Sanford should resign, according to polls
By Gina Smith | The State (Columbia, S.C.)
Jeff Neipp of Greenwood campaigned for Mark Sanford during both of the Republican's races for governor.
Now, Neipp wants Sanford — caught in a scandal after disappearing from the country to secretly visit his lover — to resign.
"He left our state without any chain of command," Neipp said. "That is totally unacceptable. I would like to see him resign with some dignity left. But if that's not possible, he needs to be impeached."
Other politicians' agendas, the 2010 election and a state Constitution that makes impeachment difficult all mean Sanford is likely to stay on. But many S.C. residents believe that the governor no longer is fit to lead.
Two recent polls reflect the public unhappiness with Sanford:
• In a recent SurveyUSA poll, 60 percent of S.C. residents surveyed thought Sanford should resign.
• A Rasmussen Reports poll found most S.C. voters think Sanford's ethics are the norm for politicians. Still, 46 percent said he should resign. (Thirty-nine percent said he should stay on the job; the rest were undecided.)
Sanford is not quitting, his spokesman repeated Wednesday. Instead, following a SLED investigation that determined last week that he did not misuse state money to visit his lover, the governor is committed to regaining the people’s trust.
"The governor recognizes that there's going to be a process for building back the trust of South Carolinians, and that's something he's committed to," said spokesman Joel Sawyer. "It doesn't happen over night. You do it one day at a time."
Sawyer said Sanford will focus on the need for government restructuring, job creation and budget reform his final 18 months in office.
Others want the governor to focus on an exit sign.
To read the complete article, visit www.thestate.com.
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