Profile: Mark Sanford in 2012

Contender: South Carolina Governor, Mark Sanford.


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Big Balls Award: He and Ron Paul were often the only two "No" votes in Congress, even when pork benefited his district.

He kept his promise to serve only three terms, and who the hell does that anymore?

As Governor, he's been warring with the state employment agency, threatening to cut off their funding, and paying the political price.

Stimulus, stimulus, stimulus. No one was out in front, and out as much as Sanford.


Hung Status: To the far right. Voted to ban gay adoptions; opposed sugar subsidies and other forms of corporate welfare. Voted to prohibit needle exchange programs. Voted no on Kyoto Protocol implementation. Voted NO on permanent normal trade relations with China. Voted no on changing gun waiting period from 3 to 1 days. Received a lifetime rating of 92% from the American Conservative Union.

[For more, see On the Issues, Mark Sanford]


Why he can win: His libertarian streak will appeal to disaffected Paul supporters, his social bona fides to the heartland, and his fiscal competence to true economic conservatives.

There's no candidate who cares less about what you think of him. If 2012 is about shrinking the bloated government, there'd be no executioner any truer than Sanford.

He can say "mean" things without appearing mean. That's a gift.

If Ron Paul were to somehow get behind him, Sanford could do some serious damage.


Why he can't win: Sanford would make a great Old Testament minor prophet, but OT minor prophets never became kings. Nor did they really seem to want to.

His conservatism may be branded as too extreme. This is a nation that votes for extremists who pass as centrists.

Sanford can't do that.

His independent streak and war against subsidies could hurt him with the corporate wing of the party.

And there's the temperament thing. He can't seem to get along with his own party in South Carolina, which speaks well of his courage, but poorly of his electoral chances.

He's a political lone wolf, and political lone wolves have trouble becoming President (see U.S. history for more).

And people around Sanford say he's in no mood to indulge the whims of political fat cats whose ears want to be tickled.

He's fucked.

For more GOP 12 Candidate Profiles...

Utah Governor Jon Huntsman, Jr.
Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney
Alaska Governor Sarah Palin
South Dakota Senator John Thune
Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee
Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty
Former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson
Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal
Florida Governor Charlie Crist
Virginia Congressman Eric Cantor
Tennessee Senator Bob Corker
Former Idaho Governor Dirk Kempthorne
South Carolina Senator Jim DeMint

More coming soon...