Complete text of letter to Gov. Mark Sanford signed by 52 state mayors:

[Are_grits_groceries]

Dear Governor Sanford and Members of the South Carolina General Assembly:

As you are well aware, we are facing an economic crisis in South Carolina as dark as we have seen in decades. Our state’s unemployment rate for January 2009, released this week, stood at 10.4%, second highest in the entire United States and the highest in nearly 26 years. Nearly 43,000 of our fellow South Carolinians lost their jobs in January, and all told, there were nearly 228,000 people without work in our state. There is no reason to believe those numbers have improved since January. In fact, our state’s Board of Economic Advisors has warned that the unemployment rate could rise to as high as 14% by summer.

The numbers are grim, but as mayors who lead South Carolina cities and towns, we see the human-scale impact of these statistics every day. We know the terrible cost of this economic downturn on our fellow citizens. Every day, we talk to people in our communities who have lost work to the latest layoff or downsizing, who struggle with impossible choices like buying either groceries or prescriptions for their children, or whether to pay the rising health insurance premium or this month’s rent or mortgage payment. The people represented in the unemployment statistics are not abstractions, they are our neighbors, and they are hurting.

To deal with this crisis, last month Congress passed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), designed to stabilize the economy and to preserve and create jobs, help the unemployed, invest in our nation’s infrastructure and stabilize state and local government budgets to avoid further layoffs and cuts in vital services.

This week, Governor Sanford sent the General Assembly a letter indicating that he will ask President Obama for a waiver from spending a substantial portion of the funds the way Congress intended, but rather to use it to retire state debt. If President Obama does not grant the waiver, Governor Sanford says he will reject bringing these badly needed funds to South Carolina, and the dollars that our citizens pay in taxes to the federal government will be sent to the other states.

To reject this funding will mean drastic cuts in services to our citizens and be tragic to South Carolinians who badly need help in this time of crisis. We urge Governor Sanford to reconsider his position.

http://www.palmettoscoop.com/2009/03/13/dnc-pops-sanford/#comments

It continues and is signed by every place I can think of and some I didn't.

[malaise]

1. No waiver for Sanford

Fugg him.

[Are_grits_groceries]

2. He is a piece of work.

His own Rethug legislature HATES him. Sanford is not the usual candidate that comes our way. I'm sure a lot of people who voted for him have no idea about his extreme philosophies.
He is like a Libertarian Vulcan.

[Donnachaidh]

5. Is it true that SC has *no* recall option on the books?

This sort of action should be an automatic kick into some sort of recall of this man. At the very least, some sort of public censure. And a direct path over the top of his head to accept federal funds when they are offered.

What is on the books regarding reining in monsters like him? Y'all need to have an option to kick his ass out of office. This is horrible -- playing games against the very folks who NEED a good government to help them out.

[rurallib]

3. he chooses to take the part of the stimulus that will make him look good

and shooses to reject the part that will directly help people. What a classy guy.
He can't be called former governor too soon.

[liberalmuse]

4. Sanford and Goodhair are both pieces of work...

they are rejecting the portion of the stimulus that will directly assist those most in need. It kind of looks like they are assuming that all people on unemployment and food stamps vote for Democrats so f*ck them. This is not only cold and cruel, but a very bad political move on their part.

[sweetpotato]

7. They will make more Democrats

it WILL backfire.

I'm still hoping the Karma train runs real soon through downtown Columbia.

[spanone]

6. i suggest the south carolina unemployed move into the governors mansion

[ejpoeta]

9. wouldn't it be something to have a sit in or something on the lawn?

i am surprised there isn't already this kind of thing going on. especially in places where governors are trying to reject stim money.

[ejpoeta]

8. here is the problem. sanford has a job. he has a house. he has health insurance.

he is not affected by the economic mess we are in. He wants to run for president. he seems to think that denying his citizens any help to get through this mess is politically a good idea. I hope it bites him in the ass. I hope that the citizens of south carolina give him what for.