SC Gov. Sanford AWOL since Thursday

The whereabouts of Gov. Mark Sanford have been unknown to state officials since Thursday, and some state leaders are questioning who is in charge of the executive office.

Neither the governor’s office nor the State Law Enforcement Division, which provides security for governors, has been able to reach Sanford after he left the mansion in a black SLED Suburban SUV, said Sen. Jake Knotts and three others familiar with the situation but who declined to be identified.

Sanford’s last known whereabouts were near Atlanta, where a mobile telephone tower picked up a signal from his phone, authorities said.

First lady Jenny Sanford told The Associated Press today her husband has been gone for several days and she doesn't know where he is.

The governor’s personal and state phones have been turned off and he has not responded to phone and text message since Thursday, a source said.

Jenny Sanford said she was not concerned.

She said the governor said he needed time away from their children to write something.

The governor’s office issued a statement Monday afternoon: "Gov. Sanford is taking some time away from the office this week to recharge after the stimulus battle and the legislative session, and to work on a couple of projects that have fallen by the wayside.

"We are not going to discuss the specifics of his travel arrangements or his security arrangements.

One official familiar with the situation said there is no indication that foul play is involved because Sanford occasionally makes trips without his security detail.

Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer said he didn't know where Sanford is but said he had not been put in charge.

Knotts, a longtime Sanford critic, said he contacted SLED Chief Reggie Lloyd Saturday after he heard reports the governor could not be reached.

"Chief Lloyd confirmed that my information is legitimate," Knotts said in a statement released early in the afternoon. "He shared my concerns" about succession of power in Sanford’s absence, the Lexington Republican said.

"I was recently made aware that Governor Sanford has frequently been eluding SLED agents and disappearing at odd times," Knotts said.

"As the head of our state, in the unfortunate event of a state of emergency or homeland security situation, Governor Sanford should be available at all times to the chief of SLED," the senator said.

"If for any reason, including the unknown whereabouts of the governor, he is unable to perform the duties of his office, the constitution provides that the lieutenant governor assumes the position of governor.

"I want to know immediately who is running the executive branch in the governor’s absence," Knotts said.

New GOP off to bad start

Hat Tip Palmetto Scoop

SANFORD CHOSEN TO LEAD
REPUBLICAN GOVERNOR’S ASSN.

Everyone keeps talking about this “new Republican Party” that must emerge from the ashes of last week’s embarrassing national electoral defeat.

Unlike in 2006, though, when we had the same kind of talk but no action, I really think the party will get it’s act together and usher in a new generation of strong, conservative leaders who will… oh, wait, nevermind.

South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford was elected the new chairman of the Republican Governors Association on Friday.

Sanford succeeds Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who will now serve as finance chairman. The association has been meeting this week in Miami — and some discussions have revolved around what went wrong for the party on Election Day.

“I am honored and excited to become chairman of the Republican Governors Association as we work together to win a majority of governors by 2010,” Sanford said in a statement released by the group. “Republican governors are natural leaders who will find solutions to our nation’s challenges and bring back the party.”

This is great news for Republicans who like picking petty fights with other Republicans, hypocritically wasting tax dollars on environmental nonsense and personal slush funds, flip-flopping on key issues, and putting television cameras ahead of taxpayers.

For the rest of us, it’s just another sign that we still haven’t learned our lesson. But on the bright side, “Quantum of Solace” opened today and it will probably rock so hard that we’ll forget all about the demise of the GOP.

South Carolina: McCain 54%, Obama 43%

Republican John McCain could carry South Carolina in the 2008 United States presidential election, according to a poll by Rasmussen Reports. 54 per cent of respondents in the Palmetto State would vote for the Arizona senator, while 43 per cent would support Democratic Illinois senator Barack Obama.

A poll by Winthrop University released by ETV gives McCain a 20-pont lead over Obama.

In 2004, Republican George W. Bush carried South Carolina’s eight electoral votes, with 58 per cent of all cast ballots. No Democrat has carried the state since Jimmy Carter in 1976.

Bush is ineligible for a third term in office. The presidential election is scheduled for Nov. 4.

