Republican Mark Sanford: Another Reason to Leave the GOP

Republican South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford yesterday admitted to committing adultery with a married woman he met eight years ago. The GOP icon and presidential hopeful disappeared over the Father´s Day weekend telling staffers he was going to be hiking on the Appalachian Trail. Instead, the conservative lawmaker left the Governor´s Mansion in a state-funded SUV and jetted off to Argentina for five days without telling anyone in the Capitol where he was.

Sanford has four children and has been married to his wife, Jenny, for almost 20 years. News reports indicated that the fiscal conservative has traveled to Argentina before on tax-payer dollars. According to CNN, Sanford admitted he used tax-payer dollars to travel both to Argentina and Brazil to meet his mistress. Along with other Republican governors, he rejected President Obama´s federal stimulus funding for his state this year. He has been a staunch opponent of pork-barrel spending.

Sanford is a Bible-thumping "family-values" conservative and opponent of same-sex marriage. During his 8-year torrid affair, he sent salacious, indecent emails to his mistress that included enticements such as, "… please sleep soundly knowing that despite the best efforts of my head my heart cries out for you, … your body, the touch of your lips, the touch of your finger tips and an even deeper connection to your soul. … You have the ability to give magnificent gentle kisses, … I love your tan lines … I love the curve of your hips, the erotic beauty of you." These emails were published in The State newspaper of Columbia and have been authenticated by the South Carolina Governor´s office.

The Crime of Adultery

Adultery is still punishable in South Carolina by up to a year in prison plus a $500 fine. Sanford says he has no plans to resign as Governor, but announced his resignation as chairman of the Republican Governors Association. He was quickly succeeded by Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour.

Abuse of Power

In addition to his vulgar indiscretion, by leaving the state for five days with no executive in charge and no true indication of his whereabouts, Stanford has been criticized for not only abusing his power, but also for his blatant disregard for his position and the people of South Carolina.

The Republican Party Deeply in Trouble

To be sure, the Republican Party has suffered the consequences of numerous embarrassments over the last two decades. For example, Republican Senator John Ensign (NV) admitted just a week ago that he, too, has committed adultery with a married aide who helped him on his 2008 campaign. Both Sanford and Ensign called on Clinton to resign after his affair with Monica Lewinsky. Neither Sanford nor Ensign are resigning from their offices.

Republican Senator David Vitter of Louisiana also admitted to having an affair, saying he accepted full responsibility for his deceitful actions but later refused to take questions.

Republican Senator Larry Craig signed a complaint admitting he solicited an undercover police officer for homosexual sex while in the stall of a men´s toilet at the Minneapolis Airport. Craig was also married at the time, but to a woman.

In 2006, Republican Congressman Mark Foley resigned from office after it was discovered he sent lewd and sexually explicit text messages to teenage Congressional pages while sitting in the well of the U.S. House of Representatives. ABC news reported that on October 5, 2002, Foley invited a 17-year-old page to stay at his home in exchange for "oral sex." The page declined the offer.

A litnany of additional GOP scandals can be found here.

Republican Voters Humiliated and Ashamed

There are many who hope and pray that Mark Sanford, David Vitter, and John Ensign remain leaders in the GOP – to be held up as examples of the bazaar, hypocritical organization the Republican Party has become.

Let´s face facts. It´s disgraceful and shameful to be a Republican. It´s embarrassing for the GOP to be lead by Right-Wing, extremist Republican spokespersons such as Rush Limbaugh, Bill O´Reilly, Sarah Palin, and Ann Coulter (who called Democratic Vice-Presidential candidate John Edwards a "faggot.") With no turnaround in sight in the GOP – and with no true visionary leadership in the party – the overwhelming stench from the hypocrisy, corruption, betrayal, and the multitude of lies have stained the party as unworthy (and incapable) of power or influence. In fact, to most Americans the "Republican" brand has become synonymous with corruption, duplicity, and scandal.

That´s why more and more Americans are no longer members of the Republican Party. The humiliation and extremism drive them away. Studies show that less than 15% of the voters in the United States are registered Republicans while more than 55% of the registered voters are members of the Democratic Party.

How to Leave the Republican Party

So if you are a Republican, you should follow the tens of thousands of other good Americans and leave the Republican Party immediately. How? Go to your post office or library today, get a voter registration card, and register as a Democrat, Decline-to-State, or Independent. Join the tens of thousands of former Republicans who have left the Party because they are humiliated, embarrassed, and ashamed of the GOP.

Do yourself and the people of the United States a favor: leave the Republican Party today. Just do it. Do it now.