The Democratic leader in the South Carolina Senate, John Land of Clarendon County, has questioned Governor Mark Sanford’s effectiveness for years, and now says the governor needs to consider carefully whether or not his resignation is appropriate.
Land says Sanford’s ability to accomplish things in the Statehouse diminished a while back. “And the proof of that are the ten veto overrides and the override of his budget. He has lost all influence with the General Assembly. He’s at odds with the House Speaker, at odds with Republican Senate President Pro Tem, at odds with the Senate Finance Chair, and the Chairman of Ways and Means in the House.
Land says the only power Sanford has left is in his cabinet agencies. “And they’re under funded now, because of his lack of leadership over the last seven years, and we’ve given away our tax base and we’re running a deficit. And unemployment is at 12.5 percent. I think his usefulness as Governor probably has ended.”
But Land says what bothers him most is the more than 12 percent unemployment in South Carolina.
“And he sees fit to say he’s on the Appalachian Trail when in reality he’s in Argentina,” says Land. “That tells me he has no concern whatsoever over the unemployed in South Carolina and the plight we find ourselves in.”
Sanford said he will devote his energy to building back the trust the people placed in him. Land says the public needs a governor who will devote his energy to addressing the state’s record-high jobless rate.
And Sanford said Wednesday that he had resigned as leader of the Republican Governor’s Association(or RGA).
But Land says he doesn’t understand why the governor felt he’s no longer qualified to lead the RGA, but may still be qualified to run the state.
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