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First Read is an analysis of the day's political news, from the NBC News political unit. First Read is updated throughout the day, so check back often.

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Mark Murray, NBC Deputy Political Director

Domenico Montanaro, NBC News Political Reporter



Sanford will reimburse state for trip

Posted: Thursday, June 25, 2009 4:45 PM by Mark Murray
Filed Under: ,

From NBC's Mark Murray
Per a statement, South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford admits that he visited his mistress during a trade mission last year. He says he's reimbursing the state for the full cost of the Argentina leg of the trip.

Video: More questions were raised Thursday about whether taxpayers paid for South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford's trips to see a woman in South America with whom he admitted having an affair. NBC's Mark Potter reports.

Here's the statement from Sanford:

As noted by the Department of Commerce, I attended a trade mission with the Department of Commerce last June. As the agenda notes, the mission was spent meeting with government and private business officials in both Brazil and Argentina. This trip was handled very professionally by the Department of Commerce, and I'm proud of their work there.

However, while the purpose of this trip was an entirely professional and appropriate business development trip, I made a mistake while I was there in meeting with the woman who I was unfaithful to my wife with. That has raised some very legitimate concerns and questions, and as such I am going to reimburse the state for the full cost of the Argentina leg of this trip.

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Uh Oh!  

I suppose he has the same travel agent as the Wasilla Chillbilly!

19 vacations to the tune of 8K = $421.05 = PRICELESS!

Ya gotta love the Republicants math! Oh and double talk to...

However, while the purpose of this trip was an entirely professional and appropriate business development trip, I made a mistake while I was there in meeting with the woman who I was unfaithful to my wife with.

Up next... Argentinian Love Child... stay tuned & grab some popcorn!
Don't cry for me Argentina.
Don't cry for my hypocrisy.
Cry for all those lies I made people believe.
Cry for the Republican Party.

The right wing family values folks strike again. Seems like they are human like the rest of us, instead of the great moral icons they all claim to be. Those who support them deserve them.
"SANFORD WILL REIMBURSE STATE FOR TRIP"

That's nice. Who will reimburse loyal taxpaying Americans for all the taxes Obama, Pelsoi, and Reid are raising on us?
From NBC's Mark Murray
Per a statement, South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford admits that he visited his mistress during a trade mission last year. He says he's reimbursing the state for the full cost of the Argentina leg of the trip.

No s**** sherlock...Boy my son told me about the intresting culture in Brazil when he visited for thirty days about nine years ago, I have some interesting artifacts from there...so he has a fetish for the "exotic" native Ammm culture...He really pissed off the Missus didn't he?
At least Wilbur Mills just had to go to 13th Street in DC to see his "Argentine Firecracker."
Will Obama being reimbursing America for spending a half million dollars of our money to take his wife out on "date night" in NYC?
And would Governor Sanford be paying back South Carolina the money if we didn't discover his folly? Please.
I'm sorry for your loss, Governor, but you do not have my sympathy. We all are human and we all make mistakes, but those of you who play the holier than thou card must sleep in the bed you make.
The governor's wife and four sons didn't deserve this and it is them I pray for.
Fiscal Conservative???

Like leaving the fox in charge of the hen house.  

Keep you stimulus money for the unemployed but give me my money for my trips to see my mistress.

I think he put his "pork" in pork barrell spending.
However, while the purpose of this trip was an entirely professional and appropriate business development trip, I made a mistake while I was there in meeting with the woman who I was unfaithful to my wife with. That has raised some very legitimate concerns and questions, and as such I am going to reimburse the state for the full cost of the Argentina leg of this trip.

Didn't he say that he had known her for....eight years? Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned...Mrs. Sanford really showed you a thing or two about stepping out of bounds didn't she? She ratted you out.
I wonder what he was thinking about. He was bruised her dignity, in more ways than one.
Nielsen ratings are in. President Obama finished behind a re-run of TBS's Family Matters.
Yeah, *now* he will reimburse, now that it is out in the open.  Just like Sarah Palin eventually decided to reimburse the State for her children's travel after originally reconfiguring her reimbursement reports to get it paid for in the first place.

