by Mark Silva
Here's an innovative way to get attention:
Disappear.
The whereabouts of South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford lately are a secret, it appears.
"Neither the governor's office nor the State Law Enforcement Division, which provides security for governors, has been able to reach Sanford after he left the mansion in a black SLED Suburban SUV,'' McClatchy newspapers reports.
"Sanford's last known whereabouts were near Atlanta, where a mobile telephone tower picked up a signal from his phone,'' McClatchy notes.
First lady Jenny Sanford told The Associated Press today that her husband has been gone for several days and she doesn't know where he is. The governor's personal and state phones have been turned off and he has not responded to phone and text message since Thursday, a source said.
"Jenny Sanford said she was not concerned,'' McClatchy adds. "She said the governor said he needed time away from their children to write something. ''
The governor's office issued a statement today: ""Gov. Sanford is taking some time away from the office this week to recharge after the stimulus battle and the legislative session, and to work on a couple of projects that have fallen by the wayside. We are not going to discuss the specifics of his travel arrangements or his security arrangements.
Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer, maintaining he's in the dark too, says he has not been put in charge.
"As the head of our state, in the unfortunate event of a state of emergency or homeland security situation, Governor Sanford should be available at all times to the chief of SLED," says state Sen. Jake Knotts, a critic. "I want to know immediately -- who is running the executive branch in the governor's absence.''
(Republican Gov. Mark Sanford of South Carolina has had a lot of headaches lately -- notably his dispute with President Barack Obama over the acceptance of federal stimulus funds. This photo was taken June 4 by Mary Ann Chastain / AP)
Comments
His czars? Hopefully, not a suicide note.
Posted by: mop-up | June 22, 2009 4:53 PM
The next time you hear some right-wing lunatic fringer going nuts (or one of their corporate media enablers, like Faux News or Rush) because President Obama is taking his kids out for custard rather than...well...doing whatever the heck it is they THINK he should be doing, you might want to remind them of this one.
Here is the "responsible" Republican way to deal with job stress:
~Take your taxpayer-funded car, and head out.
~Don't tell your consituents where you're headed.
~Don't even apparently tell your wife where you are headed (on Father's Day weekend, no less!).
~And, when people start to wonder where their governor slipped away to, and when they start to wonder, legitimately, who is in charge, tell them that you need to "recharge."
Posted by: former Republican | June 22, 2009 5:16 PM
The whole GOP Prez nomination class of 2012 is shaping up like a classic political thriller/slasher movie/reality tv show. One by one the likely GOP candidates get voted off the island.
Before long we'll probably learn that Mittens Romney likes to strap his dog to the top of his car on long family trips or something wacky like that......wait a minute....uh......nevermind.
Posted by: LoungeAct | June 22, 2009 5:33 PM
The Governor needed time away from the children...on Father's Day!
Posted by: athena | June 22, 2009 5:38 PM
Alternate caption: What world is Mark Sanford from?
Posted by: bill r. | June 22, 2009 5:41 PM
Call Carl Hiaassen he may know! He found the governor of Florida a few years ago in the SWAMP!!! :-)
Posted by: lochnesssmonster | June 22, 2009 5:49 PM
Having a sex change operation?
Being waterboarded by the road constructors in his state?
In the slammer, having been mistaken for Stanford?
(They thought he shaved off the moustache and lost a little weight.)
Posted by: ornery | June 22, 2009 6:07 PM
So this guy decided he needed to take time away from his kids...over Father's Day?
Posted by: Something's fishy in the State of..... | June 22, 2009 6:07 PM
So the governor's own office couldn't reach him for four days? And he wants to lay claim to title of "responsible" governance? How is it responsible for a sitting governor to leave the state without either notifying somebody or relinquishing executive authority?
It'd be one thing if Sanford was still in Congress, but he's not. He's got real management responsibilities, and disappearing without a trace and without a backup plan is about as irresponsible as it gets.
Posted by: 2009 GOP - "No idea's, No plan, No clue" | June 22, 2009 6:35 PM
Alternate Caption:
I've kept my whereabouts hidden in a mayonaise jar under Funk & Wagnels porch since Noon....
Posted by: Johnny C. | June 22, 2009 6:36 PM
Well it is obvious that he has started his quest to find the "true" republicans in the country. Day 5 report......will keep searching.....
Posted by: Xcellentform | June 22, 2009 8:20 PM
Some at redstate.com did what the Swamp journalist didn't think of doing--phoning the governor's office! And Gov. Sanford isn't "missing" at all. It's all just hype from a partisan, and increasingly incompetent, media, pandering to their declining, left-wing, and increasingly illiterate, readership. See http://www.redstate.com for the explanation.
You ought to try phoning the people you write about, Mark. The phone's a great invention. You can even talk to Republicans with it. Try it sometime, Mark.
Posted by: Bruce | June 22, 2009 10:34 PM
A non-story. Or more precisely, a made-up-by-the-media story.
An AP reporter made a phone call and found that Gov. Sanford is out hiking along the Appalachian trail. He's not "missing" at all.
Posted by: Bruce | June 23, 2009 7:34 AM
Bruce....get your facts straight.....his own WIFE did not know where he was you nutjob!!! If anything, this is a convenient coverup by his office staff. If I had a nickel for every pug that was lost in the woods....
Posted by: Xcellentform | June 23, 2009 9:09 AM
Bruce - a non-story that is on the front page of yahoo?
His own Lt. Gov quoted???
Redstate proves nothing - just that his office called - not him.
By the way - where is John Ensign Redstate?
Posted by: gus | June 23, 2009 9:13 AM
Despite his state's overwhelming problems, there is nothing to keep Governor Sanford here in South Carolina. He can't run for another term. Reports that our governor has gone "hiking" seem rather suspect. Even at his Folly Beach, SC vacation home, the heat index has been over 104 degrees since last Thursday. It's been even worse in the mountains of the Southeast. Perhaps Sanford has flown up to Alaska for a meeting with Sarah. The two of them can commiserate over being forced by their state legislatures to accept Stimulus dollars. Then they can put their empty heads together to come up with a GOP strategy for 2012. LOL!
Posted by: Carol A. | June 23, 2009 9:49 AM
The phone's a great invention. You can even talk to Republicans with it. Try it sometime, Mark.
Posted by: Bruce | June 22, 2009 10:34 PM
.
Yeah, that way you can get your lies and propoganda FIRSThand, instead of having to rely on some unknown third party who might allow a particle of truth to pollute the story!
Posted by: Op109 | June 23, 2009 11:26 AM
The phone's a great invention. You can even talk to Republicans with it. Try it sometime, Mark.
Posted by: Bruce | June 22, 2009 10:34 PM
Except for the Governor of South Carolina that is. You can't get to him by phone, even in if there was a disaster.
Posted by: Lou | June 23, 2009 11:41 AM