Gov. Mark Sanford. A true libertarian if there ever was one. I guess his dealings with similar libertarian Howard Rich were just pure destiny. As I sit here in front of this screen, I wondered about what our governor has done in the eight years heading our state in relation to our public school system. Facts, my friends, are painful. I must share them for us to learn more about where this state is heading in 2010, if we do not stop it.
We all know of Sanford's last stand with the stimulus money - specifically the $700 million designated for public education and law enforcement. But I want to go deeper. I want to see what the governor - who has been quoted as saying the public school system is a "a Soviet-style monopoly" and has been a paid hitman against public school funding since becoming governor - has done.
Besides vetoing whole budgets and having legislators deal with overriding every item (hundreds of them), there has to be something under the muck.
Hmm...
There's nothing there. Not one thing I see has him supporting public education, the funding of public education, the supporting of our teachers. Nothing.
I went through his Congress days here:
In 1994, Sanford entered the Republican primary for the Charleston-based 1st Congressional District in the United States House of Representatives. The seat had come open after four-term incumbent Arthur Ravenel gave it up to make an unsuccessful run for governor. Despite having never run for office before, he finished second in a crowded primary behind Van Hipp, Jr, a former George H. W. Bush Administration official. Sanford defeated Hipp in the runoff, and breezed to victory in November. He was reelected twice, both times facing only minor-party opposition.
While in Congress, Sanford was a staunch conservative (he garnered a lifetime rating of 92 from the American Conservative Union), but displayed an occasional independent streak. He often would be one of two members of Congress, along with Ron Paul, voting against bills that otherwise got unanimous support.[citation needed] For example, he voted against a bill that preserved sites linked to the Underground Railroad. He opposed pork barrel projects even when they benefited his own district; in 1997 he voted against a defense appropriations bill that included funds for Charleston's harbor. Seeing himself as a "citizen-legislator," he did not run for reelection in 2000, in keeping with a promise to serve only three terms in the House.[4]
Sanford was listed in the House roll as "R-Charleston," even though he lived on Sullivan's Island.[5][6][7]
I still see nothing pro-education. Let me dig further...
I found this here:
Governor Marshall Clement 'Mark' Sanford, Jr. REPEATEDLY REFUSED TO PROVIDE ANY RESPONSES TO CITIZENS ON ISSUES THROUGH THE 2006
NATIONAL POLITICAL AWARENESS TEST WHEN ASKED TO DO SO BY
Key national leaders of both major parties including:
John McCain, Republican Senator
Geraldine Ferraro, Former Democratic Congresswoman
Michael Dukakis, Former Democratic Governor
Bill Frenzel, Former Republican Congressman
Richard Kimball, Project Vote Smart President
Where's the pro-public schools stance? I found some answers to questions on educational issues, signaled by an "X" that indicates his support. Look at where there are no X's.
- Increase state funds for school capital improvements (e.g. buildings and infrastructure).
- Increase state funds for hiring additional teachers.
- Increase state funding to expand Head Start programs.
- Support age-appropriate sexual education programs that teach about abstinence, contraceptives and HIV/STD prevention methods.
But, there's a diamond in the rough. A stance not taken, but paid to do a job in forcing it down South Carolina's throats...
- Provide parents with state-funded vouchers to send their children to any participating school (public, private, religious).
How about that. Man enough to take the money, but not man enough to admit to people he's going to push it - literally.
Sanford is playing his card. He has the people of South Carolina right where he wants them. He's eased up on taxes to the point to where we have no surplus to fund agencies - heck, we don't even have enough to break even. We are in the BIG RED.
It doesn't have to be this way. Take what you see here and start organizing against them. Call them out. Get it in the meda - newspapers, radio, television - and make it loud. Protest the heck out of them. If we can vote them out, we can inflict progression in the face of regression. Let's get out of the GOPher hole these "leaders" have dug us into. Let's do it for our children, South Carolina.
Thanks for reading.
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