Community | July 17, 2009 | 26 comments

Mark Sanford, SC-R Governor, flew in style and charged the SC tax payer over $37K.

source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090717/ap_on_re_us/us_sc_governor_travel

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bansheewail
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford shed his fiscal conservatism on several taxpayer-funded international trips, including a South American jaunt that included time with his mistress, choosing expensive first-class or business-class seats while his aides sat in coach.

Sanford, who once criticized other state officials for costly travel, charged the state more than $37,600 for one first-class and four business-class flights overseas since November 2005, expense records show. Other state employees flew in the back of the plane at a fraction of the price, according to the documents.

The records provide details of several other high-priced trips.

The state paid more than $5,000 for Sanford to fly to Poland in April, including at least part of the trip in the more expensive business-class seating. Using a different airline, Sanford's Commerce Secretary Joe Taylor also flew in business class on part of his journey, the records show. The state has not released all expense records from that trip.

The governor also flew in the most expensive "envoy class," also referred to as first class, on a U.S. Airways flight to London in 2006 at a cost of $7,065, according to the documents.

Sanford spent $4,685 of taxpayer money on a Lufthansa business-class flight to Munich in April 2007.

The Republican governor, who balked at taking federal stimulus money after arguing it was an unwise use of taxpayer funds, charged the state $8,687 for a Delta Airlines trip to Brazil last year that included a leg in business class, state expense records show.

That trip ended with the governor's now well-publicized visit to his Argentine mistress, Maria Belen Chapur, and marked what he says was the start of a nearly year-long sexual affair with the woman he's called his "soul mate."

Other state employees spent less than $2,000 each on economy seats for the Brazil flight, according to the records, released by two state agencies under South Carolina's Freedom of Information Act.

Sanford has since repaid $3,300 for part of that Brazil-Argentina trip.

His spokesman defended the governor's state travel as "very judicious."

"He compares very favorably with previous administrations on use of the state plane, and we believe he would compare favorably on his use of other state travel as well," spokesman Joel Sawyer said.

But Sanford's habit of more costly travel at the taxpayers' expense contradicts his claim of frugality. When first running for governor in 2002, the former congressman, who once boasted of sleeping on a cot in his office to save money, blasted incumbent state officials for their expensive flights.

"This kind of lavish spending with taxpayers footing the bill just doesn't make any sense to me," Sanford said in one campaign ad. "If I become your governor, I'll fix that problem."

State Senate Minority Leader John Land recalls the criticism that candidate Sanford heaped on others.

"I reckon he's a hypocrite," the Democrat said. "He goes before the Christian right and professes to be one thing and yet his conduct is something else. He goes before the people of the state and talks about his fiscal conservatism. But yet when you see him in action, he's going first class and spending the state taxpayers' money."

In interviews earlier this month with The Associated Press, the governor said he paid his own way when visiting his mistress during a New York rendezvous last September.

Asked if he flew coach, Sanford was quick to point out his personal thrifty side. "Yeah. You remember, I am paying," he said with a laugh.

State travel records for Sanford, who took office in January 2003, are available only back to the fall of 2005, and the documents show a persistent pattern of expensive state travel.

For example, he charged taxpayers $12,172 for travel to China in 2007, which included business-class accommodations on United Airlines, complete with upgraded food, drinks and an overs
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26 comments // Mark Sanford, SC-R Governor, flew in style and charged the SC tax payer over $37K.

  • nursediesel
  • wayseeker
    • 0
      wayseeker  

    • Don't bet on it. Those rightest SC conservatives have probably already began shedding tears over how the devil just got hold of him.

    • 2 years ago
  • kennymotown
  • cztheday
    • 0
      cztheday  

    • Amerinda,

      Waitaminnit. I certainly agree with your concern about American apathy in general, but I am less convinced that "Americans" were unduly apathetic as to Mark Sanford's claims of frugality. I have enough on my plate keeping track of the Governor's activities, ambitions and expenditures in my OWN home state (Montana) without looking over the shoulder of the Governor of a state 2200 miles away. I think the rest of us should be able to rely on South Carolinians to keep an eye on Sanford...just as they should be able to rely on us to keep an eye on the politicians elected in our respective states...

    • 2 years ago
  • Amanderina
    • 0
      Amanderina  
    • cztheday:

      cztheday, I guess my struggle in general with this conversation is not individuals like yourself, who are apparently paying attention to the state of their elected leaders- and government in general; I think you would agree with me, that you are in the minority. The issue I have is with the majority. This issue did not even reach any kind of national coverage until after Sanford's relationship with his mistress came to light. I agree- it is hard to keep up with what's going on in your own back yard, let alone someone else's- our civilization is on information overload. But I guess my point is- why is it that the Majority only ever pays attention to these kinds of situations when there is some kind of scandal involved? why haven't the systems and leaders already in place to check such corruption spoken out against it? and if they have, why haven't they been heard before now? IS it the apathy of the general public towards things that do not immediately affect them the influences the media not to speak about it until there's some "scarlet woman" involved? and if so, what does that say about our government?Our culture? Our way of life?

