I have to wonder how many of these folks we're screaming for the impeachment of Clinton for soiling Monica's lovely blue dress?????????

The good ole boys must watch out for each other!

Tiger Woods' exploits have been raked over the coals by the MSM; however, our upstanding government officials pay no price for their hypocritical transgressions and use of government time and money and other misuse of their public offices. You're right - good old boys is the name of the game....

NOT SERIOUS ENOUGH!!! Geez, what other job on the face of this earth ALLOWS you to dump ALL responsiblities for a Tromp with your hottie!?!?!?! What job allows you to NOT call in, NOT give any reason for your absence, NOT allow co-workers the RESPECT of knowing where you are???

Some one PLEASE wake up the people of South Carolina and let them know how much their government DOES NOT CARE FOR THEM!!!! What a MASSIVE INSULT!!!

PLEASE Give me his job!!!! I'd love to VACA in South America on the PEOPLES money, get paid for the days I was romping in bed with this hottie, get paid for doing absolutely nothing but have sex in South America.

South Carolina, YOU'VE GOT MAJOR ISSUES AND IT ALL HAS TO DO WITH THE BOZO'S IN CHARGE!!!

Folks:

"We can't impeach for hypocrisy. We can't impeach for arrogance. We can't impeach an officeholder for his lack of leadership skills," said Rep. James Harrison, the Columbia Republican who headed the panel.

Too bad you can't impeach for being a crybaby and a loser who got his pee pee pwayed wiff by a bad girlee.

A real man would have voluntarily stepped down from his all but abandoned political position, and got down on his knees to beg his wife, (who has all the money by the way), and children, and family, and friends, and supporters, and staff, and voters, and South Carolinians to forgive him for being a weakling and a philanderer.

Sheesh!

Good Luck!

I have to wonder how many of these folks we're screaming for the impeachment of Clinton for soiling Monica's lovely blue dress?????????

Sanford was. He publicly called for Clinton's impeachment and voted for it. Being the typical political hypocrite, he doesn't see why he should now step down for something similar.

Coloradoan 1141358 -

Wow your quote uses correct syntax and spelling! Copy and paste?

Obama's safe.

No, I believe you should have written - Obama is safe. "Obama's" is possessive.

This is just too easy. You even used bold letters. Secede already and take your friends with you.

South Carolina lawmakers on Wednesday quashed a move to oust Gov. Mark Sanford over his summertime tryst and his use of state aircraft say his embarrassing conduct was not serious enough to merit impeachment.

"We can't impeach for hypocrisy. We can't impeach for arrogance. We can't impeach an officeholder for his lack of leadership skills", said Rep. James Harrison, the Columbia Republican who headed the panel.

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

THESE TWO PARAGRAPHS ARE PREFECT EXAMPLES OF HOW FAR FROM REALITY POLITICIANS TODAY ARE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This IDIOT has an affair. OK, S**T happens. Hell 60% of marriages end up in divorce, so we'll give him a pass on this one. But this FOOL left his office, without telling ANYONE. Then takes a state aircraft, flies to ARGENTINA to BOINK his mistress!!!!!!!!!!!

If you or I just decide to leave work for a few days, don't tell anyone, use the company plane or charge the flight on your expense account, and then just waltz back in, what will HAPPEN??????

YOUR STUPID A$$ IS FIRED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

THIIS NATION IS IN WORSE SHAPE THAN MANY OF US CAN EVEN IMAGINE!!!!!!!

You can impeach for any damn reason you want, impeachment is a political manuver, not a judicial process (read the Federalist papers and James Madison on this).

The repubs in south treason, for some reason, decided that they just didn't despise him enought to do it, or maybe he has dirt on some major repub players.

He should have been impeached no matter what party he represents. This guy is a fool and had the nerve to go on national tv and say the girl is his soul mate. Its one thing to cheat on your wife but to rub it in her face to the world went to far.

Do you live in South Carolina? I do and I am offended by your ignorant statement.

This wasn't anything but plain old politics. Gov. Sanford had the audacity to speak out against Obama's economic policies and the bail out, ergo, he was fair game for political assassination by the media and the politicians waiting in the wings to assume his position. If we rebuked, censured, impeached or otherwise punished every politician or elected official for wrong doing, there wouldn't be anyone left to serve. I don't like what he did, but I don't see that it warrented the waste of time and money that would have been better served addressing the state's problems.

