Peeler, McConnell, and Cleary on State of the State

January 22, 2010 by senatormcconnell

South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford praised the wife he cheated on and apologized Wednesday for what he said is the last time for an affair in his final state-of-the-state address.

Sanford has routinely noted her thrift and efforts to save taxpayers money in past statewide addresses. But Wednesday, he praised her “in her truly phenomenal grace that she showed the world and the state in the storm that I brought to our family and to the state at large.”

She filed for a divorce last month that is expected to be final next month as her memoir is published.

Legislators have long said it was time for Sanford to move on and stop talking about the affair. “I felt a collective sigh of relief from the state of South Carolina when he said that,” said Senate Majority Leader Harvey, R-Cherokee.

The remarks came at the start of a speech that lasted more than 45 minutes. It laid out a slimmed-down legislative agenda: overhauling the state’s Employment Security Commission; streamlining state bureaucracy and imposing spending caps.

Rep. Tracy Edge, R-North Myrtle Beach, who was reached before he heard the speech, said the legislative agenda sounded like items Sanford has discussed in his past speeches, which showed he hasn’t wavered from his philosophy any and that “not a whole lot has been accomplished in the last seven months because of the controversy.”

Legislators, already at work on issues Sanford cites as top priorities, noted the governor’s conciliatory tone.

“He took a practical focus and charged us with the country politically,” said Rep. Thad Viers, R-Myrtle Beach. “We can make some good changes and at the heart of those changes are the ways we as a government spend money.

“And if we are more fiscally responsible, we won’t have to make bad cuts and bad budget years because we’ll have more of a reserve fund to stretch the dollar.”

Senate President Pro Tem Glenn McConnell said “it was an appeal to work together to get something done.” The Charleston Republican said he loved the call for spending limits, something he’s worked on, and Sanford is “absolutely correct” in pushing to reform the Employment Security Commission.

Sen. Ray Cleary, R-Murrells Inlet, agreed with the stance on Employment Security Commission reform and with allowing the public to make the decisions when it comes to education.

In a state tied for the nation’s third highest jobless rate, the speech was short on specifics for some on the economy and filling a $563 million hole in the state’s $5.3 billion budget.

“I didn’t hear the governor give any concrete plans to put 600,000 people back to work and turn the economy around,” House Minority Leader Harry Ott said.

While he has 51 weeks left in office, he has only until June’s session end to mend rifts with legislators and get work done.

And that time is colored by the affair and subsequent investigations. Just last week, the House voted 102-11 to formally rebuke him for abuse of his office and called into question his leadership.

It rejected an impeachment resolution.

The rebuke is nonbinding and has no practical affect on Sanford. Meanwhile, the State Ethics Commission will schedule a hearing for Sanford on 37 charges involving violations of state ethics laws tied to his use of state planes, pricey commercial flights and use of campaign funds that could bring $74,000 in fines.

And the attorney general is reviewing those to see if they merit criminal prosecution.