Sanford, South Carolina, and Secession

So. Our governor, Mark Sanford, made the front page of news sites yesterday. We had been hearing about it for a couple of weeks around here, but it officially became national news yesterday.

It seems Gov. Sanford will be rejecting the stimulus money that President Obama's plan allocates for South Carolina.

Now before I go making political commitments I can't back up, and before you make assumptions about my political affiliations, let me just say that I have not personally read the stimulus bill. I'm sure there is a copy out there somewhere and I could probably find it if I searched hard enough, but I hear it's hundreds of pages long. Plus, it is saturated with two things that always bring me to boredom or tears or both: finance and politics. Ugh. I'm sure I would be setting my hair on fire before I finished speed reading page 10.

That is the reason I vote. I vote to elect people who will do those things for me.

No matter whether I actually cast my vote for them or their opponent, the people now holding office are the ones that got the most votes. If I don't agree with how they carry out their elected service term, I will have another chance to vote in a couple of years or so.

Some say Gov. Sanford is doing it to make national headlines to build his reputation as a strong Republican conservative making his way for a Presidential race bid for 2012. His plan to pay down debt with the stimulus money instead of spending it is conservative.

Some have questioned Gov. Sanford's motives for rejecting potential new jobs the stimulus package could provide given that South Carolina's unemployment rate is 10.4%. The county I live in has a 13.5% unemployment rate. The US rate is 7.6%. (That's as of Jan. 2009).

I think that there are some valid points to Gov. Sanford's ideas about the stimulus package.

HOWEVER...

The last time that South Carolina decided to enforce their own political independence separate from the rest of the United States, well, I don't think it turned out like they expected. That was back in 1860, almost 150 years ago, and some people still haven't gotten over it yet.

We have a long road ahead of us.

Submit yourselves for the Lord's sake to every authority instituted among men: whether to the king, as the supreme authority, or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. For it is God's will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish men. Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God. Show proper respect to everyone: Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honor the king. 1 Peter 2:13-17