Maybe Gov. Mark Sanford is shutting it down early, but he’s decided not to oppose $127 million in federal spending that’s slated for state health care programs. Specifically, programs dealing with the poor and disabled. Mind you, this is a guy who camped out on cable television during the second stimulus debate and went to court against the General Assembly to stop federal stimulus money from reaching the Palmetto State.

Sanford’s spokesman said that he just didn’t want the fight, and that he didn’t (?) oppose the health care stimulus bucks. That’s all well and good, but when the Department of Health and Human Services spokesman says the agency is still $200 million in the red, that’s a problem. What it signals is that next year’s budgeting is going to be another round of 20-hour sessions and every group that gets state money tubthumping to keep their funding.

What’s likely, and won’t be fun for many, is there will be another ton of cuts and many people will be trying to do more with less. And a lot of people who depend on the state for services would be well-served to figure out another method to get done what’s needed.

It’s understandable why even Republicans who didn’t back Rep. Nikki Haley‘s gubernatorial campaign are looking on the bright side after the runoff. There’s the usual closing of the ranks, plus piggy-backing off of positive (nearly fawning) national coverage. She’s a woman, and a minority. She’s loved by the teabaggers. But she’s isn’t right for South Carolina, for the reasons that have been and will continue to be borne out.

She’s Gov. Mark Sanford‘s third term, period.

There are a myriad of different ways this can be fleshed out, not the least of which is that she’s a card-carrying member of the Sanford cabal and in hock to the people that comprise it. Then there’s something about a couple vetoes. Haley was only one of 27 representatives to vote to sustain a veto on $1.64 million that is going to the State Museum, and voted to sustain another veto with $50,000 in funding. Yet she has the gall to hold her victory party there. Mind you, if the first veto was sustained, the Museum would have likely had to raise its ticket prices to $25 per person and have tons of other issues.

Very Sanford-esque, isn’t it? This is who she is, and this is what we’ll get if she’s elected governor. We’ll also be getting another four years of war between a governor and the legislature. If we had U.S. Rep. Gresham Barrett, Lt. Gov. André Bauer or Atty. Gen. Henry McMaster as the nominee, this wouldn’t be the case. GOP voters had a 75 percent chance of picking a nominee that could govern effectively and actually implement conservative principles instead of yakking about them and getting into battles with legislators. But they didn’t. And when everything really starts going to shit around the middle of the next legislative session, we’ll be here to say, “Told you so.”

You get the government you vote for. And the voters in the runoff decided on more of the same.

Our illustrious governor has stepped out once again. Where is he, where did he go? He’s supposed to be back in town today, ostensibly to vote for his hand-picked successor, Rep. Nikki Haley in the Republican gubernatorial runoff. Where he’s been, though, is unknown except to a small few. Is this the sort of thing we might expect with a Gov. Haley? Only time will tell.

The funniest part is — guess what? — Lt. Gov. André Bauer had no idea. Nobody told him. Again. And nobody else is talking, like Sanford is off on some sort of special operations mission or something. Operación: Vaquero del Amor.

Nearly one year to the day that Gov. Mark Sanford embarked on a secret trip to Argentina and turned S.C. politics on its ear, Sanford’s whereabouts are unknown to the press and the public.

Monday, Sanford’s spokesman Ben Fox told The State Sanford is on “personal time” but declined to say where the governor is.

[...]

State Law Enforcement Division Director Reggie Lloyd said Sanford has security with him but would not elaborate.

“We’ve left it up to the governor’s office to disclose where (Sanford) is,” Lloyd said.

In deference to the two-term failure, his spokesman said that Sanford spent most of the weekend with his sons, but how much can we trust anything coming out of the Governor’s Office? Over the past several years, the Governor and his minions have done a damn good job at destroying any trustworthiness that once existed there.

As Professor Farnsworth would say, “Good news, everyone!” It was looking bad for a while for the state budget. The Senate raised fees to pay for the courts and public safety, even involving a rare rebuke of Lt. Gov. André Bauer on the rules. Gov. Mark Sanford vetoed it, and the House, not having the votes to override, carved $50.2 million of state health care funding. The Senate wasn’t having any of that, and the House, in turn, rebuffed the Senate (isn’t legislating fun?).

