Sometimes people understand an event in its local context, but do not fully appreciate how it can resonate on a broader scale. This applies to politicians, too.
For example, when Ronald Reagan was running for governor of California in 1966, Jack Warner of Warner Bros., Reagan’s old studio, reportedly said, “No, no, Jimmy Stewart for governor. Ronald Reagan for best friend.” Warner was locked into thinking of Reagan in his screen persona as the supporting actor, rather than the lead, and thereby completely overlooked the gifts that would make Reagan a strong governor and one of our greatest presidents.
Now consider Gov. Mark Sanford. In recent years, while Republicans in Congress were voting for runaway government spending and in the process helping jeopardize their seats, Sanford was fighting a constant battle against excessive spending proposals from South Carolina’s Republican-controlled legislature. Then, last November, he won re-election by a double-digit margin — a GOP winner in a Democratic year.
Now consider this: Ever since George Allen’s Senate reelection campaign imploded, crushing the Virginian’s 2008 presidential hopes, there has been a huge hole in the center-right of the Republican party. John McCain has long stood against wasteful government spending, but his positions on such issues as campaign finance reform and climate change don’t endear him to conservatives. Rudy Giuliani won America’s respect for his response to 9/11, but his positions on social issues raise questions as to whether he can even get the nomination. Seeing this hole, former Republican governors Tommy Thompson of Wisconsin, Mike Huckabee of Arkansas, and Jim Gilmore of Virginia have initiated their own candidacies for the White House. I wish them all well.
But shouldn’t Sanford also think about taking the next logical step?
A Sanford candidacy has not been cordially proposed within South Carolina in part because Sanford has had to fight with a legislature in his own party’s control. This is not surprising; throughout history a prophet is not valued in his own land. Ditto for politicians in the states where they govern.
But looking ahead to 2008, conservatives have a right to look for the real thing: a solid record in office; a committed track record of fighting and winning on matters of principle; personal and political integrity; and the forthrightness that comes with believing in and acting on basic conservative values. To his credit, Sanford has demonstrated all this while not searching out the TV cameras and the applause of the mainstream media.
Why Sanford?
From a political perspective, Sanford won last fall for the same reason other Republicans lost: He held the line on spending and taxes. South Carolina voters knew that he stood with them and for the public interest, rather than for the special interests. In office, he has cut taxes, passed tort reform, and increased education spending.
And let’s not forget the political calendar. South Carolina’s presidential primary will once again come right after the Iowa caucus and the New Hampshire primary. Leaving aside Nevada’s Democratic caucus, the South Carolina primary will be the first opportunity in which real red state voters will have their say about the next president. As a known quantity in South Carolina, he’d certainly have a strong appeal. A victory in South Carolina over McCain, Giuliani, and the others would electrify a Sanford campaign across the South and West during next year’s compressed primary calendar.
Sanford has been criticized by members of the GOP for his principled stands. Even the Washington Post noted that Sanford’s “biggest rivals” are “members of his own party.” But that’s a positive among shrewd and informed primary voters. If President Bush had stood up to the Republican pork-barrelers and earmarkers in the U.S. Congress, just as Gov. Sanford has in the Columbia legislature, we might still have a Republican Congress and Bush would be more popular, too. With Mark Sanford at the top of the ticket, voters would feel comfortable about electing a Republican Congress again. Of course, Sanford’s an outsider, not a Washington insider.
Finally, Sanford would be a strong performer on television. This is an advantage not to be minimized or dismissed. With wife Jenny and four handsome boys at his side, Sanford would have a terrific appeal to the American public.
It’s still early — almost a year until the all-important South Carolina primary — and the GOP field is wide open. So why not Gov. Sanford for president? Or at least a campaign to draw him in? It’s the duty of conservatives to at least consider Sanford as the Republican party’s best chance to keep the presidency.
– Mallory Factor, of Charleston, is the chairman of the Free Enterprise Fund. A version of this article previously ran in The State.