thomascwaters.com

Since the story first broke, that SC Governor, Mark Sanford was missing, I’ve had a variety of reactions to this story. I was definitely on the bandwagon, calling for him to resign once he returned and everyone learned that this staunch pro-family values/ anti-gay rights governor was little more than a hypocritical adulterer who had cheated on his wife. From my perspective, a politician can hold whatever viewpoint they want, including anti-gay views. A healthy democracy includes a diverse mixture of viewpoints, where everyone has a voice. But a politician needs to walk the walk, instead of simply talking the talk. Sanford’s situation, like Ensign’s illustrates the hollow lies of the Republican focus on Family Values. They don’t really care about families, and they will do anything and accept anything in their quest to hold power and control others’ lives. Publicized affairs like these two, demonstrate that the real enemy of the traditional family is not same-sex marriage or the full equality of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people, but rather, families suffer due to completely heterosexual- induced problems. All families, gay and straight can fail due to a lack of morality. But that morality is not about the acceptance of gays nor a supposed turning away from the Bible. Lying, cheating, covering up, failure to remain true to one’s commitments- these are the foundation of today’s moral deficit, and the sooner we stop demonizing queers, there is some possibility that we, as a culture can see this.

But, I actually think Sanford’s problems- the reasons he should resign- are not about his personal failings, and not even because of his hypocrisy. Rather he should resign because of the way his personal sex obsession led him to abandon his professional responsibilities. He left the country, lying to his staff about where he was going, and there was no plan in place for leadership of the state in his absence. This is unacceptable. Imagine if there had been some massive unexpected catastrophe had happened- it would have taken time, and energy to fist determine who was leading the state before any actions could even be taken. The way he let his personal turmoil allow him to abandon his responsibilities- this is the real reason why he is unfit to remain as a governor.

“If the governor does not resign now, then the legislature must act quickly to resolve this matter, this year, so that the 2010 session of the General Assembly is not dominated by impeachment proceedings, taking away from far more important issues, like bringing jobs to our state, balancing our budget and improving education,” Mr. Bauer said at the news conference in Columbia, South Carolina’s capital.

In terms of the personal issues, I feel sorry for the guy. Few people are fortunate enough to meet a person who we feel is truly our soulmate. for him to discover such a connection is an amazing thing. It is sad, very sad, that if this is his true soulmate that he would sacrifice this relationship for some false sense of saving a marriage that must have been on autopilot to begin with. There is no way that he and his wife were living an authentic commitment to each other- or he never would have ended up in a position where he could have found his soulmate. If I were him, I would admit my failure at my marriage and take off to be with my soulmate. That couldn’t be any more painful for his wife than the current situation.

via Lt. Governor of S.C. Calls on Sanford to Resign – The Caucus Blog – NYTimes.com.