U.S. House Speaker John Boehner said he would welcome Mark Sanford “with open arms” into his party’s House ranks.
Then he said members of Congress don’t get to choose those with whom they serve.
Where I come from, that’s what I call “damning with faint praise.”
Sanford is the former South Carolina governor who once served in the House. He’s running for the First Congressional District seat against Democratic challenger Elizabeth Colbert Busch. The race is neck and neck, or so they say.
It’s close because the First District is as reliably Republican as, say, the 13th District of Texas. Colbert Busch has a chance of winning the seat against Sanford, who you’ll recall left the governorship after his much-publicized dalliance with his Argentine girlfriend. He lied about where he was, saying he was hiking in the woods when he was in Argentina doing whatever.
It’s oh, so seedy.
But here he is, trying to climb back into the arena.
First District South Carolinians are voting today whether to send this clown back to public office or entrust their interests to a newcomer. My proverbial money is on the new kid, who I hope sends Sanford backpacking.
Maybe this time he’ll really hike the Appalachian Trail.