South Carolina Republican State Rep: Sanford’s Stimulus Rejection Would Cost 4,700 Jobs
South Carolina Republican State Rep: Sanford’s Stimulus Rejection Would Cost 4,700 Jobs
Last week, ThinkProgress reported that Gov. Mark Sanford’s (R-SC) proposal to reject $700 million in stimulus funds could imperil the jobs of up to 7,500 South Carolina teachers, because most of the money was meant to fill the education budget gap and keep schools operating. Today, State Rep. Dan Cooper (R) said Sanford’s proposal would result in 4,000 teachers losing their jobs, along with 700 prison guards:
He said the state budget — already cut from $7.1 billion to $5.6 billion in less than a year — would have to be slashed another 8 percent to 9 percent if the stimulus money is used as Sanford proposes.
He said that would trigger the layoffs of 4,000 teachers and the emergency closures of three to five prisons, with 3,400 inmates freed early and 700 guards losing their jobs.
Yesterday, the White House rejected Sanford’s waiver application to use the funds to pay down the state debt rather than fill in educational and public safety budget gaps. In response, Sanford submitted a new request asking to use the funds to to repay $577 million in school bonds. Pete Pillow, a spokesman for the state Education Department, said that Sanford’s new proposal would do nothing to save teachers’ jobs, and repeated the assertion that 4,000 teachers stood to lose their jobs.
This is still an attempt to pay down debt. It doesn’t to anything to help conditions [in schools] now. … All the districts now who are planning to lay off people and are saying we’re going to be short next year in terms of operational expenses, that wouldn’t be helped by any paying down of bonds. … So it’s the same song, different tune.
Rather than addressing the real educational crisis in his state, Sanford is instead complaining about an ad put out by the Democratic National Committee accusing him of “playing politics” with the stimulus. “I don’t think this approach of targeting ads against anyone who sees an issue a little differently represents the kind of so-called ‘change’ many people were voting for in November,” Sanford said in a statement.
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And Sanford says: big f***in’ deal. Let ‘em eat dirt.
There’s only one job he cares about.
And that’s the one currently held by President Obama.
Sanford: “Me first, party second, state thi….oh, who cares, really?”
March 17th, 2009 at 1:01 pmGood thing he’s just a grandstanding opportunist, and not the boss of how that money will be used.
March 17th, 2009 at 1:02 pmNothing like a deck chair throwing contest on the Titanic, eh?
March 17th, 2009 at 1:02 pmSouth Carolina Representin’!
This is Americas future:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0387808/
Haven’t seen it? You’re missing out.
March 17th, 2009 at 1:02 pmThose are some darn cute pigs. Except the one in the middle.
March 17th, 2009 at 1:04 pmLook, the people of S.C. voted for this idiot. You get what you vote for. Unless the people of S.C. open up their eyes a stop voting Republican they will have no representation. I refuse to feel sorry for people who won’t pull their heads out of the sand.
March 17th, 2009 at 1:05 pmAfter listening to a couple of reichwingnuts call into CSPAN this moning, I have finally come to understand their dilemma. They are illiterate, fascists. They don’t know what that means but it fits them to a tee.
March 17th, 2009 at 1:08 pmIt’s so crazy. I volunteer with a dog rescue and I find myself wondering, on a daily basis, how people can be so cruel to the pets that end up at the rescue.
Then I see what an elected official can do to the people he has sworn to serve and I guess I can’t be surprised by the depth of cruelty of the human animal.
March 17th, 2009 at 1:10 pmI’ve said it elsewhere, but I’ll say it here too — Sanford needs to start caring more about taking care of the needs of the people of South Cackalacky, and less about running for President on the Rushpublican ticket in 2012…
March 17th, 2009 at 1:15 pmSanford is amazing, just look at these statistics (thanks to thevoiceforschoolchoice.wordpress.com)
“Public high schools in South Carolina graduate only 55.6 percent of their students
South Carolina is 15 percent behind the national graduation average
South Carolina is 32.7 percent behind its Federally defined graduation performance goal
South Carolina misreported its graduation rate by 21.5 percent (falsely claiming it was 77.1%)”
And, the drop out rate is 158 students per day on average. It seems to me they can use all the teachers they can get.
Obviously Ronnie Jackson knows more about the people in S.C. than Sanford – who obviously couldn’t cares less about them.
March 17th, 2009 at 1:15 pmSanford = the Marie Antoinette of SC: let them eat cake.
March 17th, 2009 at 1:16 pmThe people of S.C. have themselves to blame. Unless the citizens themselves e-mail, phone or voice their displeasure, Sanford won’t give a damn. If not, vote him out next election. It amazes me how these people vote for people who don’t give a crap about them.
March 17th, 2009 at 1:20 pmI agree PD. These people voted him in ( pretty sure he won by a lot too ).Anyway that doesnt even seem like a whole lot of jobs to me.