Anyone needing a job should open a stable.  With all these people getting knocked off their high horses lately, the horses are going to need a new home.
form another posting:

We should just trust you though, right?
Lyle Costco, Alabama

I do so enjoy debating a fellow home body...because there is nothing like the challenge of educating the besotted in your own State. I hope that you post often...I am going to love eating you for desert.
Do you think he'll be doing that with joint assets?  That's another swift kick in the teeth.

The old 'Sarah Plain routine' eh ?

How many trips will you pay for ??
Presumably, you didn;'t bring your children with you

By the way, are you haveing 'Girl Trouble' or 'Boy Trouble' ??

Oh, is you lover a Christian ??


Jonathan Siglow: '...also let's suppose this plan is neutral in it's impact in the budget this would mean there would be cuts in other places so now we know it's possible to cut spending...does this mean the deficit simply no longer matters? ...'

Dick cheney: 'Ronald Reagan proved that deficits don't matter'

ronald Reagan: 'The deficit doesn't matter if the economy is growing'

ronald Reagan: 'The deficit is big enough to take care of itself'

Reagan, Bush and Bush RAN UP NINETY PER CENT OF OUR NATIONAL DEBT !!

NINETY PER CENT !!

Do deficits matter to Republicans ??
Did defitics matter to Reagan, Bush & Bush ??

Do Deficits matter to Republicans when we have a Republican President ??

I am curious, Blue

"I made a mistake while I was there in meeting with the woman who I was unfaithful to my wife with."
________
It's really amazing how much of our taxpayers' money goes to waste for stuff like this. And it's happening every single day. Sanford didn't want stimulus money for his state's schools, roads, bridges, jobs. But he found money for this trip.

It's all about priorities with these SOBs. Personal priorities.  With no concern for anyone but themselves. He's in love? Please. He's a liar and a cheater. It's that simple.
But only because you got caught, right Governor? I mean... you have had a year to do the right thing of your own accord, so I have to assume this is just because we know about your misappropriation of funds.

I'm sure all the Republicans on this forum will be just as outraged about this as they would have been if Sanford had been a Democrat...


Governor, Did you 'meet' anyone in Brazil ??
And give her 'spiritual counseling' ?
Do women really go for tax cutters ??


Note to self:
Next time have these 'business meetings' in Las Vegas

What happens in Vegas, Stays in Vegas

Right, Sen Ensign ??
Okay, enough with Sanford already. It's already been established that he's another conflicted and hypocritical/sanctimonious Republican louse, and it's ashame that he did this to his children on FATHER'S DAY, AND he ABANDONED his position/job as SC Governor for which he should be terminated. Lets get on with more important issues, shall we?
What else can he do but reimburse the state?

By the way, did Clinton ever apologize to Monica  for THAT debacle? I guess he felt she owed it to him.
Can you believe this man?
This is why the apologists need to stop whining that his affair is "none of our business".  If Governor Sanford was spending his own money to visit the mistress, it would be none of our business.  

Keep following the money, First Read.

And did everyone hear the new right-wing talking point that our President is to blame for Sanford's transgressions?  this, from the "Party of Personal Responsibility"?  Really?

I guess trying to pass Sanford off as a Democrat- the way Faux did yesterday- wasn't working, so Plan B is to blame the Democratic President for forcing a man to flee to his Argentinian mistress?  
And the hit just keep on coming...
While there I acdientally biffed Miss Argentina ... too much, please don't stop
Clara in KC is getting real long-winded and Anita in Birmingham (Pam) still thinks she's a reporter.

Gee, I love this blog.
Moonshadow (Sent Thursday, June 25, 2009 2:14 PM)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Nice try Chihuahua! Only thing you left out was ‘hijacking’!  Or are you saving that for Monkberry Moon moniker?

