When Chemists Attack

Here’s the quote of the day, from South Carolina’s governor Mark Sanford.  He’s talking about the stimulus money and his battle with the legislature over taking it and using it:

“The logical question would be then ‘Why have a governor?’” Sanford asked. “I think it’s a big deal and has far-reaching implications. Let’s see how the House and Senate votes and what the people of South Carolina say on this.”

Good question.  Many South Carolinians are probably asking themselves this question right now – as our Governor continues to polish his “fiscal conservative” credentials for a Presidential bid while South Carolina’s unemployment creeps up .

Of course, we didn’t learn our lesson in 2006, when we had this guy as governor:

But a growing chorus of critics, including leaders of his own G.O.P., fear that his thrift has brought the state’s economy to a standstill. This summer, Standard & Poor’s lowered South Carolina’s coveted AAA-bond rating to AA+, citing unemployment of 6.3% and a per capita income ($27,172) stuck in the nation’s bottom fifth. The state had just lost its bid for a $500 million Airbus plant; [he] was widely accused of making a miserly effort to lure the aerospace giant. Business leaders are losing patience with [his] vetoes of budget items like trade centers and tourism marketing. Even G.O.P. bosses charge that he is worse at economic development than at grandstanding

… and put him right back in the Governor’s mansion.

(The quoted paragraph from Time cites data from 2005.  Remember when 6 or so percent unemployment was bad, and an unemployment rate of 11% meant that your state had been wiped out by a natural disaster?  My, how times change…)

Crossposted to Indigo Journal…