But it all worked out in the end. Four Republicans and two Democrats put their heads together and crafted a compromise that looks like it’ll fly, meaning that the chances are looking better that the General Assembly won’t have to return for extra time. It’s ends up with the House getting one bit and losing one bit. A proposal to ban funding for abortions in cases of rape or incest found its way to the cutting room floor, but the funding cuts remained in. Considering that it looks like the fee increases were Sanford’s main reason for sending the budget back to the legislature, this could very well be done.

Unless, of course, some wags in either chamber decide to throw a spanner in the works. Please, ladies and gentlemen, just send the budget through and let’s move on.

As we usually do, we’re not going to pull punches. Will Folks is a world-class wuss. Coward. Dipshit. He hides behind his high-priced attorneys and the imbeciles who give him information, and acts like he’s hot shit. That’s most likely why another world-class coward and dipshit, Mark Sanford, hired this idiot to begin with. Also likely why his joke of a protégé, Rep. Nikki Haley, did the same.

Why Haley is lying isn’t a surprise. If you fucked that bald ugly fool, whether you’re married with children or not, would you want the world knowing about it? Doubtful. But as it came out, it made national news. As Brad Warthen would say, “the Wonkette” had some fun with the situation.

And this is why politicians shouldn’t have ALLEGED affairs with fucking political bloggers: they *will* act like children in the aftermath. (That, and most are ugly, too.)Will Folks, the South Carolina Republican blogger who claimed yesterday to have had an affair with gubernatorial candidate Nikki Haley, is having so much fun being famous, posting all of his awesome sex photos and what not. He posted this one today, writing, “Seriously … how funny is this?” Oh my god. “It’s a framed photo of Mark Sanford, Nikki Haley and Sic Willie following a fundraiser for Haley back in 2007. Let the bidding begin!”

Okay it is pretty funny.

Meanwhile, the evidence is mounting that some sort of hanky-panky did occur, but we want to be absolutely sure on this one before making a judgment since — again — this is a political blogger claiming to have had sex with a lady.

Because of a family heritage of such things and a lifetime spent cultivating the art of the rant, we’ve been going off the rails a few more times than normal recently. We chalk this up to the days counting down to primary day, so shit’s getting weird. One thing is, a lot of people who are posturing as rock-ribbed fiscal conservatives have been coming out against raising the cigarette tax. Really.

They’re obviously smoking something, and it’s more what you could pick up at MLK Park in Five Points than what you can get at the convenience store.

In the political environment in this state, where there’s a headlong rush to be the rightest of the right, any tax increase on anything is considered by some an affront on the level of smacking God in the face. That also means they’re not thinking, but instead yapping at the sky like an over-bred spaniel. For instance, when the state’s seven cents-per-pack cigarette tax was put in, it was about 15 percent of the price of a pack. Now it’s less than two percent for your average pack of Marlboros or Camels. The state’s suffering massive issues when it comes to shelling out tax dollars for cigarette-related health care costs.

But God forbid we raise the cigarette tax. The effort against it has been partially led by the S.C. Policy Council, more because they’ve been receiving thousands of dollars from Altria (that’s Philip Morris to you and us) than some principled policy stance. Perhaps one of the highest levels of dumbassery comes from former SCPC staffer and former Rep. Nikki Haley gubernatorial staffer Justin Evans, whose half-baked thoughts have been promoted by the home of half-baked thoughts at S.C. Hotline.

Come on people. If you discourage people from smoking…thus having less smokers…common sense dictates you will not have the revenue necessary to “fully” fund Medicaid…which means these morons will have to find this cash somewhere else…likely cutting core government services like teachers if history is any guide…

So SMOKE! All of you!

And remember….with every cigarette you smoke, you could be saving a life!

The most unfortunate part of this tax hike is the fact that it is just that….a blatant tax hike.

Aren’t Republicans supposed to support lower taxes and limited government? This is an example of the Republican hypocrisy I have been ranting about for months. In fact, here they RAISED taxes to EXPAND government. Completely the opposite of what they claim to believe in.

