Cindi Ross Scoppe, an associate editor at The State, has put together one of the better deconstructions of the latest hoopla surrounding Governor Mark Sanford and the $700 million in contested stimulus funds.
Read more stories on this subject in our stimulus package topic page.In it Scoppe tackles Sanford's assertion that he must be shielded by a federal judge from the newly created law that requires him to request the money.
A taste:
The most striking thing about the suit is how little it reads like a typical lawsuit, and how much it reads like a news release — from the very first sentence, where it refers to “massive new federal spending” to its repeated references to “Governor Sanford” instead of the usual “plaintiff” to completely irrelevant (from a court’s perspective) explanations of why Mr. Sanford has taken the political position he has on the $350 million in federal funds that the Legislature has ordered him to request. I’ll leave you to ponder the implications of that: Is it because the suit is nothing more than a publicity stunt? Is it because it’s an act of desperation? Or perhaps both — a desperate attempt to extend his 15 minutes of fame?
Needless to say, Scoppe is not writing in support of Sanford.
The piece is very well done, go take a read.