Show Me the Money

The South Carolina Supreme Court today ordered Governor Mark Sanford – the last holdout of GOP governors who refused stimulus money – to apply for the funds. Sanford, whose profile has risen on the back of this case, inciting talk of a 2012 presidential bid, said he would not appeal and plans to sign the applications for the funds on Monday. The Governor had refused $700 million in mostly  education funds — the one small part of South Carolina’s $2.8 billion in stimulus funds over which Sanford had control — unless the legislature agreed to offset the money.

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  • neorationalist86

    Does anyone know the history of this case? To whom did the SC Supreme Court grant certiori? On what grounds? Etc, etc…

  • Cliff

    “Mark Sanford 2012: He’ll F–k Your Kids Up Something Fierce.”

  • yutsano

    Maybe JNS can weigh in more and the AP article isn’t specific but what I get from it is the legislature sued the governor over the application of the funds.

  • Paul-no not that one

    yutsano the REPUBLICAN legislature was furious over Sanford’s grandstanding. If Sanford is as sly as some republicans think then he likely knew that SC would be “forced” to accept the money so he could get the love of the mouth breathers and also the cash.

  • yutsano

    The fact that it was kabuki is no big surprise. But it never hurts to figure out the dramatis personae. Sanford has to be done with SC politics anyway or else this cwap wouldn’t even be discussed.

  • sacredh

    Sanford initially wanted to take the money that was designated for education and use it to pay down the state deficit instead. That idea was rejected by Washington prompting him to refuse the money. He wanted to just ignore the legislature’s over-ride on his veto. He might have presidential hopes in 2012, but it’s more of a pipe dream. He wouldn’t get much support outside of the “southern strategy” states.

  • neorationalist86

    You may be right as to Sanford’s motive, however, I will say this. If you are truly fundamentally opposed to the stimulus bill, than you must in good conscience refuse the funds for your state as a governor. I believe Gov. Jindal made this argument, although I do not know if he followed through on the threat. As for Stanford, he may have had ulterior motives, I don’t know.
    .
    On a side note, NC Gov. Bev Perdue has hijacked the education lottery funds and diverted them to paying off state deficits rather than putting them into a malignant education system desperate for reform. How this woman, former Lt. Governor under Mike Easley’s previous corrupt administration, was ever elected over Republican challenger Pat McCrory is beyond me.

  • sacredh

    neo: I’m pretty sure I’m right on this that Jindal only refused the money designated for extended unemployment benefits but took all the rest. With SC taking the education funds, now all 50 states have accepted it.

  • neorationalist86

    Ok, thanks. I hadn’t run across any new info on Jindal as of late.

  • sacredh

    Your’re welcome. Jindal does seem to be lying pretty low. I think he may be trying to avoid the flame war going on now. He’s got some pretty serious issues in Louisiana to deal with instead of getting caught up in the silly stuff going on. He’s young enough and has enough smarts to bide his time until the dust settles.

  • apollyon07

    I think it’s a sad mistake people have been making to count Jindal out of the national political scene. He rose very quickly to become the youngest governor of a state whose politics could only be described as a snake pit. One bad speech won’t have de-railed him.

  • apollyon07

    Not that I think anyone here has done that, just the public in general.

  • neorationalist86

    No, we certainly haven’t heard the last of Jindal.

  • yutsano

    I think it’s a sad mistake people have been making to count Jindal out of the national political scene. He rose very quickly to become the youngest governor of a state whose politics could only be described as a snake pit. One bad speech won’t have de-railed him.
    -
    Americans fortunately (for him) have short political memories. Jindal will recover, but whether he can recover in a leaderless rudderless party is another question entirely. Any smart Republican right now is taking care of their own until the RNC figures out where it wants to take the country. Right now Piyush is doing what he needs to in order to have a possible national political future.

  • apollyon07

    Agreed, the best thing for him is to take care of his own business and coast until the next opportunity.

  • pippapippa

    Jindal should be thinking fondly of another young governor tapped to give a big speech, Bill Clinton, who gave an epically bad speech at what, the 88 convention? It went on and on and on. (He improved a lot as a speaker later.) It took only a few years for the memories of that speech to wear out, and then he got elected president. Now it could be Dems are more forgiving then Repubs, I don’t know. But if I were Jindal, I’d be studying that other southern governor’s recovery.