March 17th, 2009 at 1:21 pmY’all are missing several points.
1. Sanford isn’t a Republican- he’s a true believer Libertarian and is extremely sincere about his fiscal policy beliefs. He’s grossly incorrect in his assumptions and conclusions, but sincere about them. He’s like the moron China-First folks after WWII.
2. Most of the regular voters in SC are white, GOP and vote racially every time, period. They talk a big game about being good Christians, but are only sincere about their “generosity” when they personally control the application of it because they somehow know what’s best for the poor. Besides, educating the poor (regardless of ethnicity), makes as much business sense as educating women around these parts.
Believe me, I KNOW BECAUSE I LIVE HERE AND HAVE TO WATCH THE CONSEQUENCES OF THIS NONSENSE EVERY DAY.
A Charlestonian
March 17th, 2009 at 1:21 pmSouth Carolina Republican State Rep: Sanford’s Stimulus Rejection Would Cost 4,700 Jobs
– - Nice porkulus photo.
March 17th, 2009 at 1:21 pmYes, but if Sanford pays down some debt, then he can go sell new bonds that his cronies can profit from! He is just running a scam!
March 17th, 2009 at 1:22 pmI hate this willful ignorance by the Republicans about the nature of STIMULUS. Yes, I used Bush’s tax refunds to pay down my credit cards rather than buying a lot of consumer crap. That is why Bush’s stimulus package was not as effective as it might have been. It gave each of us taxpayers the decision of how to spend the money. The money given to me was good for my pocketbook, but provided little to no stimulus to the economy.
Obama is using a more targeted stimulus this time around, for the most part. These grants to states provide direct stimulus by saving jobs, providing increased unemployment benefits, funding construction, etc. Now, the Republicans who botched the last couple rounds of stimulus are trying to wreck this one as well.
March 17th, 2009 at 1:25 pmdeals@14, I feel for you. I didn’t realize race was that much of a factor. You see, I live up north. But I guess I should have realized race is still important in the South. Do you ever want to live up North? Sure it’s cold, but it’s for more progressive.
March 17th, 2009 at 1:26 pmThis makes me so angry. Those people need help, Sanford is a cruel man, who I think is doing this so he can run for president in 2012. Shame on him!
March 17th, 2009 at 1:26 pmha!
ed schultz just announced that President Obama will be on his show, 10 minutes, on thursday…
how cool is that!?
March 17th, 2009 at 1:31 pmDon’t be fooled by these southern ” republicans “. As somebody who actually lives in the south, I can say that these states down here are the most government dependant. Christianity is huge down here however I have never met one christian that follows jesus. They are simply all RINOs. They are all former democrats which goes back to the KKK here. I don’t trust any southern politician as I know what their real intrests are.
March 17th, 2009 at 1:33 pmNot all of the South is backwards. The urban areas are more progressive, especially in the larger cities such as Atlanta.
But once you get out in the suburbs and sticks it turns ignorant, and therefore, heavily Republican
March 17th, 2009 at 1:37 pmWho is the real swine in that photo?
March 17th, 2009 at 1:37 pmWell, the way the demographics are going, the Republican Party will be the way of the Whigs. Minorities don’t like them, women are starting to dislike them, and Independants don’t trust them. So it is up to states like S.C. that can keep them in power. Good luck. The Republicans rhetoric towards minorities(especially Hispanics) borders on racism, their policies against gays and lesbians, and their distaste for womens reproductive rights have pretty much doomed them as a Party. What happened to the moderates?
March 17th, 2009 at 1:39 pmAnd you sanford are one silly little bytche. You refused to understand and acknowledge what you are doing to the people of SC.
You are ignoring what the people want just to make yourself look like an ass. Mr. Wonderful.
Another thing don’t tell us what kind of “change” we want. President Obama is doing just fine without you snippy remarks dumbass.
You racist dimwit.
March 17th, 2009 at 1:44 pmSanford seems to believe that having the nation’s second highest unemployment rate isn’t good enough to get him the Republican nomination for the presidency. He wants to be number one in the worst way — and the worst way is how he is going about it. I understand the racism factor in the deep south but how did this clown get to be governor when even the other Republicans in the state seem to understand the insanity of his position?
March 17th, 2009 at 1:45 pmLet’s see how long Sanford last as Govenor. As the people of South Carolina see the recover plan working in other States they will make the changes needed in their own State. As one Mayor said this is taxpayers money and all taxpayers will pay it back. So South Carolina needs their share and if this Govenor doesn’t give it to them he should be recalled quickly. As for his dreams of running for President he might want to sign up in Afghanistan election.
March 17th, 2009 at 1:47 pmCaption:
March 17th, 2009 at 1:53 pm‘And this is my daughter Betsie and my son Arnie.’
