The “Corridor of Shame” is not, as we once thought, a cluster of schools in rural South Carolina. Instead, it meanders through the heart of an imposing building at the corner of Gervais and Assembly Streets in Columbia. In his drive to take the helm of a party that makes the Know Nothings look like the National Science Foundation, Governor Sanford is willing to personally promote the educational mediocrity for which our state is so deservedly famous. After all, what’s the value of political power and a good education if you can’t use them to deny the same to others?
Thanks to the courageous efforts of Congressman Jim Clyburn, Sanford is in position to misdirect less than ten percent of the federal dollars the stimulus package will provide to our state. But $700 million for roads, schools, and unemployment is not chicken feed. In the most blatant act of unhinged self-indulgence since Bernie Madoff, Sanford will prove his dedication to fiscal responsibility by obstructing payments he asserts would prove “harmful” to South Carolina.
As a left-of-center moderate who until recently believed Republicans had constructive ideas to offer, it distresses me to see our governor compete with Rush Limbaugh, Sarah Palin, Joe Wurzelbacher, and other stunningly mediocre talents for leadership of a party about to be removed from life support. But apparently this is the field of battle on which he feels most comfortable – the few, the brave, the clueless. And let us not forget - as a man of principle, he walks the corridors of power serving shamelessly the people who put him where he is.
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