One time Mark Sanford gave his security detail the slip, flew out of the country unbeknownst to his own family, and met with a brunette Argentinian journalist who wasn’t his wife. When the then-South Carolina governor emerged a week later, that Republican told the press he’d been “hiking the Appalachian Trail.”
Sanford lost his reputation because of that lie. His wife left him and, for a time, Sanford even lost custody of his kids. The one thing it hasn’t cost him? His career. Sanford never lost an election. He would spend another two years in the governor’s mansion, albeit as a bachelor. Then, in an interesting twist, he ran and won Sen. Tim Scott’s old house seat in 2013, after Scott was appointed to the Senate.
The governor-turned-congressman isn’t out of the woods yet, though. His old lie about Appalachia could finally catch up to his career. State Rep. Katie Arrington is primarying Sanford and making his infidelity an issue. Just watch her ad:
It’s time for Mark Sanford to take a hike – for real this time! Career politicians like Sanford are the problem, not the solution. I will proudly support President @realDonaldTrump, cut spending, strengthen the military, and #DrainTheSwamp! #SC1 pic.twitter.com/OjWANxUpjr
— Rep. Katie Arrington (@karringtonsc) May 14, 2018
A 30-second masterclass on political snark, the Arrington ad mocks Sanford for “cheating” on the district, for “leaving his post,” and for going behind the back of his constituents to obstruct the administration. “Bless his heart,” she tells the camera – the savage but polite Southern expletive for your enemies – “but it is time for Mark Sanford to take a hike – for real this time.”
It’s savage, effective, and a little bit hypocritical. In one breath Arrington condemns Sanford before cheering President Trump in the next.
But she has to know both were unfaithful. It’s not clear whether she cares that only one has been at all remorseful, and the other one is president now. It’s not obvious voters will care, either.
Expectations are changing. The party of personal responsibility doesn’t care any longer about marriage vows or sexual morality. If it is acceptable to sleep with a porn star and unremarkable to pay her $130,000 for her silence, a little intercontinental affair isn’t going to scandalize the electorate—even if it should.
Sanford and Trump have both made about the worst decision a married man can make. Both seem to be doing what they think is best for the country, a pursuit that often puts the two at loggerheads.
But they are distinct in that the South Carolina congressman is apologetic and even despondent about his error. During a Politico profile, Sanford described himself as “a dead man walking.” Without a wife, with his kids only on occasion, and also without the Argentinian mistress, he doesn’t have much besides his political principles, as cliché as that sounds.
Before corrupting and humiliating himself, Sanford was considered a rising star. He was Tea-Party before Tea-Party was even a thing. He term-limited himself, serving just four years in Congress during the late 1990s. He tried to refuse stimulus funds from the Obama administration before being forced to accept federal dollars. There was even talk of a presidential bid.
All the glamor is gone, obviously, which is perhaps part of the reason Sanford criticizes Trump so harshly. But he always talks policy, never personality.
Pushed by Politico to talk about the similarities during a February 2017 interview, Sanford got pensive: “I’ve got to be careful. Because people who live in glass houses can’t throw stones.” Looking at Sanford in light of Trump, his constituents might come to the conclusion that his opponent shouldn’t throw them, either.
