South Carolina Lt. Governor Concerned about Sanford’s Vanishing Act

Last updated on August 10th, 2014 at 05:28 pm

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The bizarre story of Republican South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford’s strange weekend disappearance got a little weirder today as Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer was on MSNBC this afternoon, and said it was a concern to him that Sanford would vanish and be out of contact. Check out the video.

Here is the video:

Bauer said, “Our big concern was just knowing that we could get in touch with the governor should there be an emergency or pending issue that needed his attention…I think what’s really up for debate here is that there has to be a line of command, there has to be a chain of command, there has to be a contact person to go to in a state of emergency…Not being able to get directly in contact with our leader, the person that is responsible for 4 ½ million people, is a concern I think not only to myself and members of the legislature, but the people in general in the state of South Carolina.”

Bauer is a Republican like the current governor, so it was interesting that he didn’t try to minimize the governor’s absence. If anything, he threw a little more gas on the fire, by bringing up a very fair and relevant concern. What if there would have been an emergency in the state while Sanford was enjoying his downtime? Someone needs to tell Sanford that people who serve as the chief executive in any executive branch aren’t afforded the luxury of a little off the grid downtime.

If Sanford did have any 2012 hopes remaining after his stimulus debacle, they are completely gone now. He may still try to run in 2012, because the GOP field looks like it will consist of more never was and also rans, but he will now be forever known as the vanishing governor, and to think that this all could have been prevented with a simple phone call.

Jason Easley

Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.

Awards and  Professional Memberships

Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association