Lest we forget that before he heads off to Washington as the newly minted Congressman from South Carolina's first district, he must appear in court for trespassing charges.
And therein lies "the rub"--pun intended.
You see, if the political memory in the 1st district of the Palmetto State were remotely fresh they'd remember Mark Sanford: disgraced governor who cheated on his wife with an Argentinian mistress, lied about his whereabouts and left the state in shambles.
And by shambles I mean, Nikki Haley.
Let's digress however back to the short South Carolina memory of voters. The people of SC-1 voted tonight to send their once disgraced governor to Washington, DC. People who would no doubt describe themselves as "values voters" chose a man who could not be more void of the "values" they claim to hold so dear. That is, in a nut shell what's wrong with American politics today. In a district so gerrymandered that a sensible Democratic challenger in Elizabeth Colbert-Busch never stood a chance, the candidates don't matter. Their values don't matter. The letter beside their names is all that matters--their previous iniquities be damned.
Mark Sanford won a district by 9 percentage points that boasts an 11 point advantage in registered Republicans. That's not the political sweeping, surprising victory the GOP is touting tonight. That's just the status quo.
So, in case you missed it: Mark Sanford is the newest US Congressman while the same misguided voters who sent him to Washington continue to believe that its things like gay marriage that threaten its sanctity--not Mr. Sanford's lies and trespasses.
That's what's wrong with American Politics. Mark Sanford is driving the redemption train to DC, when in reality the people of SC-1 would have been better if he would have just taken a hike.