Yes, Palin Did Stop That Bridge

Got this in my email box today from Sen. Jim DeMintYes, Palin Did Stop That Bridge
By JIM DEMINT
September 10, 2008

"But, you know, when you've been taking all these earmarks when it's convenient, and then suddenly you're the champion anti-earmark person, that's not change. Come on! I mean, words mean something, you can't just make stuff up." -- Barack Obama, Sept. 6, 2008

In politics, words are cheap. What really counts are actions. Democrats and Republicans have talked about fiscal responsibility for years. In reality, both parties have a shameful record of wasting hundreds of billions of tax dollars on pork-barrel projects.

My Senate colleague Barack Obama is now attacking Gov. Sarah Palin over earmarks. Having worked with both John McCain and Mr. Obama on earmarks, and as a recovering earmarker myself, I can tell you that Mrs. Palin's leadership and record of reform stands well above that of Mr. Obama.

Let's compare.

Mrs. Palin used her veto pen to slash more local projects than any other governor in the state's history. She cut nearly 10% of Alaska's budget this year, saving state residents $268 million. This included vetoing a $30,000 van for Campfire USA and $200,000 for a tennis court irrigation system. She succinctly justified these cuts by saying they were "not a state responsibility."

Meanwhile in Washington, Mr. Obama voted for numerous wasteful earmarks last year, including: $12 million for bicycle paths, $450,000 for the International Peace Museum, $500,000 for a baseball stadium and $392,000 for a visitor's center in Louisiana.

Mrs. Palin cut Alaska's federal earmark requests in half last year, one of the strongest moves against earmarks by any governor. It took real leadership to buck Alaska's decades-long earmark addiction.

Mr. Obama delivered over $100 million in earmarks to Illinois last year and has requested nearly a billion dollars in pet projects since 2005. His running mate, Joe Biden, is still indulging in earmarks, securing over $90 million worth this year.

Mrs. Palin also killed the infamous Bridge to Nowhere in her own state. Yes, she once supported the project: But after witnessing the problems created by earmarks for her state and for the nation's budget, she did what others like me have done: She changed her position and saved taxpayers millions. Even the Alaska Democratic Party credits her with killing the bridge.

When the Senate had its chance to stop the Bridge to Nowhere and transfer the money to Katrina rebuilding, Messrs. Obama and Biden voted for the $223 million earmark, siding with the old boys' club in the Senate. And to date, they still have not publicly renounced their support for the infamous earmark.

Mrs. Palin has proven courageous by taking on big spenders in her own party. In March of this year, the Anchorage Daily News reported that, "Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens is aggravated about what he sees as Gov. Sarah Palin's antagonism toward the earmarks he uses to steer federal money to the state."

Mr. Obama had a chance to take on his party when Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid offered a sham ethics bill, which was widely criticized by watchdog groups such as Citizens Against Government Waste for shielding earmarks from public scrutiny. But instead of standing with taxpayers, Mr. Obama voted for the bill. Today, he claims he helped write the bill that failed to clean up Washington.

Mr. Obama has shown little restraint on earmarks until this year, when he decided to co-sponsor an earmark moratorium authored by Mr. McCain and myself. Mr. Obama is vulnerable on this issue, and he knows it. That is why he is lashing out at Mrs. Palin and trying to hide his own record.

Mrs. Palin is one of the strongest antiearmark governors in America. If more governors around the country would do what she has done, we would be much closer to fixing our nation's fiscal problems than we are.

Mrs. Palin's record here is solid and inspiring. She will help Mr. McCain shut down the congressional favor factory, and she has a record to prove it. Actions mean something. You can't just make stuff up.

Mr. DeMint, a Republican, is a U.S. senator from South Carolina.

Op/Ed - Real ID, real problem

Real ID, real problem

The costly, burdensome federal mandate does little to stop illegal immigration and actually leaves us more vulnerable to identify theft; Maryland should join other states in rejecting it

By Cynthia Boersma
June 17, 2008

"No. Nope. No way."

So exclaimed Democratic Gov. Brian Schweitzer of Montana when asked whether his state would participate in the federal Real ID program.