It's not like he was screwing around in the White House or allowed a young woman to drown in the back seat of his car or had his boyfriend running a gay prostitution ring out of his basement, or "found" $750,000 in his checking account that he didn't report to the IRS, or make sure his husband's bank received a big share of the bail out money; and on and on. The pot should not be calling the kettle black////////////

The Governor says he expects to be exonerated for his actions? I don't think so. I just think this came down to case of doing what's right for the State of South Carolina and the time and expense involved aren't worth the damage that would be caused when he'll be gone in a little over a year anyway. Make no mistake though I think the Governor should resign for abandoning his post and I truly believe he should have been impeached for his actions.

Old Lady - As a resident of SC I can tell you I think he's a slug. He doesn't have the class to resign, like most decent folks would. No - he still wants to run this state for his ego.

Republicans rarely call one of theirs on the carpet. All the situations you cited for Democrats were addressed by elections, and the people voted them back.

I wonder if the Republicans in SC are so dumb they would re-elect this dope. He and this state are laughing stocks - internationally! I have a friend in Buenos Aires who lives a few blocks from his "soul mate" who says they are so amused by the big "conservative values" hypocrite from South Carolina.

If he was a Democrat, I'm sure the Repubs would have screamed until he had to go. But such a religious, conservative, wholesome, hard-working, family guy who just happened to be NONE OF THE ABOVE still wants to play governor.

Ever see Blazing Saddles - the "Gov" - Sanford is a clear match. What - no comments???? I didn't get a harrumph out of you!!!!!

It's also not like he was trying to pick up a guy in an airport public bathroom; or having an affair with a woman and got his family to pay her off while he gave her husband a job; or sent sexual IMs and e-mails to teenage boys in the Congressional page program for over 10 years; or offered an undercover male cop $20 for a blow job in a men's room in a public park; or deleted incriminating e-mails to interfere with a Congressional investigation; or has been charged with criminal violation of state campaign finance laws and money laundering; or pled guilty to charges of conspiracy and making false statements in connection with another federal investigation; or was caught eavesdropping without warrants; etc.

It's also really funny that Sanford was one of the ones who voted to impeach Clinton for virtually the same thing that Sanford himself did -- now that's the pot calling the kettle black!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

TPM reader JP reminds us that Mark Sanford, who was a Congressman back in 1998, voted for three of the four articles of impeachment against Bill Clinton.

Maybe his wife will impeach him!!!

Old Lady

"Old Lady" is a good handle for you - as with most old ladies - you seem to remember what you want........

deetoo,

the loser class re-elected clinton...

When votin' time comes around lets get the job done right, and throw him out!!

Anyone really think a group of Republicans are going to impeach a fellow GOPer?? Seriously?

Impeachment is only used against the opposition. No matter how bad or evil a leader is, follow Reagan's commandment about saying ill of a fellow Republican.

Just another Republican hypocrite and liar.

A Republican called loudest for his impeachment. The bottom line is this decision probably had more to do with the fact that the case for impeachment wasn't ironclad and he's term limited and will be done in a little over a year. His career is very likely over as is his marriage. Serves him right!! If he was an honest man he'd resign but since he's a career politician he won't.

Old Lady I am with you. Ourthoughtsarefree...this is his last term anyways.

If he were impeached that would leave Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer in as interim governor. I would rather have Sanford in there. Andre Bauer to me is a joke. The only reason why i say this is because he was caught driving 110 mph on I26 and thought he should not have been given a ticket because of who he was. i think this was before he was elected as Lt. Gov. I didn't vote for him then and I won't vote for him as governor (which he says he will run for in the next election.).

When votin' time comes around lets get the job done right, and throw him out!!

Consider it done since he can't run again. Now, can we move on!

If he were impeached that would leave Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer in as interim governor. I would rather have Sanford in there.

Thank you thank you thank you !!!!! I totally agree!!!!

OK, if he stays, how about minus the pay. Donate it to a homeless shelter.

Birds of a feather...

This is exactly right. Actually though, they all have dirt on each other, probably including photos and videotapes.

Sanford's behavior was characterized as "reprehensible" by the committee considering impeachment. Apparently reprehensble is okay by them.

"Reprehensible but he has photos or documents on me" is okay by them!!