You’re about as clever as a ‘dryer lint’!
What no penalty or interest?!
Well it's refreshing to see Mark Sanford finally getting caught being himself (barefoot and Busted), when it comes to matters of the heart, however, I give him a pass. I wish he would have had the same passion when it came to helping the unemployed in South Carolina recieve unemployment benefits from the stimulus money, that really would have shone that he had a heart.  Another Republican bites the dust, they seem to be dropping like flies, I wonder who's next.
Was the Argentina leg of the trip the middle leg?
Just resign already. And leave the stimulus money when you go.
Well America! Another "Gross Odd Person" (GOP) has gone out, and done something unethical. Again!! I am not at all surprised by the crude, and rude behavior of another GOP incompetent! Again!! This "mentally ill" individual made a very bad choice, and made everyone else pay for it. His family, state, and country. This is just a very small example of the "Gross Odd People" (GOP), and the "Really Not Competent" (RNC) treasonous behavior over the last 8 years. Again!! These political GOP "pukes" are just full of themselves, and want everyone to cry a tear. What a "crock of crap" this is!! From the "Criminal Campaign" of "Insane McCain," and "Puppet Palin" in 2008. To the racial hatred of the GOP/RNC during their "demonstrations of destruction." Their political insults on our new President, and their "Ethics of Evil" spewed by "Chump-Change-Cheney." The economic, and foreign policy failures of "Brainless Bush." Too the "spewing" of the clinical insanity of Bachmann on the show Hardball in 2008. The ongoing madness carried out by "Cantor's" Cronies" in the House, and the "Insane McCain Clan" in the Senate. Have you heard enough already my fellow citizens?? I HAVE!! This GOP party of "the need for greed" has made every rational citizen, socially, ethically, morally, economically, and politically "puking" their guts out. To "Morning Joke" on MSNBC. Trying to rationalize GOP/RNC crimes of the past, and making it seem like something politically new! Now listening to the Nixon tapes being played on the show Hardball. These tapes make me very angry, and sad for our nation at this time. This President was just not mentally ill! Nixon was evil, and cynical to all that worked for his Government! The continued rantings of "Lunatic Limbaugh" and the ignorance of "Mr. Steal." It is time America! To chant the following when voting again! Hey! Hey! Ho! Ho! The party of NO has got to go!!
Reimbursing his constituents is fine and dandy.
How will he reimburse them for leaving the state without having his Lt Gov made aware and given the authority to govern the state in his absence if there were an emergency? He defied the state constitution.
And this behavior from a member of a party that prides itself on "family values".
Pride goeth before the fall
why do my comments never ever appear?
So who IS she, already? Where are the photos and the usual hounding/stalking? Boy, the paparazzi sure are fallin' down on their usual. Maybe too busy trailing Jon & Kate and 8 little kids?
And how much state money did he use for his most recent booty-call?

I'm still waiting for the other shoe to drop on this one.  Love-child, perhaps?

(Prayers and sympathy to the Jackson family and fans)

http://jawillie.blog.com
More and more politicians are getting caught in extra-marital affairs - while our mainstream media bombards our TV screens with sex, sex, and more sex.
"Dancing with the Stars" is nothing more than porno.
My thoughts on Sandford, is that yes, he scewed up and made some very bad decisions. But the real victims here is those four boys of his and his wife. It seems to me that Sandford was abvious in love with this woman and his marriage was not at the place it was before. But when anyone makes a grown up decision to marry and have children you have to wiegh was right and whats not. If their children was older like high school age or, college age i would think that him and his wife would go their seperate ways because the children are old enough to understand and digest what was happening if they choose to seperate, but when you have very young children, and you don't show up for fathers day, not to mention your the governor of the state which is i think an important position, your staff dosen't know where you've gone even your family you are obviously not thinking straight, therefore, the question is: Should this man resign.

Well, I thin if the people of South Carolina believe he is doing a good job than he should stay.
Remember non of us are perfect and we all make mistakes. The Sandfords personal life is their business and should be dealt with privately from here on in. BUT!!!! although, he stupidly made wrong decisions of not alerting anyone about his whereabouts for several days put everyone in their personal life so, again it is unfortunate for his wife and kids. I am glad she did not stand by his side, in which she was just being honest with herself and didn't give the appearance that this behavior is ok.

What ever is the out come for their family I hope those boys come out OK.
And when through coughing up the money for the Argentine leg of the trip your letter of resignation would be greatly appreciated.


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