Frustration with this misguided, expensive and unworkable federal mandate also compelled another governor, Republican Mark Sanford of South Carolina, to call Real ID "the worst piece of legislation I have seen during the 15 years I have been engaged in the political process." If Real ID has any friends in the states, they're not speaking up.

This sentiment is now percolating through the halls of Congress. In recent hearings before the U.S. Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, senators from both sides of the aisle were blistering in their criticism of Real ID. "The massive amounts of personal information that would be stored in state databases that are to be shared electronically with all other states, as well as the unencrypted data on the Real ID card itself, could provide one-stop shopping for identity thieves," said Sen. Daniel K. Akaka, a Hawaii Democrat, at the hearing over which he presided with Republican Sen. George V. Voinovich of Ohio.

Unfortunately, some folks in Maryland have not yet gotten the message. Opponents of illegal immigration recently staged protests outside Motor Vehicle Administration offices, demonstrating a misunderstanding of Real ID. The erroneous impression that participation in Real ID will prevent illegal immigration or require Maryland to issue driver's licenses only to documented U.S. citizens is also shared by the O'Malley administration.

Before Maryland sinks hundreds of millions of its precious transportation dollars into the Real ID sinkhole, leaders should understand what participation in Real ID will and will not do.

Under the Real ID Act, the federal government requires states to issue uniform driver's licenses - essentially a national ID card - with insecure, unecrypted personal information on machine-readable strips. That means three bad things: huge costs of time and money for Marylanders, an easier task for identity thieves, and less, not more, security for our state.

Real ID will vastly increase the time, travel and expense involved in obtaining a Maryland driver's license. It will require every driver to re-enroll at the MVA. It will require every applicant for a state driver's license to submit original birth certificates and other original source documents in person to obtain or renew a license.

Real ID then requires these documents to be electronically stored in a database accessible to the federal government and every MVA in the country with no established restrictions on access, data sharing or data mining. It will render every Marylander highly vulnerable to identity theft and will subject personal information to misuse and fraud.

Real ID will increase our vulnerability to security threats and fraud at a cost of $4 billion nationwide and over $121.5 million to Maryland. And though it may seem incredible to those who believe Real ID is intended to improve the security of our borders, the one thing it does not mandate is that Maryland require proof of citizenship to obtain a driver's license.

The contradictory and unreal nature of Real ID is driving a rebellion against it by the states. Nine states have enacted laws prohibiting state participation in the program. Ten other states have passed resolutions opposing the program. States refusing to implement Real ID include states with a lawful-presence requirement for their driver's licenses as well as states with no such requirement.

Thankfully, there is a far better alternative. Recently, the National Conference of State Legislatures issued a call to support repeal of Real ID and passage of replacement legislation. The Identification Security Enhancement Act was introduced this year in the U.S. Senate with bipartisan support. That bill would protect privacy, would achieve effective driver's license security, could be implemented more quickly than Real ID and would not cost billions of dollars to be shouldered by the states.

A congressional subcommittee is considering this year's budget for the Department of Homeland Security, which contains $50 million for Real ID implementation. This is a tiny fraction of Real ID's real cost.

Maryland should join other states in saying no to Real ID. Marylanders should urge Gov. Martin O'Malley to end our state's participation in this wasteful and dangerous program and Sens. Benjamin L. Cardin and Barbara A. Mikulski to support the federal reform bill. This failed program should not be allowed to limp along to the next administration.

Real ID may be a real nightmare, but it is one from which we can still wake up.

Cynthia Boersma is legislative director for the American Civil Liberties Union of Maryland. Her e-mail at boersma@aclu-md.org.

SC Governor Mark Sanford says NO to Big Brother!

Hat Tip to Mark/THE PALMETTO STAR & CRESCENT @ partisangazette.blogspot.com

SC Governor Mark Sanford
says NO to Big Brother!

Big Brother's bark is apparently worse than its bite.

Governor Mark Sanford did not back down on the so-called "Real ID" and the Federal hordes have yet to descend upon us-- at least not yet.

Let us be clear: There can be no compromise on this issue.

Let's hope our next Governor has the same testicular fortitude to resist Washington tyranny!

