Sex, lies and politics ...

South Carolinians recently received a full-course meal using this recipe for disaster from Gov. Mark Sanford. For more than a week, we were subjected to the greatest display of irresponsible behavior by an elected official in a hundred years.

Sanford abandoned his official duties, deceived the public and misled his family, staff, and closest friends. He has even admitted to using public funds to support his extramarital affair. But in spite of 10 days of full national humiliation, South Carolinians still don’t know the whole truth. Is Mark Sanford simply an irresponsible public official or guilty of something criminal?

South Carolinians are making arguments for both answers to this question. Some say that the governor has displayed a great deal of self-centered, irresponsible behavior over the past eight months, including his complete disregard for the state’s economic difficulties and his stimulus lawsuit, even before we knew about his South American vacation. Others believe that using state money to finance a personal trip is a crime. However, S.C. residents will never receive real answers and the whole truth without a full investigation from the state.

In spite of making a mockery of his party, Sanford is hoping his fellow Republicans will turn their heads rather than do what they are obligated to do -- investigate how the governor abused the public trust by using official resources to conduct and cover up an affair.

The governor went to great lengths to cover up his conduct. His fellow Republicans should not now be accomplices to Sanford’s abuse of power. After all, they are supposed to represent stewardship of tax dollars.

But Attorney General Henry McMaster, who wants to be our next governor, has said he will not conduct an investigation. Perhaps McMaster fears retribution from Republicans who still support Sanford. This shows a lack of responsibility to the public and makes him no better than a governor who puts his political aspirations before his state.

The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division has also said that it will not investigate Sanford. Chief Reggie Lloyd has shown himself to be independent, professional and responsible, but he is after all a member of the Governor’s Cabinet. So SLED is probably not the appropriate agency to look at Sanford’s irresponsible behavior anyway.

It becomes obvious that the body with the independence, power, resources and responsibility to investigate Mark Sanford’s aberrant, anomalous behavior is the S.C. General Assembly, even though it, too, is controlled by Sanford’s fellow Republicans.

For these reasons, I call upon the Republican leadership of the General Assembly, Speaker Bobby Harrell and Senate President Pro Tem Glen McConnell to appoint a special bipartisan House and Senate Committee to conduct a thorough, objective and complete investigation of the whole sordid affair that Sanford has inflicted on South Carolina and its people.

Mark Sanford deceived us — the only way now for South Carolinians to feel confident they are being told the truth is for the General Assembly to pursue every recourse under the law to get at that truth.

Carol Fowler is executive director of the S.C. Democratic Party.

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