You'll be hearing from Mark Sanford, the Governor of South Carolina, more in the future. He has experience in Congress, is reasonably photogenic, and comes from a state that occurs early in the Presidential primary schedule.He's making a bid to keep the coalition together -- although from the social conservative wing of the party, he is apparently making a pitch to the economic types by breaking with the President and the Candidate and criticizing the bailout, and then by repeating the maneuver and opposing a second stimulus package.
These are things that appeal to me despite his basic social conservativism. On a number of otherwise unanimous sorts of bills, he and Ron Paul would be the only "no" votes. This suggests something of a libertarian streak. So too do some of his actions as Governor, including an austerity program to keep the state's budget balanced and a minimal approach to the state's functions.
Good for him. Keep your eye on this guy, folks. He could be the one to re-unite the social conservatives and the economic libertarians.
Quote from Governing Magazine this fall...
ReplyDelete"I'm an unabashed conservative," Sanford says, "and sometimes accused of being a libertarian, to which I say, 'I'm guilty, I love liberty.'"
I saw Sanford speak at the Reason annual meeting (the big libertarian think tank) and he's the real deal. We need him in the White House.
Mark Sanford in 2012!!