IT DOES NOT MATTER WHETHER YOU ARE FROM THE LEFT OR RIGHT TO
KNOW WE HAVE SERIOUS ISSUES WITH THE MAJORITY OF POLITICIANS IN
WASHINGTON, READ ABOUT THIS ASSHOLE BELOW, SO TYPICAL...
side from the damage done to his standing as a social
conservative,
South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford’srecent admission of an
extramarital affair may end up tarnishing another of his political
credentials — his carefully honed reputation as a tightfisted
steward of taxpayer money.
A POLITICO analysis of hundreds of pages of state travel records
requested to explore the circumstances of his affair found that in
his 6 1/2 years as governor, Sanford traveled frequently and in a
style markedly at odds with his political persona.
The records detail more than $468,000 worth of state-funded
travel for Sanford and show that he routinely billed taxpayers for
high-end
airline
seats, racking up more than $44,000 on business- and
first-class tickets. He often stayed in pricey hotels that far
exceeded the rates he imposed on other state employees.
On one overseas trip, the state appears to have spent more than
$12,000 for the
GOPgovernor’s business-class tickets for a September 2007
trade mission to China, while his aides flew in economy class for airfares as low as
$1,900.
The records, released to
POLITICOand a
handful of other media outlets under the state’s
Freedom of Information Act,cover commercial airline trips to destinations including Paris,
Beijing,
Stockholm,
Munichand
London, as
well as state plane flights that carried him, his family, friends
and staff around the state and country. They do not detail the
costs of every international trade mission Sanford participated in,
and, in some cases, the documents are incomplete or difficult to
decipher.
Still, the picture that emerges from the records conflicts with
Sanford’s image as a politician who is especially stingy with
taxpayer cash and vigilant about the costs of taxpayer-funded
travel.
After winning a seat in Congress in 1994, he publicly agonized
over accepting a $10,000-taxpayer-funded trip, telling a local
paper, “I know politically it's not the right thing ever to go on
any trip."
While running for governor in 2002, Sanford zeroed in on travel
spending, criticizing
Democratic incumbent
Gov. Jim Hodgesfor “lavish spending” on airfare and hotel
rooms.
“If I become your governor,” he asserted in a radio ad, “I’ll
fix that problem in
Columbia.”
Indeed, in his first year as South Carolina’s chief executive,
Sanford moved quickly to implement his campaign promise by urging
state employees to sleep two to a hotel room while traveling on
state business.
Later,
he called outan unnamed state employee for staying in a
New York
hotelfor $269 per night — which he pointed out at the
time was $61 above the federal rate — and a state consultant
for billing the state $375 a night for a three-night stay in a
Phoenix
hotelto attend a conference.
His 2008-2009 budget proposal again targeted taxpayer-funded
travel and
projected$2.8 million in savings by reducing the travel costs across
state agencies. A summary from his office states “it is clear that
some [agencies] have not used taxpayer dollars in the most
efficient manner possible.”
Yet records of the state-funded trips taken by Sanford as
governor suggest that his arrangements often ran counter to the
state Budget and Control Board’s
travel
expenseguidelines.
Those guidelines dictate that “travel by commercial airlines
will be accomplished in coach or tourist class, except where
exigencies require otherwise.”
But on the now-infamous June 2008
South America
trademission, where Sanford slipped away to meet his
Argentine mistress, the governor’s airfare consisted of four
business-class flights for which
the state paid $8,687.
By contrast, the Commerce Department official who accompanied
Sanford to
Buenos
Airesflew coach, at a cost of $1,910 to the taxpayers (the
official’s itinerary included one less short leg, since he did not
accompany Sanford to
Cordoba,
Argentina, for a day of dove hunting).
Kara Borie, a spokeswoman from the
state Department of
Commerce, which arranged many of the trips, said Sanford
“typically flies business class” but “did not request
business-class airfare.”
She wouldn’t say who requested business-class tickets for
Sanford nor did she answer questions about whether Sanford’s travel
ran afoul of state reimbursement rules. Instead, she pointed
POLITICO to the state Budget and Control Board’s travel expense
guidelines.
Late last month, Sanford, who is independently wealthy,
reimbursed the state coffers $3,300 for expenses accrued on the
Argentine leg of the mission, after acknowledging that his
rendezvous during the trade mission “raised some very legitimate
concerns and questions.”
A
State Law
EnforcementDivision investigation determined Sanford did not
misuse state funds to conduct his affair.