      These are the questions I have.

    • 2 years ago
  • Amanderina
    • 0
      Amanderina  

    • What frustrates me most about this situation is not this politician's hypocrisy- its the utter apathy of Americans. People chose to blindly trust Sanford's claim at frugality because we were all to lazy to check to see if it was true. No one sought out the truth about Sanfords actions, or held him accountable for them until after it came to light that he had a mistress. Then suddenly all of America is crying hypocrite? I think we should all be looking at ourselves in the mirror and saying the exact same thing.

    • 2 years ago
  • desertcat
    • 0
      desertcat  

    • Stop picking on Sandy, he didn't mean to be a crook, commit adultry and be a liar. He can not help him. You see its all his parent fault, they taught him Christianity is right no matter what and that if you become a democrat you will grow up a Socialist, your children will grow up gay and start having babies at 15 and unwed. He did everything his parents, Rush Limdick, Bull shoot O'Reilly and AndyAnn Coulter preached to him to be, the all American Republican. In their eyes and the eyes of the GOP he is a success. Heck, its not like it was Watergate or Irangate or WMD or gitmogate etc, etc.

    • 2 years ago
  • ScorpioGee
    • 0
      ScorpioGee  

    • Meh, I've lived in South Carolina for 5 years and I know for a fact he's going to get elected again. If SC citizens could vote for a mummy for decades they'll vote this guy in unfortunately.

    • 2 years ago
  • dainjdc
  • bansheewail
    • 0
      bansheewail  

    • NeoCongo,
      A "Brazilian" is where a little Thia lady rips the hair off of your asshole and charges you $40.

      An "Argentine" is where your Republican "Family Values" Governor tells you NOT TO STICK ANYTHING UP YOUR HAIRLESS ASS under and circustances becuase God talks to him. Then he turns around and fucks you in the ass himself(dry, of course) and charges your credit card $37K or so.

      Both are extremely painful and embarassing, Or so I'm told!!

      Bansheewail, over and out.

    • 2 years ago
  • StaciMagnolia
  • bansheewail
    • 0
      bansheewail  
    • StaciMagnolia:

      Too bad he doesn't stand by what he says. Things like, " I do"....."I swear to...." ....."I love my sons".

      He ditched his four young sons on Fathers Day to cheat on his wife and waste the SC tax payers(which I am one) money and time. Nice "Conservative Family Values".(sarcasm implied)

    • 2 years ago
  • hayden_augustus
    • 0
      hayden_augustus  

    • Talk about a conservative head and a liberal head. I love how these Republican governors, senators, & representatives "preach conservative christian values" that they themselves can't follow. It isn't hard to keep it in your pants; no pun intended.

    • 2 years ago
  • cztheday
    • 0
      cztheday  

    • Uh...Neo?...Vlad? You DO know that this reltionship is with an Argentinian...alpaca, right? Don't get me wrong -- I am NOT here to judge. Besides, I am told that the alpaca in question looks a great deal like a young Lauren Becall...around the eyes, mostly...

    • 2 years ago
  • vladbox
  • neocongo
  • bansheewail
    • 0
      bansheewail  
    • neocongo:

      A Brazilian is where a little Thia lady rips the hair off of your asshole and charges you $40. An "Argentine" is where your Governor tells you NOT TO STICK ANYTHING UP YOUR ASS under and circustances, then he fucks you in the ass himiself and charges your credit card $37K or so. Both are very painful and embarassing, Or so I'm told!!

    • 2 years ago
  • current89
  • partyrager
    • 0
      partyrager  

    • Wow, Sanford is pretty selfish...skipping out on his wife while shirking his duties while traveling extravagantly on the taxpayers dime. No sympathy for those that run their lives into the ground and then wonder what happened after the fact.

    • 2 years ago
  • bansheewail
    • 0
      bansheewail  
    • partyrager:

      Not to mention he ditched his four young sons on Fathers Day ...to ditch his wife.... and ditch the State of SC for some Argentine tail.

      Fathers Day!! Where are the Family Values folks on this one??

    • 2 years ago
  • bansheewail
  • pjacobs51
  • ReganMann
  • theultimateend
    • 0
      theultimateend  
    • ReganMann:

      All of the major heads behind the clinton impeachment have since been caught banging women they weren't married to.

      Although it is kind of obvious. People fight hardest against what they are personally ashamed of doing. Most hardcore anti drug folks smoke the shit out of drugs every chance they get. Most anti gay evangelists get caught slamming a few dudes in a bathroom. Most fiscal conservatives get caught spending thousands of dollars to go bump uglies in another nation :P.

    • 2 years ago
  • JamesAJanisse
    • 0
      JamesAJanisse  
    • ReganMann:

      Between the Clinton thing and this expensive flying situation, it's clear that Mark Sanford can't be trusted to act upon the words that he speaks, and that he is too hypocritical to entrust a public office to.

    • 2 years ago
  • bansheewail
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