'Sanford Must Go' Demands Not Working so Far

Calls that "Sanford must go" have been growing for a week, but if Mark Sanford must go, he hasn't done it yet. Sanford Must Go is even the name of a new online community, where petitions are being formed to call for Mark Sanford's resignation. The cry that Sanford must go isn't being heard that loudly anymore over all of the celebrity deaths, but the issue itself hasn't gone away. Mark Sanford's job is still in trouble, but for now, he isn't going.

While conservatives and other politicians are throwing Mark Sanford under the bus, the Internet is also being used to try and oust Sanford. "Sanford Must Go" was formed on Facebook for South Carolina citizens to come together and call for Sanford to resign.

The site's official statement reads that the Sanford scandal is "the most embarrassing in the history of the state" and that South Carolina deserves better. Readers are urged to sign a petition for Sanford to go, and to contact other elected officials to have them call for the same thing.

Elected officials are already calling for Sanford to go and resign, particularly conservatives. Since Sanford is only adding another sex scandal to the conservative brand, Republicans hope to get him to resign quickly and not drag it out further.

However, Mark Sanford will not go, at least not yet. Sanford has convinced himself that he would be better off sticking through it and learning from this ordeal. Sanford's e-mail to his political action committee yesterday stated that he would be better served in "whatever doors God opened next in life" by not resigning.

The last major sex scandal involving a governor had a quicker resolution. When Eliot Spitzer was busted for using prostitutes, it only took him a few days to resign after the story broke. Spitzer quickly went away, rather than face calls for impeachment by the New York state legislature.

Though many want Sanford to resign, there have been no impeachment calls yet. It would be harder to do that, since Spitzer's sex scandal was busted by the Feds, and Sanford's fling in Argentina didn't violate the law.

Since Sanford isn't under that kind of extra pressure, he doesn't have to resign as quick as Spitzer did. However, those who say that Sanford must go aren't as patient.

Sources

Sanford Must Go- sanfordmustgo.com/

CNN.com- "Calls mount for Sanford to step down" www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/06/30/sanford/

MSNBC.com- "Spitzer resigns, capping stunning fall" www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23572671/