An e-mail sent out by Governor Sanford yesterday is copied below for your reading pleasure:
________________________________________
----- Forwarded Message ----

From: Mark Sanford
To: XXXXXXX@XXXXX.COM
Sent: Monday, May 12, 2008 4:52:56 PM
Subject: Real ID - Where we Stand

Dear Friends,

It's May 12, and South Carolinians are heading to the airport and walking into federal buildings without a problem. But things could have turned out differently.

Earlier this year, our Administration decided to say "no thanks" to a federal unfunded mandate called Real ID that would have established a de facto national ID card – costing you time in line at the DMV and money out of your pocket. Instead, we asked that South Carolinians be treated like citizens of every other state when traveling, since our state's driver's licenses are already some of the most secure in the nation.

Fortunately, the Department of Homeland Security recognized our state's secure driver's licenses, and decided not to stop our citizens from flying or entering federal buildings – something that would have happened starting yesterday, May 11.

Real ID is a backdoor federal program that would require all fifty states to change their driver's licenses to effectively act as national ID cards. This law is fatally flawed for the way it was not debated and not funded from the federal level, and because it usurps prerogatives that have traditionally been granted to states and individuals.

I could go on and on with more of the details that you may or may not want to know, so I'll provide a few links in case you want to read more about the Real ID debate:

Our March letter to Secretary Chertoff regarding Real ID: http://scgovernor.com/news/releases/mar_08/3-31-2008.htm

Our April op-ed on Real ID to the Washington Times: http://washingtontimes.com/article/20080414/COMMENTARY/303687521

And most recently, video of a Real ID event in Washington D.C. with the CATO Institute in May (6:25 minute mark): http://www.cato.org/realaudio/cpf-05-07-08.ram(RealPlayer required http://www.real.com/ )

I'd also ask that you pass this email along to a friend or two who's concerned about the effects Real ID may have on their personal liberties and pocketbooks.

Thank you, and take care.

Mark

Real ID documents show how stressful situation got

Real ID documents show
how stressful situation got

May 2, 2008

AUGUSTA — State officials were frustrated with the federal government as a deadline closed in for Maine to accept Homeland Security Department demands to tighten its driver's license standards, according to documents released following a Freedom of Access request.

The 14-inch stack of documents details behind-the-scenes actions by Gov. John Baldacci's office and other state officials in the form of e-mails, handwritten notes, proposed and finished press releases and copies of news stories about Real ID. Additional documents were being collected.

The papers also include government documents outlining the Real ID license-security law, reviews of draft legislation to change Maine's licensing standards and talking points provided for top state officials to emphasize certain information to the public.

The documents were requested by news organizations including The Associated Press around the time of a March 31 deadline for states to show they were making progress toward compliance with Real ID or face prospects of not having their licenses and IDs accepted for federal identification purposes.

That would have meant state licenses would not be acceptable for boarding planes or getting into federal buildings. Baldacci had made it clear that he did not want Mainers inconvenienced, so Maine like other states sought an extension for compliance. It wouldn't come easily.

Meetings were held, e-mails flew back and forth and letters began ping-ponging between Baldacci and Homeland Security offices. Montana, then in a similar spot as Maine, wrote Baldacci asking for his state's support in resisting the Real ID law.

Documents also include single-paragraph letters from some states, including Arkansas and South Carolina, requesting extensions. The fact that they were granted with comparatively little ado rankled some Maine officials.

E-mails from the public about Real ID poured into the governor's office, which counted 15,727 of them by Feb. 22, the documents show.

A letter to request an extension was drafted. A legal counsel in Baldacci's office, Karla Black, called one draft she reviewed "waaaaay too wordy."

A division between Baldacci and Maine's top motor vehicles official, Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap, became evident as Dunlap warned of the program's potential costs in dollars and personal freedoms.

"This has been a very, very tough ride," Dunlap said in a March 24 e-mail. "In our analysis, we've watched the license mission creep move against the Constitution to the point where our license to drive has become a license to travel."

Baldacci's request for an extension in a March 25 letter was rejected in a return letter from Homeland Security, undated and signed by Stewart Baker, the department's assistant secretary for policy.

A follow-up letter was hastily drafted, spurring a flurry of internal written exchanges. Dunlap sarcastically expressed hope for approval in a March 29 e-mail to Baldacci staffers: "Hopefully Baker didn't stub his toe getting up this morning and is in a good mood."