Without a corresponding tax decrease, our Republican lawmakers once again failed their constituents, their party, and the state as a whole.

Oh, man. Give us a fucking break. Maybe Evans was dropped on his head, a lot, as a child, but let’s see here — South Carolina’s cigarette tax is the lowest in the nation. And cigarettes kill you. Lung cancer, heart disease and a significant amount of other maladies are related to tobacco use. What’s a better way to convince people to quit, and thereby cost the state’s taxpayers less, than take cigarettes outside of a person’s price point?

But actually having considerate thoughts (which seems impossible for people who are in love with the inappropriate use of ellipses) about this issue won’t happen with those whose brains are gray matter See ‘n Says that spit out “limited government” and “no new taxes” on a knee-jerk basis.

We read recently that all four Republican candidates for governor came out against the bill. That’s a goddamn shame. However, no politician ever did badly by underestimating the intelligence of the voters. That’s why we have the lottery, and more people trying to cut taxes for the rich than giving a damn about middle- and working-class kids being able to afford college. And Mark Sanford.

The gentlemen and (the few that are left) ladies in the General Assembly who have voted, and will vote, to override Sanford’s veto should be applauded statewide for putting aside their differences and compromising to pass an important piece of legislation that will actually make life better in our state, both on the street and during the budgeting process.

Here’s a strange development that nobody seems to be noticing, and it’s that Gov. Mark Sanford’s gubernatorial campaign disclosure shows no contributions for the first quarter of this year. You may say, “What’s the big deal, Mac? He’s not running for state office.” Very true. But here’s the rub — for the other disclosures during his second term, Sanford’s been rolling up thousands of dollars in interest payments from his campaign account(s). Why would that end this year? Curious.

On an other note, word on the street is that there are plans in the works — or with the Reform S.C. commercials, maybe already underway — for Sanford to spend his cash throwing it into his cabal of “independent” groups and organizations to prop up Rep. Nikki Haley‘s gubernatorial campaign. Her campaign, on paper, was at a significant disadvantage monetarily compared to her Republican rivals. Behind-the-scenes moves my Sanford and his toadies could significantly help her in the next month to try to put her into second place and in the runoff.

And if it can happen, it will happen. That’s how these guys and gals roll.

MARK SANFORD
Contributions: $0
Expenditures: $238,878.11
Cash on hand: $1,166,346.96

Significant contributions
None.

Significant expenditures
S.C. Department of Commerce (fine), $18,000
S.C. Division of Aeronautics (fine), $7,791.67
S.C. Department of Natural Resources (fine), $1,003.32
S.C. Ethics Commission (fines), $110,498
Shipman & Goodwin (legal fees), $28,248.92
Red Sea LLC (consulting), $4,000
Basswood Research (survey), $12,500
Hall & Bowers (legal fees), $50,304.40

It was reported by Gawker over the weekend that Gov. Mark Sanford wasn’t spending Mother’s Day with family, but was instead enjoying the Florida Keys with a raven-haired lady friend, believed to possibly be paramour Maria Belén Chapur. At least two people have written in to the Web site purporting to having seen our governor doing his thing and working his game.

Hey Gawker – I’m a law student in from Philadelphia vacationing in the Florida Keys. Just wanted to let you know that upon arrival today, we were floored to see South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford strolling through the lobby of our resort arm-in-arm with a tall, attractive, brunette – presumably his Argentine “soulmate.” Both kept to
themselves and didn’t make eye contact, but were obviously not hiding their relationship. They’re staying at the Cheeca Lodge in Islamorada. (We’ve since learned that George HW Bush frequents the resort – so it seems to be something of a GOP hideout.)

Also,

My husband, son and I were pulling into the Key largo Island Bay Resort for Mothers Day brunch and who did we see at a table in the corner? Mark Sanford and a very pretty dark haired woman.

Just shows that even in his last legislative session, you can’t get between that lovesick puppy and the target of his affection.