In addition to the requirement of coach or tourist-class travel,
South Carolina’s expense guidelines state that “a traveler on
official business will exercise the same care in incurring expenses
and accomplishing an assignment that a prudent person would
exercise if traveling on personal business. Excess costs,
circuitous
routes, delays or luxury accommodations unnecessary or
unjustified in the performance of an assignment are not considered
acceptable as exercising prudence.”
Yet in preparation for an April European trade mission,
the Commerce Department paid$7,255.97 for a round-trip ticket that included a first-class
flight from Charlotte, N.C., to Newark, N.J.; a business-class
flight from
Newarkto
Warsaw,
Poland; a flight of unknown class from
Warsawto
Stockholm; and a business-class flight from
Stockholmto
Chicago. But on the final day of the mission, the department paid
another $2,527.54 for a different
return
flightfrom Stockholm to Newark. Then, a week later, the
airline credited the department
$4,748.18, apparently leaving taxpayers with a final tab of
$5,035.33.
Sanford’s spokesman, Joel Sawyer, did not answer questions about
whether Sanford’s state-funded travel conflicted with either his
penny-pinching rhetoric or state travel rules.
Instead, he said in a statement: “Gov. Sanford has always made
it a point to be incredibly judicious with his travel and compares
favorably to previous administrations on that front.”
Indeed, Sanford flew coach on some flights, according to the
records — which were received from the state’s Comptroller General,
Budget and Control Board,
Law Enforcement
Divisionand Commerce Department — and was joined in business
or first class by accompanying state officials on other
flights.
And the records demonstrate traces of fiscal restraint, such as
a
2005 billfrom
Tokyo’s
five-star Hotel New Otani, which shows that Sanford bunked with
then-Commerce Secretary Bob Faith for four nights at a cost to
taxpayers of $868.54.
But the documents don’t reflect any other instances in which
Sanford shared hotel rooms with another state employee.
They include an
$862 billfor Sanford’s three-night stay in
Philadelphia’s
Ritz-Carltonin July 2008 for the National Governors
Association meeting. During the NGA’s February meeting, taxpayers
picked up the
$648 billfor Sanford and his wife, Jenny, to spend two nights in
Washington’s
JW
Marriott.
Neither tab is out of line with big-city hotel rates, and in
both cases the hotels were hosting NGA events. Still, the bills
were a combined $644 more than the federal reimbursement
rates — which Sanford has
repeatedly urgedstate employees to adhere to — for the dates, cities and
number of nights of Sanford’s stays.
State records also show that Sanford, his family and staff have
amassed about $380,000 in
flight chargeson the state plane in his six years in office, including many
flights with his family and supporters costing hundreds and
sometimes thousands of dollars each.
Sawyer pointed out that the state’s previous governor,
Democrat Jim
Hodges, spent $377,000 on flights in his four-year term
term.
When asked for comment, Hodges responded: “Under
Jim Hodges
leadership,
South
Carolinahad single-digit unemployment, strong job growth and
solid capital investment. Under
Mark
Sanford, we have 13 percent unemployment, one of the highest
jobless
ratesin the country. You be the judge of who gave the
taxpayers a better return on their investment.”
Told of some of the expenses revealed in the travel records,
South Carolina
GOPstate Sen.
Larry
Martincalled them “very hypocritical” and “quite
shocking.”
“When this information comes out, I think it’s going to be a
huge disappointment to a lot of folks to realize that he just isn’t
the type of person on a number of fronts that many people thought
he was,” said Martin.
Among a group of Republicans who called for Sanford to
step downafter he admitted to
the extramarital affair, Martin predicted Sanford’s supporters were “going to be very
disgusted to learn that he’s been somewhat of a big spender when it
comes to his own personal travel while at the same time insisting
that state government be on a starvation diet.”
Posted by rgoodwin on 17th of Jul 2009 at 02:26 pm
Bill, I agree. Corruption in politics is positively rabid in
this country. That's because they all stay in office for so long
and begin to enjoy the POWER they gain. Every person on the planet
has greed built into their DNA. Just depends on where they end up
as to whether they take advantage of that trait.
I think John Beck put it into perspective yesterday. He
reminded us that most people have ancestors and most of the rest of
us came to the U.S. to get away from what is taking place in
this country. They left family, friends and even property behind to
be free of large government control of their lives. This started
years ago but is on the fast track now. God Bless what
we had!
