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Sanford Digs In as Calls for Resignation Escalate

By John Johnson, Newser Staff

Posted Jul 1, 2009 9:40 PM CDT

(Newser) – The vise is tightening around Mark Sanford's political career. South Carolina officials, including fellow Republicans, are lining up to urge the governor to resign, reports the State. The pressure has ramped up considerably since Sanford's admission yesterday that he'd "crossed lines" with other women besides his Argentine mistress. The governor, however, is resisting, notes the Washington Post. "He is finished discussing this matter," said a spokesman.

J. Gresham Barrett, a fellow Republican, became the first congressman from South Carolina to call for his resignation: "He has lost the trust of the people." Sen. Jim DeMint, another Republican, urged Sanford to make the "right decision," while a state senator who once served as Sanford's chief of staff said he's spoken with the governor and will make his recommendation soon. Fourteen of 27 GOP state senators want him to step down.

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South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford speaks to the AP Tuesday. (AP Photo/Mary Ann Chastain)

South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford. (AP Photo/Mary Ann Chastain)

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He’s dropped the flag. The rest of us have to get up and go on. A lot of us are talking to him behind the scenes in hopes that he'll make the right decision about what needs to be done. - Sen. Jim DeMint, R-SC

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Showing 3 of 4 comments

AdaptAndOvercome

Jul 2, 2009 12:51 PM CDT

So, who are the 13 Republicans that don't see anything wrong with what he did? That's what I want to know----maybe they have some skeletons in their closets? Or they are as immoral as this clown.

JonmarkP

Jul 2, 2009 8:51 AM CDT

He sounds mentally ill - as though he suffers from a narcissistic personality disorder. Apparently, he sees the whole world as an extension of himself. That alone would render him unfit to govern a village, much less a state. He takes himself and his career very seriously, but but not the job.

gabo

Jul 2, 2009 2:52 AM CDT

Does he really think he's rational? Does he think because it's him, it's okay? His is the first affair that is truly meaningful? not to mention "crossing lines" with other women? Maybe the world truly does rotate around him.

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State (Columbia, SC) (Source Grid »)
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Politics • US

South Carolina • Argentina • affair • governor • scandal • Mark Sanford • Jim DeMint

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