LOL :-)

Looks like these lawmakers are afraid that their own "deeds" will be surfaced if they impeach one of their own. This reminds me of the classic joke:

-----------------------------------------

In a trial, a Southern small-town prosecuting attorney called his first witness, a grandmotherly, elderly woman to the stand. He approached her and asked, 'Mrs. Jones, do you know me?'

She responded, 'Why, yes, I do know you, Mr. Williams. I've known you since you were a boy, and frankly, you've been a big disappointment to me. You lie, you cheat on your wife, and you manipulate people and talk about them behind their backs. You think you're a big shot when you haven't the brains to realize you'll never amount to anything more than a two-bit paper pusher. Yes, I know you.'

The lawyer was stunned. Not knowing what else to do, he pointed across the room and asked, 'Mrs. Jones, do you know the defense attorney?'
She again replied, ' Why yes, I do. I've known Mr. Bradley since he was a youngster, too. He's lazy, bigoted, and he has a drinking problem. He can't build a normal relationship with anyone, and his law practice is one of the worst in the entire state. Not to mention he cheated on his wife with three different women. One of them was your wife. Yes, I know him.'

The defense attorney nearly died.

The judge asked both counselors to approach the bench and, in a very quiet voice, said, 'If either of you idiots asks her if she knows me, I'll send you both to the electric chair.'

Hilarious!

That's awesome.

He left the State unattended with no one knowing where he was. If that is not illegal then SC needs to enter the 20th century (yes - 1900s).

I thought the Argentina tryst was kind of sweet in a way. The way he called her his soulmate and everything. I'm not a fan of Sanford, but it didn't seem like some dirty, sordid affair with a one night stand mistress.

I really don't have an opinion one way or another about impeachment, though the hypocrisy is interesting. Sanford was one of the main proponents for Clinton's impeachment, for consensual oral favors from a consenting adult woman who was not his wife.

Just' sayin'.

Wouldn't misuse of public funds be a charge. If he used government aircraft in his dealings, that stuff don't come cheap.

Info---Clinton was impeached for perjury, not his personal conduct.

He needs attention drawn to him; if there is enough perhaps he would be asked to leave or would do so himself out of respect for his state and his party!! But I guess it's perfectly o.k. with everyone!! I bet they all were the first in line to impeach Mr. Clinton, though!! They are all two-faced, disgusting government officials!!!

except for leave his post....hmmm in the military that would be a derliction of duty i believe.

Spike - You are correct and the Governor should be impeached for misuse of government funds, fraud or embezzlement.

"..I bet they all were the first in line to impeach Mr. Clinton, though!!..."

Clinton was impeached by the House, not the S.C. legislature, for perjury and obstruction of justice.

Personally, I think Sanford should have the decency to resign. The problem with making impeachment relatively easy, would be that opposing parties would do so at the smallest transgressions.

Eli - He did nothing illegal??

How about using tax payer money for personal trips?

How about going AWOL from his elected job and being incommunicado?

I couldn't care less about his affair. That's between him and his wife.

I love the way the neo-con filth always tries to act like Clinton was so much more guilty. What a bunch of frauds! The Republicans pushed for what they euphemistically called a "Special Prosecutor" so that they could conduct a witch hunt and keep Clinton constantly on the defensive so that it made his Presidency weak. They went from the land deal that they couldn't come up with anything to one mindless charge after another until they finally came up with a flimsy charge of him lying to a grand jury about an affair that he had. It was a witch hunt and nothing else so they could play politics and sabotage Clinton's authority.

Joe F,

Exactly what is a neo-con? Do not do a google search, give YOUR definition.

BTW--it is a meaningless buzzword.

Spike - a neo-con is a name used for people who believe in the tenets promoted by the Project for a New American Century. One of its founders was Bill Kristol's father who recently passed away. Cheney, J Bush, Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz, Perle, Bennett, Kristol, Krauthammer, Libby and others signed its founding document (you can locate it on the web).

These folks believed that America was better than all other nations, and we should rig world politics and events to place us in control of the world. Yes - a new world order dominated by the "Bush Doctrine" (remember - that was the doctrine Palin couldn't describe) (actually preemptive war is part of the Project'ss cornerstone concepts). They don't care about US domestic policies - just their foreign agenda leaning heavily pro-Israel. They approached Clinton about invading Iraq, and when he said no, they decided to gain influence by taking over the Republican party and invading once they got power. Well, Cheney & Rumsfeld were Bushies, and they made sure we invaded Iraq.

