COLUMBIA- In this election season, it's hard to ignore the political
ramifications of Gov. Mark Sanford's actions.
In many ways the scrutiny comes with the territory. After all, he is the
state's highest-ranking politician, wedged in the middle of a re-election
campaign that has drawn one GOP primary challenger and three Democratic
opponents.
Take the tax rebate check he suggested earlier this year in his executive
budget, a document that holds little weight with legislative budget writers.
Statehouse observers and lawmakers called the proposal "smoke and mirrors"
and an attempt to "buy votes." Some joked that the checks would arrive in
mailboxes a week before the November election.
Sanford's office surely calculates the political consequences of his actions,
but they're not always clear-cut. As the governor makes strides to improve his
image, the results can be positive and negative.
Last week began well for Sanford as a politician. The annual Governor's
Citizenship Award ceremony provided a ripe opportunity to boost his education
credentials.
Nearly 1,000 students from across the state flocked to the Capitol on Tuesday
with proud parents ? voters ? in tow.
With medals around their necks and dressed in their Sunday best, the students
waited in a long line for a five-second photo op with the governor. Beaming
parents took dozens of pictures with all manner of cameras, until Sanford's
mouth seemed permanently fixed with a smile.
The governor greeted the students warmly, making small talk and encouraging
parents with camera malfunctions to try again.
Hartsville resident Lee Sanders, 35, brought his fifth-grade son Craig to
Columbia. He came as a mild Sanford critic but left saying nice things.
"He is showing that children matter," said Sanders, a nuclear plant employee.
"Education is obviously at the front, where it should be."
Randy Sturkey, an industrial worker from Clinton who attended with his
11-year-old daughter Sharkira, was appreciative of the governor's time. But he
also acknowledged the possible implications. "There's always politics in these
situations," he said.
The show of support for students was important for Sanford this election
year. His opponents are hammering him for his plan to give parents tax breaks
for private-school tuition, labeling him anti-public education.
Sanford downplayed any political upshot from the event. "You may have taken a
picture with the kid but it's not going to be a driver of how they vote," he
said.
The governor made those comments later in the day at an event that possibly
cost him as many votes as he may have shored up earlier.
With doctors at his side, Sanford said that he was vetoing a bill that
softened the certification process for hospitals that want to build a heart care
center.
The legislation was pushed adamantly by Lexington County's legislative
delegation because it would have allowed the county's main hospital to add a
heart practice, which had been previously denied by state regulators.
But by vetoing the bill, Sanford insulted some of his leading allies in the
House and ticked off residents in a GOP-dominated county. Sanford acknowledged
that it didn't "take a rocket scientist to know ... this is not a great
political move on my part."
Despite the negative effect, he said because of his personal principles, he
had to stand by the process in place.
"The worst of all worlds is to have a certificate of need process that is
politically driven," Sanford said.
Rep. Kenny Bingham, a Republican from Lexington County, disagreed. He
chastised the reasoning behind Sanford's veto, saying he ought to consider the
political effects.
"People on the street say there is no more important issue to them," said
Bingham. "Lexington is a GOP stronghold. I think there'll be a huge political
backlash."
John Frank covers the Legislature and state politics from Columbia.
Reach him at jbfrank@postandcourier.com or
(803) 799-9051.