In a single-paragraph letter to Baldacci signed by Baker, Homeland Security granted Maine an extension.

Baldacci's letter of commitment triggered preparation of a bill to require Maine license holders to show they are legal residents of the United States and meet other federal demands.

After fast-track deliberation that included drafts and redrafts of bills that were among the requested documents, lawmakers enacted a measure that was signed by Baldacci April 17. It also requires that state credentials issued to non-citizens who live in the United States legally expire at the same time as the applicant's authorized duration of stay.

Passage of the bill ended what one staff e-mail described as "a stressful time."

Homeland Security bypasses Maine in granting Real ID extensions

Homeland Security bypasses
Maine in granting Real ID extensions
By Chris Strohm CongressDaily April 1, 2008

The Homeland Security Department late Monday averted a showdown with South Carolina over a controversial driver's license law, while Maine faced the prospect of becoming the only state in the country whose residents will soon not be able to enter federal buildings or board airplanes using their licenses.

Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff announced that South Carolina would be granted an extension to meet the requirements of the so-called Real ID law -- even though the state did not request an extension and has no plans to comply with the law.

Monday was the cutoff for states to request waivers from a May 11 deadline to come into compliance with Real ID. South Carolina and Maine were the only two states that had not been granted waivers.

As the day wore on, it appeared increasingly likely Maine would not be given a waiver, mainly because it does not require proof that an individual is a legal resident before granting a driver's license.

But late Monday, a spokesman for Maine's Democratic Gov. John Baldacci announced that Homeland Security would give the state two more days to explain what it will do to have more secure driver's licenses.

The spokesman said the two-day extension does not guarantee that Maine ultimately will be given a waiver.

The Real ID law requires states to verify a person's identity and citizenship before issuing a secure driver's license or identification document.

Without a waiver, Maine residents would not be able to use their licenses for federal purposes, such as boarding planes or entering federal buildings, beginning May 11.

"Secretary Chertoff should never have threatened the people of Maine and other states with burdensome restrictions on their access to board planes and enter federal facilities as of May 11," Rep. Tom Allen, D-Maine, said Monday before announcement of the two-day extension.

States that received a waiver have until December 2009 to begin moving toward compliance with the law. By 2014, states must issue Real ID-compliant cards, except for people older than 50. By 2017, states must issue Real ID-compliant cards to all residents.

South Carolina's Republican Gov. Mark Sanford sent Chertoff a letter Monday criticizing Real ID. Sanford listed many steps the state is taking to improve the security of its driver's licenses, saying it is meeting "more than 90 percent" of the Real ID requirements.

But Sanford said the state legislature had passed legislation preventing the state from complying with Real ID.

Chertoff responded hours later, saying Homeland Security was treating Sanford's letter as a request for a time extension and, based on all the actions taken by the state, granting a waiver.

Maine's governor sent Chertoff a similar letter March 25, saying his state has met 10 of 18 benchmarks for Real ID. But the Maine legislature passed a law prohibiting the state from complying with the law.

Late Monday afternoon, Homeland Security was ready to inform Maine that it would not be given a waiver.

But Gov. Baldacci's spokesman said Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs ranking member Susan Collins, R-Maine, kept negotiations alive between Homeland Security and state officials Monday, including by having a direct conversation with Chertoff.

Collins' effort to resolve the standoff for her home state also may help defuse Real ID as an issue in her re-election campaign. Collins and Allen, her challenger in November, voted to approve an emergency war funding bill in 2005 that included Real ID.

Since then, Allen has been trying to repeal the law. "Secretary Chertoff and the department have been stubbornly heavy-handed in attempting to intimidate states to comply with what their own decision to delay implementation for another decade clearly reveals is a bad law," he said.

Allen and Collins both penned editorials in Sunday's Kennebec Journal, with Collins calling Real ID flawed but not entirely unworkable.

"Real ID still imposes an enormous unfunded mandate on states costing billions of dollars and raises privacy concerns that have yet to be fully addressed," she wrote. "Congress needs to resolve these funding and privacy issues during the extension period."

