Will Sanford Survive in the Republican Party?
By now, everyone knows South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford has admitted to an affair in South America. Within hours of his admitting to the affair the frontrunner SC Republican to replace him had taken his picture down from her campaign website and conspiracy theories about what REALLY happened in Argentina appeared on a blog coldheartedtruth.com. Sanford has also resigned as the head of the Republican Governor?s Association, though he refuses to do the same as governor.
After Sanford admitted to the affair, one of my co-workers mentioned he thought the Republican Party should perhaps give up its mantle as the party of family values- not a bad opinion, given what happened with Nevada Senator John Ensign and former Congressional members Mark Foley, Newt Gingrich, Larry Craig and other Republicans who have had sordid and underhanded parts of their personal life come to light in recent years. However, as Dinesh D?Souza put it in “Letters to a Young Conservative”- to paraphrase- Republicans accept that people aren?t perfect, and that even those who proclaim family values will fail (the reference, written in 2002, compares former President Clinton to then- Majority Leader Gingrich), but that the movement should not follow the failures of the imperfect beings who are family values proponents. Instead, the fight must continue through its supporters failures.
With this thought in mind, I have a question for members of the Republican Party- if Republicans are trying to have a bigger tent AND not give up the family values battle, do we essentially alienate Sanford from the party, or do we encourage failed public leaders to continue in their areas of strength? Sanford may have failed on the social values front (of course, he seems to be going off the deep end since admitting the affair), but if he gets his act together he could still be a strong face for smaller government spending (assuming he did nothing illegal- otherwise, he?s toast). This is not without precedent- despite their unethical pasts, both Gingrich and former New York City mayor Rudy Guiliani have become major public faces for the Republican Party. Of course, on the Democratic side, former President Clinton, Rep. Barney Frank and others still have powerful positions within their respective party even after their personal lives have come apart.
As HotAir puts it regarding the Sanford Affair: ?If you want to have a career in national politics, keep it in your pants. If you want to conduct affairs, stay out of politics. If you use your public office to lie to your constituents and your family, you deserve everything coming your way. No sniveling.? There is no question that Sanford should be hung out to dry, and furthermore be investigated for using funds inappropriately (he has since repaid those funds to the state of South Carolina) and having possibly abandoned his post. Once the dust has settled, however, will Sanford have a place in the Republican Party?
