Posted on 09/27/2002 3:33:27 PM PDT by Tumbleweed_Connection
In the red-hot race for governor of South Carolina, another Reagan may be in the making. To GOP operatives who look for a candidate who pushes all the right buttons, former Rep. Mark Sanford has a track record that aptly fits the description "dream candidate.” Sanford is giving liberal Democrat Gov. Jim Hodges a run for his money in a state that has a long conservative tradition and has been tilting more and more toward the Republican camp in recent decades.
Sanford, who grew up on a family farm in Beaufort County, splashed onto the political scene in 1994 as a "surprise winner” (quoting the 2000 edition of "Almanac of American Politics”) in the state’s First Congressional District.
That was the year the Republicans regained control of the House after 40 years of Democrat rule. It is widely believed that more young people of his beliefs, honesty, people skills and drive could break the national political impasse where party strength is about even, and make the Republicans the dominant party for at least the next generation.
When the incumbent congressman ran for governor in ’94, the 34-year-old Sanford, with no political experience (having racked up an impressive record in real estate, finance and investment), decided to make the race for the open U.S. House seat. He gave his own campaign $100,000 and ran as an outsider.
Not the Usual Pol
Pledging to serve only three terms, he called for term limits and cutting the deficit, asserted that citizen legislators were needed to replace career politicians, and said he would refuse any salary increase until the budget was balanced. He vowed to take no money from political action committees and to support no tax increases.
When Sanford arrived on Capitol Hill, he made a point of sleeping in his office during the week and returning to his family in Charleston as often as possible.
Sanford voted for the GOP’s Contract With America but showed an independent streak that led him to oppose the House Republican leadership on some issues. His straightforward "tell it like is” approach was reflected in votes against some "bring home the bacon” measures such as demonstration projects for Charleston’s Cooper River bridges.
After winning his first race with 66 percent of the vote, Sanford coasted to victory again in 1996 and 1998. In 2000, as promised, he declined to seek a fourth term in the House. The voters of South Carolina’s First District appeared to be pleased with his stand on term limits, his spurning of seniority and his disdain for pork, even if the pork was right in their own backyard.
Now the former lawmaker is making a credible race to oust an incumbent governor of the Palmetto State.
The Incumbent's Record
Hodges was sent to the governor’s mansion four years ago more as a result of the political mistakes of the incumbent GOP governor that year than on any record the Democrat himself had made. This year, however, he does have a record, and it is one that has shown no sign of working in his favor.
First and foremost, the governor has tied himself in knots with a looming budget crisis. Fiscal Year 2002 ended with a deficit of about $250 million.
According to South Carolina news accounts, his preferred method of dealing with the problem is to spend millions from off-budget accounts to keep the state’s books in the black while shifting bill payments forward into the next fiscal year. That kind of creative accounting, along with his preference for delaying fiscal 2003 cuts until after the election, has prompted ridicule in the fiscally conservative state.
Hodges has even used his veto power to demand even more spending. That in itself is a rarity.
As one editorial writer put it: "He has made no effort to streamline state government or shut down inefficient duplicative state programs. Instead, he advocated layering new spending on top of existing state obligations ….” Others have criticized Hodges for "not doing his job.”
Sanford's Solutions
Sanford favors zero-based budgeting and doing away with the assumption that every agency should begin a new budget year with the same amount of money it had in the previous one, with more dollars layered on over that.
The "Almanac" quotes the former congressman and rising GOP star as saying, "Sometimes it’s a pleasure to know what I’m doing just might make a positive difference in someone’s life. Other times, it’s a rank and ugly business where, too often, expediency overrules principle, and the nation is poorer as a result.”
Political pundits believe there is an excellent chance South Carolinians will welcome that attitude in the governor's office, and will respond accordingly Nov. 5th.
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