Whoa! Absolutely nuclear! Politico reports that the NRCC is
cutting Sanford loose in the wake of this whole
trespassing debacle, and this isn't some half-heard rumor—it's an on-the-record quote, and a pretty lulzy one at that: "Mark Sanford has proven he knows what it takes to win elections. At this time, the NRCC will not be engaged in this special election." Hahah, maybe they're saying this because they know Sanford will wreck shop and the timing is all just a big coincidence? Sorry, just amusing myself here, because it's just all too enjoyable.
And the best part may be how Sanford tried to keep this to himself, because that surely has infuriated Republicans to white hot levels. Remember, this whole thing happened on Super Bowl Sunday, over two months ago, and Jenny Sanford filed her complaint with the court the very next day. The order for Sanford to appear in court was issued last month, so he's been sitting on this time bomb for weeks. Now, of course, it's detonated, and perhaps has destroyed his campaign, too. On the other hand, it's not like Sanford really had any good options for defusing this mess in advance—well, except perhaps he'd have been wise to, you know, not trespass in the first place.
And oh, sweet Jesus:
Meanwhile, the Washington Post has learned that tensions within the family flared up as recently as April 2, at the celebration of Sanford's runoff election victory when the former governor thrust two of his sons on-stage with the Argentine woman who was at the center of the spectacular sex scandal that broke up his marriage.
For Sanford's teenage son Bolton, that very public moment marked the first time he had ever been in the presence of Maria Belen Chapur.
Sanford's former wife Jenny confirmed in a text message: "That was indeed Bolton's first intro and both boys were quite upset and visibly so."
Despite saying earlier on Wednesday that "I am doing my best not to get in the way of his race," Jenny Sanford sure has seemed willing to make herself accessible to the press all day—and to throw her floundering ex a whole bunch of anvils.
Anyhow, it's still possible other outside Republican groups will still try to ride to Sanford's aid. Indeed, the South Carolina Republican Party even chipped in on Sanford's first general election ad. The spot, which just went up, mostly attacks Democrat Elizabeth Colbert Busch for accepting the support of labor unions, "even from the union who tried to shut down Boeing and ship a thousand jobs out of South Carolina." The run is reportedly for about $100,000, but will the SCGOP want to keep funding Sanford after this?
Meanwhile, the Democratic-aligned House Majority PAC is up with their first commercial too, after delaying their television run on account of the Boston bombings. The ad goes after Sanford's use of taxpayer funds for personal air travel, with an obligatory mention of Argentina that features a pair of intimately clasped hands on-screen. It's the perfect sort of non-partisan, hard-to-defend-against attack Democrats need to run in a district like this. Now the question is, will the trespass be considered fair game? And will it make its way into any ads? Or will free media coverage of the story be sufficient to kneecap Sanford? Stay tuned!