The layman could look and see that the 50-cent increase in the cigarette tax passed both the House and Senate, and think that it’s a for-sure thing. Unfortunately, that’s not the case. One major stumbling block is that squawking lame duck, Gov. Mark Sanford. Sanford’s talked a good game about raising the cigarette tax, but he’s always been against whatever had a decent chance of becoming law.

Then there’s the specifics of the bill itself. Coming out of the Senate, it was 20 cents more than the original proposal by the House Republicans. In The State last Thursday, Speaker of the House Bobby Harrell said, “At 30 cents, the House was very likely to override a veto. I’m not so sure at 50 cents.”

We’re of a similar mind on it. Rep. Gary Simrill also said that a 50-cent increase wouldn’t survive. And then there’s the money to go to infrastructure along the I-95 corridor. The inclusion of this to the bill was key to getting Democratic support in the Senate, and getting the bill passed with a better than two-thirds majority. Unsurprisingly, the House took that bit out of the bill.

So, here we are, back at the beginning. From the way we look at it, there’s no way the Senate can get enough votes to override the veto without the I-95 corridor funding. And there’s no way the House can vote to override with the tax increase at 50 cents and with the I-95 funding. And Sanford will veto regardless.

Unless legislators pull out some serious compromise vibes, the General Assembly will be returning to this issue next year.

During a significant portion of our lives, we covered sports for a living. More often than not, a nosh wasn’t available, but for college games — even covering Blinn College football games — there would always be something. It’s an old joke that sportswriters live and die by the food at the events they’re at. For instance — Carolina football’s catered spread was woefully lacking. The Gamecock basketball set-up was much better.

So, naturally, downshifting into the sportswriter lizard brain, we have to again rave about the catering at the S.C. Republican Party‘s Silver Elephant Dinner. As Brad Warthen talked about, we did, “annex a salad.” But it wasn’t his — it was one from one of the open spaces. Still tasty. The dessert wasn’t bad, either. It was a custard creation in an edible bowl with fruit and whipped cream garnishing. Mmm.

U.S. Rep. Gresham Barrett and U.S. Sen. Jim DeMint were not in attendance, which certainly took away from the spectacle. It would have been great to see them in action. U.S. Sen. Lindsay Graham seemed to do a good job, alternating, as we said in a tweet, between red meat and vegetables. Gov. Mark Sanford‘s speech was largely forgettable, as is typically the case. Lt. Gov. André Bauer, Atty. Gen. Henry McMaster and Rep. Nikki Haley gave their well-honed speeches, and didn’t deviate too far out from what was expected from them.

Former presidential adviser Karl Rove‘s speech was, well, too long. But that’s just us — we tend to zone out when being lectured to. However, it started out pretty well, and his recollections of former RNC chairman Lee Atwater were classic. Actually, his remembrances were the best part of the speech, along with his closing story about getting a gentleman of more than 60 years old an exemption to join the Marines and be a medical officer in Afghanistan.

Of course, those of us with an obsession for numbers were waiting for the straw poll results to come in. The announcement went pretty quick — we were unable to jot down all the numbers — but the end up of the gubernatorial poll was striking. Barrett took the poll with 37 percent, followed by McMaster with 34.2, Haley at 18.4 and Bauer rounding out the field with 10.4 percent. Considering that Bauer has a money lead of about half a million dollars more than Haley, getting beat this bad by the field may say a few things about the viability of his campaign (insert bromide about Bauer being counted out and bouncing back).

Also winning were Ken Ard for lieutenant governor, Alan Wilson for attorney general, Mick Zais for superintendent of education, Converse Chellis for state treasurer and Richard Eckstrom for comptroller general. Unless someone was quick with the pen, we’ll have to wait until the sun rises again to search for the exact numbers.

As for the straw poll, we’re of two minds on this. One is that the people voting are committed to the party and people like them are very much more likely to vote in the Republican primaries. The second is that there are a lot of people out there without the money, time or inclination to come to an event like the Silver Elephant Dinner, and they could have a very different outlook on these statewide races.

Regardless, it was a solid event and with the exception of the UStream feed going down and Warthen’s computer not wanting any part of the convention center’s wifi signal, it appeared to be a pretty successful evening for the state GOP.