Joe's mistake was confusing all Republicans with neo-cons. Only a select group with the Project for a New American Century agenda were neo-cons. I agree with Joe's idea though about the hypocritical Repubs screaming about Clinton's morals when they have some serious issues of their own. Try a war killing over 100,000 people with no real reason? Now THAT is a crime.

Obviously - men with power have a real problem with being faithful to their wives. And they wonder why fewer folks are getting married.....

DeeToo,

Sorry, no cigar.

Neo-con has been around since the 30's. It has morphed into a number of definitions and applications over the years, and is now a meaningless buzzword.

I just get a kick out of folks using the term, and having absolutely no idea that it is trite buzzword.

Spike...you're saying no doesn't disprove DeeToo's argument. When you can come up with an eloquent disaproval, besides saying "no it isn't"(How Monty Python of you), then your argument may have more validity.

Umm...sweetie. Wake up! He used a STATE plane to fly to ARGENTINA (not located in South Carolina) to have SEX (no type of abbrevation for a world leader conference). The marriage thing just showed what a selfish jerk he is!!

I know that wiki is not fool proof, but it does have a long entry about neocon, its history, the many definitions, etc.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neoconservatism#Great_Depression_and_World_War_II

Just do a search, "neocon definition", and you will get a great number entries, with few agreements as to meaning.

We allow it by not impeaching him

or Congressmen....they steal tax payer dollars...cheat on their wives, sleep with big business.....evade their taxes....why stop at infidelity? It amazes me the crap you have to go through to get a government job......and we have people running the government that are the biggest criminals in the country.

And so that makes it ok ?? What kind of WARPED logic is that ?? Oh yeah... the kind that keeps the GOP alive and still doing business as usual.

Criminals... the whole lot.

Geez, it's not like he got drunk and drove into a lake and left her to drown. :-)

Or like he got drunk, 'accidentally' ran a stop sign and killed the boyfriend that just dumped her.

You're right. He should have stepped down. Where I'm from we call that "doing the right thing". And they wonder why none of us have any faith in politicians.

Governor Sanford is term limited which means he's done in a little over a year. If you heard some of the remarks they let him know what they thought of him and I think every one who made a remark said he should resign. His political career should be finished as well as his marriage. I hope he's saving his cash,cause he'll need it when his term ends in a year.

I think you need to look up the definition of whore before you call people that!

Please Suzen, give us your definition of a whore. Good, honest and moral women to do not go with married men. Prostitutes at least are up front and you know ahead of time what they want. I would have to say I have more respect for them than the women that lie and cheat with these men.

i think calling what prez clinton did a 'mistake' is a little disingenuous, don't you? gakking all over an interns dress and then lying about it? mistake? not quite.

The problem is they are no doubt doing the same thing.

inappropriate use of state funds

That's the only impeachable offense. The rest is just being rude and a liar. Those are not crimes of any kind.

And being rude and liar is reason to be impeached, unless south treason has very specific language that requires specific types of crimes for impeachment.

Impeachment, at least at the federal level, as well as in Minnesota, is the ultimate political weapon the legislative branch has to oppose the executive branch, the political atomic bomb as it were. In parlimentary systems, to get rid of the executive, you just vote the pm out, internally or thru elections. Here, we impeach them, if they are that out of step or the legislative branch is that much out for blood.

or when he had air force one fly, unauthorized to fly over New York City, or accept an undeserved noble peace prize, or have the head of the SEIU in the white house more than any other visitor, or.....wait, oh, that was some other lying schmuck in politics...

But he didn't lie "under oath in a court of law".

That was what got ole Billie Clinton impeached...not just plain old lying.

Neil, I like it. Theres lying and lawyer lying. Ones immoral and the others illegal. Thats a big difference when you wear a suit to work.

Sanford has to Goooooooooooooooo ...................... !!

Glen, just join the C Street Church and when you are in good with them, they can help you move up. You can feel okay about anything you do as they think they are above the laws of man and will do anything they can to help you cover any laws you might break. Research " The Family" and that should help you meet your goals. Good hunting, LOL.

TPM reader JP reminds us that Mark Sanford, who was a Congressman back in 1998, voted for three of the four articles of impeachment against Bill Clinton.

Conservatives - they are the reason this country is headed for disaster. They preach one thing, and practice the opposite.

You know who else in politics this applies to? Everyone. It's not one party or another. Politicians in general cannot be trusted unless they have a reason to want what we want. Can people really not see this?