Title: They All Need to
Posted by billrosen on 17th of Jul 2009 at 02:18 pm
IT DOES NOT MATTER WHETHER YOU ARE FROM THE LEFT OR RIGHT TO KNOW WE HAVE SERIOUS ISSUES WITH THE MAJORITY OF POLITICIANS IN WASHINGTON, READ ABOUT THIS ASSHOLE BELOW, SO TYPICAL...
side from the damage done to his standing as a social conservative, South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford’srecent admission of an extramarital affair may end up tarnishing another of his political credentials — his carefully honed reputation as a tightfisted steward of taxpayer money.
A POLITICO analysis of hundreds of pages of state travel records requested to explore the circumstances of his affair found that in his 6 1/2 years as governor, Sanford traveled frequently and in a style markedly at odds with his political persona.
The records detail more than $468,000 worth of state-funded travel for Sanford and show that he routinely billed taxpayers for high-end airline seats, racking up more than $44,000 on business- and first-class tickets. He often stayed in pricey hotels that far exceeded the rates he imposed on other state employees.
On one overseas trip, the state appears to have spent more than $12,000 for the GOPgovernor’s business-class tickets for a September 2007 trade mission to China , while his aides flew in economy class for airfares as low as $1,900.
The records, released to POLITICOand a handful of other media outlets under the state’s Freedom of Information Act, cover commercial airline trips to destinations including Paris, Beijing, Stockholm, Munichand London, as well as state plane flights that carried him, his family, friends and staff around the state and country. They do not detail the costs of every international trade mission Sanford participated in, and, in some cases, the documents are incomplete or difficult to decipher.
Still, the picture that emerges from the records conflicts with Sanford’s image as a politician who is especially stingy with taxpayer cash and vigilant about the costs of taxpayer-funded travel.
After winning a seat in Congress in 1994, he publicly agonized over accepting a $10,000-taxpayer-funded trip, telling a local paper, “I know politically it's not the right thing ever to go on any trip."
While running for governor in 2002, Sanford zeroed in on travel spending, criticizing Democratic incumbent Gov. Jim Hodgesfor “lavish spending” on airfare and hotel rooms.
“If I become your governor,” he asserted in a radio ad, “I’ll fix that problem in Columbia.”
Indeed, in his first year as South Carolina’s chief executive, Sanford moved quickly to implement his campaign promise by urging state employees to sleep two to a hotel room while traveling on state business.
Later, he called out an unnamed state employee for staying in a New York hotelfor $269 per night — which he pointed out at the time was $61 above the federal rate — and a state consultant for billing the state $375 a night for a three-night stay in a Phoenix hotelto attend a conference.
His 2008-2009 budget proposal again targeted taxpayer-funded travel and projected $2.8 million in savings by reducing the travel costs across state agencies. A summary from his office states “it is clear that some [agencies] have not used taxpayer dollars in the most efficient manner possible.”
Yet records of the state-funded trips taken by Sanford as governor suggest that his arrangements often ran counter to the state Budget and Control Board’s travel expenseguidelines.
Those guidelines dictate that “travel by commercial airlines will be accomplished in coach or tourist class, except where exigencies require otherwise.”
But on the now-infamous June 2008 South America trademission, where Sanford slipped away to meet his Argentine mistress, the governor’s airfare consisted of four business-class flights for which the state paid $8,687 .
By contrast, the Commerce Department official who accompanied Sanford to Buenos Airesflew coach, at a cost of $1,910 to the taxpayers (the official’s itinerary included one less short leg, since he did not accompany Sanford to Cordoba, Argentina, for a day of dove hunting).
Kara Borie, a spokeswoman from the state Department of Commerce, which arranged many of the trips, said Sanford “typically flies business class” but “did not request business-class airfare.”
She wouldn’t say who requested business-class tickets for Sanford nor did she answer questions about whether Sanford’s travel ran afoul of state reimbursement rules. Instead, she pointed POLITICO to the state Budget and Control Board’s travel expense guidelines.
Late last month, Sanford, who is independently wealthy, reimbursed the state coffers $3,300 for expenses accrued on the Argentine leg of the mission, after acknowledging that his rendezvous during the trade mission “raised some very legitimate concerns and questions.”
A State Law EnforcementDivision investigation determined Sanford did not misuse state funds to conduct his affair.
