COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP, WLTX) -- U.S. Rep. Gresham Barrett has become the first South Carolina congressman to ask Gov. Mark Sanford to resign, saying people have lost confidence in him after his extramarital affair was revealed.
The Republican told The Associated Press he called the governor Wednesday and told him it would be best for him to quit.
Barrett says Sanford can no longer be the effective leader the state needs as South Carolina's unemployment rate tops 12 percent.
The majority of South Carolina's state Senate Republicans also are calling on Gov. Mark Sanford to leave office.
The growing chorus of lawmakers who've publicly announced or told The Associated Press they want the philandering governor gone reached 14 Wednesday. There are 27 Republicans in the Senate -- a 46-member chamber the party controls.
The tally shows the erosion of the governor's support but has no practical effect. Any impeachment move would have to begin in the GOP-controlled House.
However, the Senate is where Sanford has drawn the most support from lawmakers. The defectors include five of his dozen closest allies.
State Senator Joel Lourie (D-Richland County) said that his phone has been 'ringing off the hook' with calls from the public to his office asking him to call for the resignation.
In his mind, Lourie said the question is whether Sanford is fit to lead. Lourie said he believes the governor is not. Lourie says the scandal is causing too much of a distraction right now.
"It's painfully obvious that he is not of the state of mind where he is capable of governing right now," Lourie said. "When I read his comments and I hear some of the things he's saying, I think he's very confused...I think he's in a different place right now."
He says he feels empathy for the governor and his family in this difficult time.
State Senator Jake Knotts (R-Lexington) also said Wednesday that Sanford should leave office. Knotts had earlier called for a State Law Enforcement Division investigation into Sanford's 2008 business trip to Argentina and his use of SLED vehicles.
"He's lost his ability to lead South Carolina and he needs to step down," Knotts said. "The people are pressing us as elected officials to not condone this type of activity, and not condone the fact that this state needs a leader that can't lead and doesn't have any credibility now."
State Senator Ronnie Cromer (R-Prosperity) said he thinks Sanford has lost his ability to lead. He said in a Wednesday statement, "I now believe that Governor Sanford has lost his ability to effectively lead the state forward during the duration of his elected term."
He also said in the statement, "I must say I no longer support Governor Sanford's decision to remain in office."
Senate Pro Tem Glenn McConnell (R-Charleston) isn't calling for Sanford to step down, but is asking him to do the right thing.
"That decision is his alone," McConnell said in a statement. "I do believe, however, that the Governor has lost the support of the people that is needed to govern. Therefore, I would ask the governor to look in his heart and decide whether with his family situation and the public uproar over what he has done and said locally and nationally whether he can lead our state for the remainder of his term."
U.S. Senator Jim DeMint (R-South Carolina) echoed the call of Sanford 'doing the right thing.' When asked, DeMint did not clarify what he meant by 'the right thing.'
DeMint said he thought there would be some sort of resolution within the next week. He called Sanford's interview within the Associated Press this week "not a wise thing to do in this business."
"I believe that the time has now come for the Governor to seriously listen to members of his own political party, members of the General Assembly, other State and local leaders, his political allies, and the people of South Carolina," says State Treasurer Converse Chellis. "I would urge him to do what is right for his wife and for his children. I would also urge him to do what is in the best interest of the State of South Carolina."
The governor, however, has signaled no intent to leave office.
"The governor has given a full and truthful account, and he is finished discussing this matter," Sanford spokesman Joel Sawyer said in a written statement. "He is focused on being governor, on rebuilding his marriage, and on building back the trust of South Carolinians."
Sanford also has backed out of a promise to release personal financial records proving he did not use state money for trips to see his mistress.
Sawyer says the governor does not want to discuss personal matters in the media anymore. The state is investigating Sanford's travel to see the Argentine woman the governor identified as his lover. Sanford agreed this week to provide the AP with proof of his payment for trips to New York and Argentina to see her.
His staff first said the records might be made available Tuesday, and then the governor's spokesman said Wednesday Sanford would not release them.
The Greenville News, The Herald-Journal of Spartanburg, The Herald of Rock Hill, the Morning News of Florence, the Aiken Standard and The Times and Democrat of Orangeburg all called on Sanford to resign.
Spartanburg and Orangeburg newspapers earlier had called for Sanford to quit. Spartanburg said Wednesday that Sanford "has squandered the trust South Carolinians had in him."
The Greenville News said Sanford "has destroyed any shred of credibility with his lies unnecessarily added on top of other lies."
Senate Majority Leader Harvey Peeler of Gaffney said Tuesday's revelations from the governor about his own affair raise doubts about Sanford's ability to lead the state. Five other senators joined him in a letter, while four more have told reporters they want to see the governor go.
(Related Story: McMaster Calls for Investigation of Sanford's Travel)
In a lengthy, emotional interview with The Associated Press, the governor described seven meetings with the woman he describes as his soul mate. That includes two multi-night stays with her in New York.
Peeler says the governor has not been consistent in his story about liaisons with his Argentine mistress. He also says the governor seems unfocused.
Sanford's former spokesman, Will Folks, also said it was time for the governor to step down.
"I think it's time," Folks told News19 Tuesday. "I think it has been time. I think this is the sort of thing that is a fundamental trust issue, and if your only argument for staying in office is that you want to rebuild the voters trust that is just not good enough for me. This has been one of the most bizarre political days I think this state will ever see and I don't know what to make of it. I think the governor is obviously unspooled at the moment ,and it's sad to watch that happen, especially having a friendship with him, a professional relationship with him, you never want to see a friend go through that."
State Senator Victor Sheheen (D-Kershaw County) made a statement Tuesday calling for Sanford's resignation. He said, "As a husband and the father of three young sons, I am truly saddened about the challenges facing the Sanfords, and I wish them God's blessings. Let me be clear: the Governor's private failings are not the issue. But his failure in his public office and the repercussions affect us all."
Sheheen continued to say, "The governor's office is a place for leadership, not a forum for self-healing. And that is why, with much regret over the circumstances that have brought us to this point, I believe Governor Sanford should take the only action that will allow South Carolina to move forward. He should resign his office."
7/2/2009 8:11:26 AM