Open Letter to SC Attorney General Henry McMaster

Open Letter to SC Attorney
General Henry McMaster

January 15, 2008

Earlier this evening, at approximately 8:50 PM on Tuesday, January 15, 2008, I received a telephone call from telephone number 703-961-1077 with the Caller ID of “Hinton, L”. Answering the phone, I was asked if I would participate in a 45 second poll on the presidential primary. After being asked if I supported President Bush and was planning to vote in the South Carolina Primary, I was asked whom I planned to support. I responded Fred Thompson. I was immediately thrown into a series of questions asking my position on illegal immigration, abortion, and others. Each question went as follows: “Are you pro-life” My answer “Yes”. Their response: “Did you know that Senator Fred Thompson [contradicting pro-life stance], and that Governor Mike Huckabee has [supporting pro-life stance]. After answering two of the questions, I took out my tape recorder and recorded the rest of the conversation.

Being acutely aware of push polling tactics and negative campaigning, I answered some of the questions based on the responses that would illicit a negative response from the caller. I have attached a copy of the voice recording of the second half of the auto call (unfortunately the really good nasty stuff was during the first half of the call), as well as photos of the caller ID displaying the callers name, telephone number, and time of call.

It is my request that you pursue these individuals to the fullest extent of the law. You may reach me at the contact information listed above.

Sincerely,
Alan M. Teitleman

Phone: 843-634-3513 Fax: 704-625-0945 119 N. McGregor Ave Ruby, SC 29741 Alan@Alan08.com

Huck push polling in SC

Huck push polling in SC
By Kenny from SC

"I received a call earlier tonight that appeared to be a poll.The first question asked was if I would be voting in the primary Jan 19th. They then named a list of all top tier Republican candidates and asked if I would be voting for one of them. Next each candidate was called out and when I responded that I would be voting for Fred, I was told of how he lobbied for pro-abortion groups and Huckabee was the only true pro-life candidate. I tried to call the number back and guess what?It has been disconnected"

Pro-Huckabee
Push Polling Starts in SC
Tue, Jan. 15, 2008

COLUMBIA, S.C. - Automated phone polls disparaging rivals of Republican White House hopeful Mike Huckabee started across this early voting state Tuesday evening and the head of the group making them said that more than 1 million will be made in a three-day span.

Huckabee's campaign quickly disavowed the push polling. "We know nothing about that and don't condone it. Anyone who is doing that in an effort to help us needs to stop. This does not reflect the positive spirit of the campaign," said spokeswoman Alice Stewart.

The calls were expected. In December, Colorado-based Common Sense Issues promised to make 1 million phone calls in South Carolina supporting Huckabee, a former Arkansas governor who repeatedly has distanced himself from the group.

Common Sense executive director Patrick Davis said Tuesday night that the calls started about 5 p.m. from a call center in Virginia and should be completed sometime Thursday.

The Republican primary here is Saturday.

Among the people receiving the push polling calls was a county co-chairman of former Sen. Fred Thompson's campaign.

Jason Goings, the Aiken County co-chairman for Thompson, said the call he received started by asking him if he was a Republican who planned to vote in Saturday's primary and then asked whom he supported. After he hit the button for Thompson, a voice highlighted Huckabee's position against abortion and said Thompson worked as a lawyer for a lobbying firm that protected abortion rights.

The call also attacked Thompson, a former Tennessee senator and actor, on same-sex marriage, illegal immigration and taxes.

Goings said he has received a half-dozen calls in the past two days from other campaigns. But he said this was the first profoundly negative call he has received about the election.

"I've never had a nasty one, and that one was nasty one," Goings said.

Davis said Common Sense Issues is not affiliated with Huckabee and does not coordinate with his campaign. He said his group backs the former governor because of his views on issues including a strong defense and cutting taxes.

"The folks who have been critical of our phone calls generally are supporting Mike Huckabee's opponents. They criticize the fact that the calls are happening, but there has not been criticism of the fact that the information we provide is factual," he said.

South Carolina law prohibits automated calls for political purposes with a penalty of 30 days in jail and a $200 fine for each violation, but such calls are commonplace.

Common Sense Issues has defended the calls as free speech and said they are protected under federal law.