In addition to the requirement of coach or tourist-class travel, South Carolina’s expense guidelines state that “a traveler on official business will exercise the same care in incurring expenses and accomplishing an assignment that a prudent person would exercise if traveling on personal business. Excess costs, circuitous routes, delays or luxury accommodations unnecessary or unjustified in the performance of an assignment are not considered acceptable as exercising prudence.”
Yet in preparation for an April European trade mission, the Commerce Department paid $7,255.97 for a round-trip ticket that included a first-class flight from Charlotte, N.C., to Newark, N.J.; a business-class flight from Newarkto Warsaw, Poland; a flight of unknown class from Warsawto Stockholm; and a business-class flight from Stockholmto Chicago. But on the final day of the mission, the department paid another $2,527.54 for a different return flightfrom Stockholm to Newark. Then, a week later, the airline credited the department $4,748.18 , apparently leaving taxpayers with a final tab of $5,035.33.
Sanford’s spokesman, Joel Sawyer, did not answer questions about whether Sanford’s state-funded travel conflicted with either his penny-pinching rhetoric or state travel rules.
Instead, he said in a statement: “Gov. Sanford has always made it a point to be incredibly judicious with his travel and compares favorably to previous administrations on that front.”
Indeed, Sanford flew coach on some flights, according to the records — which were received from the state’s Comptroller General, Budget and Control Board, Law Enforcement Divisionand Commerce Department — and was joined in business or first class by accompanying state officials on other flights.
And the records demonstrate traces of fiscal restraint, such as a 2005 bill from Tokyo’s five-star Hotel New Otani, which shows that Sanford bunked with then-Commerce Secretary Bob Faith for four nights at a cost to taxpayers of $868.54.
But the documents don’t reflect any other instances in which Sanford shared hotel rooms with another state employee.
They include an $862 bill for Sanford’s three-night stay in Philadelphia’s Ritz-Carltonin July 2008 for the National Governors Association meeting. During the NGA’s February meeting, taxpayers picked up the $648 bill for Sanford and his wife, Jenny, to spend two nights in Washington’s JW Marriott.
Neither tab is out of line with big-city hotel rates, and in both cases the hotels were hosting NGA events. Still, the bills were a combined $644 more than the federal reimbursement rates — which Sanford has repeatedly urged state employees to adhere to — for the dates, cities and number of nights of Sanford’s stays.
State records also show that Sanford, his family and staff have amassed about $380,000 in flight charges on the state plane in his six years in office, including many flights with his family and supporters costing hundreds and sometimes thousands of dollars each.
Sawyer pointed out that the state’s previous governor, Democrat Jim Hodges, spent $377,000 on flights in his four-year term term.
When asked for comment, Hodges responded: “Under Jim Hodges leadership, South Carolinahad single-digit unemployment, strong job growth and solid capital investment. Under Mark Sanford, we have 13 percent unemployment, one of the highest jobless ratesin the country. You be the judge of who gave the taxpayers a better return on their investment.”
Told of some of the expenses revealed in the travel records, South Carolina GOPstate Sen. Larry Martincalled them “very hypocritical” and “quite shocking.”
“When this information comes out, I think it’s going to be a huge disappointment to a lot of folks to realize that he just isn’t the type of person on a number of fronts that many people thought he was,” said Martin.
Among a group of Republicans who called for Sanford to step down after he admitted to the extramarital affair , Martin predicted Sanford’s supporters were “going to be very disgusted to learn that he’s been somewhat of a big spender when it comes to his own personal travel while at the same time insisting that state government be on a starvation diet.”
Bill, I agree. Corruption in
Posted by rgoodwin on 17th of Jul 2009 at 02:26 pm
Bill, I agree. Corruption in politics is positively rabid in this country. That's because they all stay in office for so long and begin to enjoy the POWER they gain. Every person on the planet has greed built into their DNA. Just depends on where they end up as to whether they take advantage of that trait.
nicely put Robin...
Posted by billrosen on 17th of Jul 2009 at 02:29 pm
nicely put Robin...
Got to go!
Posted by billw on 17th of Jul 2009 at 02:38 pm
I think John Beck put it into perspective yesterday. He reminded us that most people have ancestors and most of the rest of us came to the U.S. to get away from what is taking place in this country. They left family, friends and even property behind to be free of large government control of their lives. This started years ago but is on the fast track now. God Bless what we had!
Amen Bill. Term limits and
Posted by asantana on 17th of Jul 2009 at 02:24 pm
Amen Bill. Term limits and they will all be taken out.