The article I posted here a few weeks ago about Mark Sanford's voting record in the midst of the primary campaign was a gross misrepresentation of why he voted the way he did when he was in the U.S. Congress. Not only have all of these votes that I called into question here been refuted adequately by the Sanford campaign, but so have the baseless, empty attacks by the Peeler campaign (see the charge-by-charge refutation by the Sanford campaign at http://www.schotline.com/schotline0613.htm ).

I was wrong for releasing this article before getting the whole truth about Mr. Sanford's voting record. And the Peeler campaign is wrong for continually nitpicking at a U.S. Congressman's voting record when their own candidate has no record at all to run on! It is certainly disingenuous to criticize Mark Sanford who has a solid conservative voting record when you can count on ONE HAND the number of tie-breaking votes Bob Peeler has cast in the 8 years he has been in his "part-time job" as Lt. Governor!

Mark Sanford is a principled conservative who ALWAYS voted AGAINST increasing the size of the Federal Government. He should be applauded for having the courage to do that when no one else would! And the voters of South Carolina will reward him on June 25th with the Republican nomination for Governor of South Carolina!

-- Jimmy Moore, June 19, 2002

“Pretend you're sincere. Apparently Al Gore is a pretty neat guy on a personal basis, honest and straightforward. I'd say he's just got to go ahead and write off certain folks. I would say Gore needs to show himself to be, between him and Bush, the guy you'd rather go out and get a beer with.”

-- Rep. Mark Sanford in a magazine article explaining the advice he would give Al Gore as he runs for President of the United States against George W. Bush in 2000.

The Republican nomination for Governor will finally be decided at the ballot box next week and in the probable runoff on June 25th. The $10 million question everyone wants to know is who is going to be in the runoff? I will discuss that in my next article entitled “Who Should Win...Who Will Win” coming on Monday.

However, with issues and ideas being espoused left and right by nearly every candidate for Governor, a lot of information has been spread on the Internet about the voting record of former U.S. Congressman Mark Sanford. In fact, there are two websites (www.marksanford.com and www.therealmarksanford.com) devoted to exposing his voting record while he was in Congress. Rather than simply believing the research of these websites, I did a little research of my own to find out how Mark Sanford really voted on some key issues. The results dumbfounded me!

The following list of 10 key votes by former Congressman Sanford on non-fiscal issues shows just how liberal he really is:

1. COUNTER-TERRORISM

H.R. 2703-In response to the bombing of the Oklahoma City Federal Building, this bill was offered to increase the powers of law enforcement in the name of fighting terrorism. The measure gave the government the power to use secret evidence to deport immigrants it accuses of being "terrorists" from the country.

MARK SANFORD VOTED AGAINST IT, THUS, ALLOWING THE 9/11 HIJACKERS FREE ACCESS TO ROAM ABOUT THIS COUNTRY!

2. MILITARY STRIKES ON IRAQ

The House of Representatives voted 417-5 to show its strong support for U.S. military personnel carrying out ongoing strikes on Iraq and reaffirmed that the U.S. policy should be aimed at removing Saddam Hussein from power.

MARK SANFORD WAS ONE OF THE 5 WHO VOTED AGAINST IT!

3. PROTECTING ENVIRONMENTAL LAWS

H.R. 1022-A bill that would have upheld the Clean Air Act of 1990. It was defeated 181-238.

MARK SANFORD VOTED YES WITH THE ENVIRONMENTALISTS!

4. DENOUNCING BIGOTRY

Rep. J.C. Watts offered a resolution that would have denounced blantant bigotry by white supremecist and militant black groups. Thirty-six Democrats crossed party lines to support the measure, producing a final vote of 254 to 152 with 24 voting present.

MARK SANFORD WAS THE ONLY REPUBLICAN WHO VOTED AGAINST IT!

5. APPROVAL OF A DRUG TO COUNTER HEROINE ADDICTION

H.R. 2634-The U.S. House of Representatives voted 412-1 to approve legislation that would allow general practitioners to prescribe buprenorphine, a Schedule V drug developed to treat heroin addiction by suppressing craving for the drug.

GUESS WHO THE ONE CONGRESSMAN WAS THAT VOTED AGAINST IT?!

6. INTERNET CENSORSHIP

H.R. 1555-A censorship bill was adopted in the House on a vote of 256 to 149 as part of its version of telecommunications reform. Only 16 representatives registered opposition to the bill.

NEED I SAY WHO ONE OF THOSE 16 WAS?

7. FEDERALLY FUNDED HOMOSEXUAL HOUSING

This amendment denying the city of San Francisco $265 million in Federal housing money was approved in an extremely close vote of 214-212. The basis for the denial is the policy of the San Francisco city government using Federal tax dollars to subsidize housing for "live-in homosexual partners".

MARK SANFORD VOTED AGAINST THIS, SHOWING SUPPORT FOR THE GAY LOBBY!

8. AFFIRMATIVE ACTION

A bill sponsored by Rep. Charles T. Canady (R-FL) prohibiting the federal government from considering race or gender as a factor in federal hiring and contracting was tabled, with four Republicans joining the Democrats.

CAN YOU BELIEVE SANFORD WAS ONE OF THE FOUR?

9. RELIGIOUS LIBERTY PROTECTION

H.R. 1691-This bill was designed to outline a national standard of "religious liberty," thus defining the legalities of those who want to express their religious beliefs. It passed by a 306-118 vote. 20 Republicans voted against it.

MARK SANFORD WAS ONE OF THE 20 WHO VOTED AGAINST IT!

10. FAITH-BASED FATHERHOOD PROGRAM

H.R. 3073-Vote to establish a program that would promote more responsible fatherhood by creating educational, economic and employment opportunities and give grants to state agencies and nonprofit groups, including faith-based institutions.

SANFORD VOTED AGAINST PROMOTING FATHERHOOD!

The list goes on and on. By the way, none of this information was obtained from either of the websites I listed at the beginning of this article. This is only what I found in my independent research. Plenty more is detailed on those two websites alone!

It seems Mr. Sanford has not been very forthright about his liberal voting record in Congress in his run for Governor. Granted, he consistently voted with conservatives on issues of taxation and the economy. However, his extremely obvious liberal voting record on social and moral issues makes him a poor choice to lead South Carolina as its next Governor.

Take a good look at that quote at the beginning again. Do you think Sanford himself is taking his own advice? Could he be “pretending sincerity” just to get the GOP nomination for Governor? Sanford thinks liberal Democrats like Al Gore are considered “honest and straightforward.” He also believes in “writing off folks” (look out religious consevatives!). Finally, Sanford would rather be your bar drinking buddy than he would the leader of this state!

Mark Sanford has surrounded himself with liberals in his campaign for Governor. From his consultants to his legislative mentor, Sen. John McCain, it is clear that he does not have the best interests of conservative South Carolinians in mind. That is why he must be soundly defeated next Tuesday in the primary election!