Mark Sanford

A friend once told us that the real weakness of the Republican party is that “they eat their own.” Red State blogger Leon Wolf, who we ordinarily respect and read, demonstrated what that kind of political cannibalism looks like, yesterday, when he wrote:

“I have been involved in politics literally since I was 3 years old, so in my time I have seen some pretty low-life behavior on the part of politicians. I have, in fact, become so cynical about politicians in general that I thought I was no longer capable of being shocked at the behavior of any elected official anymore. I was wrong.

It turns out that there’s an elected official out there who is so colossally stupid and so cavalierly indifferent to his duties as an elected official that he somehow thought he could go completely AWOL (on a different freaking continent) for six days and no one would, you know, notice, or care to investigate where he was. Turns out there’s a governor out there who thought it was a good idea to lie to his staff, his family, his friends (including RedState), and everyone who ever worked to get him elected or advance his national stature all in the name of satisfying his libido. Turns out that Mark Sanford is guilty of the most reckless dereliction of duty and betrayal of trust it has been my displeasure to witness in decades…”

We dissent. Our immediate reaction to Sanford’s sad confession wasn’t to pile-on, but to feel concern for our fallen ally. Sanford has been one of the best elected opponents of creeping socialism and his decision to face the political ire of many in his state by refusing stimulus funds was an act of political courage that distinguished him from other Republican governors who merely talked the talk and then couldn’t or wouldn’t walk the walk.

Sanford has failed, but he deserves to be treated like a man by the movement he has served rather than immediately harshed and discarded as another broken politician. In that spirit, here are the facts as we understand them. Sanford is a man who has been separated from his wife for months because of a marital infidelity — a closely-guarded fact that threatened to wound him politically. Sanford took a vacation to be with the woman he cares about and he did not make that decision public as his very personal relations are not a public matter; no doubt, he felt that he could and should be able to live his life as a human being and perform his job as governor without giving up his private relations and without making his personal troubles known to the state of South Carolina like some kind of public confessional. When his opponents seized on the uncharacteristic privacy of his vacation, he returned to hold a press conference explaining everything, asking that his wife and children be spared by the press, acknowledging that his personal behavior was wrong, and resigning his position with the Republican Governors Association so that his personal mistakes would not weaken the organization he leads. He did not lie under oath, conspire to obstruct justice, or dedicate the remainder of his term and the resources of his office to denying the truth in order to protect his political future. He attempted to conceal an unsightly aspect of his personal life from people it did not concern, but when it was revealed, he did not drag out a lengthy denial.

We don’t know whether Sanford’s surreptitious trip was motivated by courage bourne of love or merely weakness, but it reads like a Shakespearean leader felled by a fatal personal flaw more than a failure to perform as Governor. Mark Sanford’s fall is a sad fact for the Republican party in 2010 and 2012, but it is a revealing personal tragedy that thinking people should pause to consider. Many, many members of Congress serve in Washington, D.C. while their wives stay at home making appearances and maintaining a presence in the home district or state; the personal toll is substantial. Along with the glaring spotlight, the constant fund raising, and the political sniping from all directions, it is a wonder that any qualified men and women decide to serve in elected office. It should not be surprising that they are sometimes willing to sacrifice their principles when they have already sacrificed so much just to hold the job. What does this mean for our democracy? Is it possible to realize the kind of citizen or gentleman’s democracy our founder’s envisioned in today’s world of professional politicians and mass media? If so, what reform is necessary?

Sanford’s personal life is not the stuff heroes are made of, but rather than taking the opportunity to destroy the sinner, we would rather see Republicans spend their time talking publicly about cap-and-trade, health care, and the forthcoming second stimulus bill. It’s too bad so much of what we are reading and seeing on cable news involves Republicans far too eager to kick Sanford now that he is down for the count and far too shy about criticizing ObamaCare.

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