapping yourself in the flag and thumping your bible and being a two-faced, hypocritical, Republican smear-merch. It seams to be working great, as far as I’m concerned.
I’m sure the good Senator is proud to have you on his team, you tool.