OT: CNN Breaking news; AIG gave 73 employees bonuses of 1 million dollars or more. And 11 employees who no longer work there. Great huh?
March 17th, 2009 at 1:54 pmThanks for the information.
Ron Paul of Texas is another libertarian posing as a Republican. It amazes me that libertarians see no ethical problem with this.
But of course, they would never get elected anywhere if they ran as libertarians.
Forgiving the Neocons
March 17th, 2009 at 1:57 pmSanford perfectly exemplifies the nature of the dipshits that make up the current GOP ; he believes he knows better than anyone what to do with government money for his state , when he’s been governor there for almost 6 years , and is responsible for South Carolina being in such huge debt ……………
March 17th, 2009 at 2:06 pmI’ve always wondered at the seeming contradiction of a libertarian running for a public office in which he is supposed to represent the people.
March 17th, 2009 at 2:10 pmSo, where is the SC legislature? Are they actually going to go along with Sanford?
I find it interesting that Sanford appears to be taking the money targeted to unemployment but he is playing politics with the money slated to address schools and public services.
I wonder how the people in SC feel about this governor. Why isn’t anyone doing a poll to see?
March 17th, 2009 at 2:10 pmA Charlestonian at 14 is quite correct.
I’d add that Sanford is from the low country (near the coast). Historically, these were where the plantation owner lived on the manor and all the lower classes worked on distant fields, out of sight of their overlords.
Allendale is a city from this history. Heavily black. Absolutely no money. No chance of education. School boards don’t have a decent tax base to even attempt to tax.
Pat Conroy (I think it was Lords of Discipline) said that in Charleston, more than anywhere else, one gets the idea that the 20th century was an anomaly that never happened. Even though the county is over 50% minority, it is still controlled by a Good-ole-boy system.
My mother, on visiting Horry County, remarked that the blacks there didn’t behave like the blacks elsewhere. And how a servant had made meals for them but then excused herself to the kitchen.
March 17th, 2009 at 2:12 pmCorrection: 4701. The Gov. has to go too.
March 17th, 2009 at 2:26 pmA simple man Says:
I agree PD. These people voted him in ( pretty sure he won by a lot too ).Anyway that doesnt even seem like a whole lot of jobs to me.
If there is a god, you will be one of the next to lose your job.
March 17th, 2009 at 2:29 pmGov. Pawlenty her in MN has his eye on the prize, 2012, as well.
It’s feasible these two could face off in primary.
They have striking similarities…both nearing end of second term, both facing huge deficits because of tax cuts, ad nauseum, neither well liked by the populace, both have HUGE egos, both were adamant Bushlickers, both have plenty of time for weekend punditry on the msm but have little time to address problems in their own States and both were ignored by St. McCain for the VPship.
Oh, & one other thing; they’re both American Taliban
March 17th, 2009 at 2:47 pmSanford doesn’t need South Carolinians anymore. Rejecting stimulus money appeals to the Rush Limbaugh audience, which he needs to get the GOP nom in 2012.
Even though he’d lose vs. Obama, it’s a big meal ticket for the rest of his life.
And the people of South Carolina? What are they to him?
March 17th, 2009 at 4:45 pmnow, i don’t know how the SC government is set up…
but here in california, voters have an option to recall their elected officials
why is there an effort to recall this slime-bag?
March 17th, 2009 at 5:37 pmare south carolinans just gonna wait it out until they’re able to vote this guy out? and loose their jobs?
If this pattern keeps up we might be blessed with the sort of people who dig into their various state laws under recall. Avoid the 2010 0r 12 rush, go after the peckerwoods now.
March 17th, 2009 at 7:22 pmRepubliCon Sanford might be what South Carolina needs to wake up. Maybe, maybe not. We will see.
March 17th, 2009 at 9:11 pmIs it beyond the range of the intellectual honesty of progressives to map the fate of California with that of South Carolina?
Last week California gave 25,000 teachers pink slips.
You rail against the Republican governor of SC for seeking to use the DEBT money printed up by and sent from the federal government to pay down SC debt YET you look past CALIFORNIA – the model PROGRESSIVE STATE!!
California now has the lowest debt rating of any other state. When they release bonds for public spending this unfavorable rating costs their tax payers more money to service this debt.
Despite having a more agreeable spending pattern – California’s school children will suffer more substantially from cuts than anything you can produce about South Carolina.
Why is the left so selective?
March 18th, 2009 at 5:50 amDid the Obama administration tell you to go after SC but not CA?
Ok SC, pay attention.
March 18th, 2009 at 11:06 amYou have you state reps and others that can get together and by pass the governor on the stimulus. But make sure your ducks are all in a row for what the stimulus will be used for, so there will be NO doubt in the minds of the people of SC.