  • kbanginmotown

    At the end of the day, the question is not: can you live down a speech?, but, rather, can you live down a *severely negative* sentiment expressed in a speech?
    .
    Jindal is toast because of his blatant disdain for volcano monitoring funds for a region of the country that is prone to volcanic activity.
    .
    Whether Jindal realizes it or not, it was his Ted Kennedy-80 / Jerry Hart-84 / Joe Biden-88, moment. He blew it. He’s damaged goods. Roll the tape of his speech and the country will say DO NOT WANT. No amount of lipstick will help. Also.

  • yutsano

    Whether Jindal realizes it or not, it was his Ted Kennedy-80 / Jerry Hart-84 / Joe Biden-88, moment. He blew it. He’s damaged goods. Roll the tape of his speech and the country will say DO NOT WANT. No amount of lipstick will help. Also.
    -
    I don’t think he’s the sacrificial lamb for 2012 (at least not that I see yet) but he’s going to have to not only overcome that speech but the Bobby/Piyush factor. Barack could have just been and stayed Barry and been just fine, but at the end of the day chose to go under his original birth name. If Bobby/Piyush doesn’t at least come to some sort of terms with that he’ll have a really rough go at being considered genuine. Not to mention I’m not convinced a white male could win the Republican prmary yet.
    -
    Are we taking the discussion of Jindal over Sanford as apathy?

  • yutsano

    make that “I’m not convince ANYONE BUT a white male could win the Republican primary yet.” What good is preview if I don’t use it?

  • neorationalist86

    kbanginmotown…

    I seriously doubt that the country will seriously consider his volcano-protecting credentials if he pursues a more national career. And, I wouldn’t consider Joe Biden to be on the list of political failures considering he is your Vice President now. Not very persuasive.

  • choska

    Does it matter who wins the Republican nomination? The entire race will be between people who have to kiss Rush Limbaugh’s ring. Sanford, Jindal, Gingrich, Palin, Pawlenty, Barbour, Romney, and whomever else crawls out from under the GOP rock will spend months trying to out-crazy each other. Whomever “wins” will have to explain to the rest of us why we should hand the keys back over to a bunch of crazy people.
    .
    As far as Jindal and Romney go, neither of them strikes me as being a frothing at the mouth right winger. But the only people left who will work for GOP campaigns are real crazies like Manuel Miranda and Marcus Epstein. Couple that with the requirement to nominate a nut-job for VP, and this election will be another joke.
    .
    The only thing that is keep the GOP alive right now is the insistence on the part of the media to keep writing stories about a political party that has 20% approval rating. And that 20% is comprised of the crazy uncles that you do your best to avoid at the family reunion.

  • neorationalist86

    Thats an impressive analysis there choska. Ding! Ding! Ding! You’ve just won points for exemplifying the other side of the coin, the radically insane left-wing. Have you thought of applying for a job with CodePink?

  • jcapan

    http://voices.washingtonpost.com/white-house-watch/late-night-humor-23.html
    ~
    I haven’t been able to watch this yet (at work), but it sounds divine. Stewart eviscerating Cheney? Anyone seen–is this day old?

  • yutsano

    JC-san I’ll see if that’s on YouTube yet, it’s pretty classic.

  • rustyreturns

    I think the entire point is being missed here on “stimulus funds”. Gov Mark Perry, (R) Texas, is experiencing a SURPLUS in that state. A surplus when other States such as California are nearing bankruptcy.
    .
    Why? Not because of a bad economy, but because of very sound, conservative fiscal policies. Perry is quickly showing that he knows how to manage a very large State. He is showing that the big government spending programs do not work. What does work is fiscal responsibility and tax cuts! Imagine that.
    .
    As Obama and all of his “Czars” become more and more crazed at the thought of big government’s role in completely destroying our National Economy, Perry is showing how you really run a sound government. Watch out Obama, here comes Perry!

  • centfan

    If Texas politicians run a surplus it’s because they rent out their wives and daughters as love slaves for oil executives. Why do you think Palin could ever say she made some money for Alaska? She had a pack of old bills wrapped up in oil stained newspaper sitting in the statehouse mailbox every week. Sooo hard to do if you don’t have oil corporations to bend over for.
    -
    And where do Texas and Alaska rank in violent crime, non-oil employment, and SAT scores? Maybe just above Missouri.

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