Sanford Decries "Pure Politics" In Lt. Gov.'s Call For His Resignation

August 27, 2009 8:32 a.m. EST

Columbia, SC (AHN) - South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford on Wednesday declined the call by Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer for him to step down, saying he had owned up to the consequences of the extra-marital affair he revealed in June, a "moral failing" that the governor said was separate from the "pure politics" in the "sensational charges" against his administration's use of public resources.

The 49-year-old governor currently faces possible impeachment proceedings and an ethics inquiry into his alleged use of the state aircraft for unofficial trips. The state GOP early July voted to censure him instead of asking him to step down, but state House Republicans are expected to discuss his impeachment during their annual caucus at Myrtle Beach over the weekend.

Bauer held a noon press conference on Wednesday asking that Stanford resign but also assuring his critics that he would forego his own plans to launch a gubernatorial campaign this fall if he takes over the remainder of Sanford's term.

"The best interests of the people can no longer be served with the current administration," Bauer said. "The serious misconduct that has already been revealed, along with lingering questions and continuing distractions, make it virtually impossible for our state to solve the critical problems we are facing without a change of leadership."

The lieutenant governor said Sanford should "spare the taxpayers the expense and distraction of the multiple legal processes which are now being considered." "He added, "It is why I myself will lead the way by putting the best interests of the people of South Carolina ahead of my own personal and political interests."

Sanford, however, replied in a press conference later the same day that he would complete the remaining 16 months of his term and "not be railroaded out of office by political opponents."

"I very much appreciate your offer to step in," Sanford also said in a letter to his second-in-command. "Because at a personal level that would come as a relief. to escape the glare of television cameras and reporters in the midst of a media frenzy... but my Dad taught me a long time ago that two wrongs don't make a right."

"The original failing that I disclosed on June 24th was mine," he added. "That human frailty has been more than well reported on, analyzed and dissected by a chorus of media outlets... I own its consequences past, present and future. What's going on now though is pure politics... The administration has... watched out for the taxpayer and saved very large sums of money for taxpayers. We have acted consistently in accord with what we believed to be both the letter and spirit of the law."

"When measured up against past administrations, the facts show that we have done a better job on this... To allow political opponents to rewrite that reality would be wrong... I believe the responsible thing to do is lay out all the facts in response to the very incomplete picture presented in media claims. Once the full set of facts is before the General Assembly, its members can make a judgment... Until then, I will aggressively make our case that we have done, and continue to do the right thing by way of the taxpayers of our state."

South Carolina Democratic Party Chair Carol Fowler has said in response the governor is "oblivious to the real needs" of his constituents. But Fowler was also skeptical of the Bauer's "half-hearted gesture" and called on the lieutenant governor to "stop campaigning."

Earlier this month, state Attorney General Henry McCaster, a Republican, asked the Ethics Commission to investigate Sanford's use of the state airplane and other resources amid reports that the governor violated ethics rules.

The governor has said in an op-ed column in the State that an Associated Press report on his use of the state plane was "misleading," and that he has traveled on the aircraft a total 228.95 hours, less than predecessors Carroll Campbell's 451 hours and David Beaseley's 303 hours.

"Of the 228.95 hours I flew, roughly 70 were in the Department of Natural Resources' single-engine Cessna," Sanford had also said, "because whenever I had a chance I tried to use this small plane that has an operating cost about one-fifth that of the King Air; this alone saved taxpayers more than $60,000. No governor has done this before. Out of the 353 hours flown over the past six and a half years, the AP story called into question about seven hours of flight. That represents 2 percent of the total flight hours taken."

The state House Republican caucus has threaded cautiously and said in a statement that it supports a "thorough investigation" of the "serious allegations" but that they would "respond in an appropriate manner" once the ethics probe is concluded.

Sanford had admitted in a June press conference that he had been having an extramarital affair with a friend in Argentina over the past year. He had returned the same day to South Carolina and revealed that he had not, as his aides had said, been hiking on the Appalachian Trail but had been to Buenos Aires.

The governor, whose sudden five-day disappearance had prompted criticisms and concerns about gubernatorial succession, subsequently resigned as chairman of the Republican Governors Association. He later admitted to having had affairs with other women, pushing critics to heighten their calls for for him to step down.