get on out the way!

south carolina governor mark sanford is standing up for what he believes in, putting (or refusing?) his money where his mouth is, showing the world his political cojones (eww) and, just like he said he would, he's going to refuse the stimulus money his state should receive to extend south carolina unemployment benefits. there's integrity we can believe in! go mark! you're my political hero!

p.s. unemployment in south carolina?

9.5% – the third highest in the country.

only seven other states saw their unemployment rates jump as much as south carolina's over the last year. in fact, the south carolina board of economic advisors predicts unemployment in the state will reach 14% by summer.

how do the folks in south carolina feel about sanford's stunt principled stand?

For some out-of-work South Carolinians, even the suggestion of rejecting bailout money fills them with outrage. William Williams, 38, a laid-off telecommunications worker, had a message for Sanford as he searched futilely through a computerized job bank in Marion County, a struggling industrial area where unemployment has reached 19%.

"Stop playing politics with my life," Williams said, looking at his unemployed brother James. "If you ain't going to help your people . . . "

"Then get on out the way," James said.

sanford's not alone. five other republican governors have said they may refuse at least some of the stimulus money headed their way.

california governor arnold schwartzenegger is not one of them:

"Every (governor) has their own way of thinking, I just hope they give me their funding."

UPDATE 2/22/02 – way back in 2005, time magazine chose what it considered to be the best governors in the country. sanford was not among them. in fact, he was chosen as one of the three worst:

"Even G.O.P. bosses charge that he is worse at economic development than at grandstanding, as when he visited the legislature last year carrying piglets to protest what he considers pork-barrel spending."

sounds about right, doesn't it?

in researching info on south carolina, i realized something that may be pretty obvious, but hadn't occurred to me: three of the five governors threatening to refuse stimulus money are from three of the poorest, blackest states in the country: mississippi (haley barbour), louisiana (bobby jindal), and south carolina (sanford). huh. but rnc head michael steele is gonna hip-hop up the republican party, just you wait.