Jenny Sanford, soon-to-be ex-wife of Governor Mark Sanford, is a person to watch. She’s an interesting character, emerging from the shadows as a traditional political wife only after her husband publicly destroyed their marriage.
Politico covered an event where Sanford urged conservative women in South Carolina to run for office:
“Women understand the conservative issues as well as any man. We run our households and our families, and we don’t live beyond our means,” Sanford said to a room full of the state’s most powerful Republican women, according to the first lady’s notes of the speech, which were obtained by POLITICO.
“We balance our checkbooks as we seek balance in our lives. We care about our security, health and well-being, quality education for our children and hope for their future,” she added. “We need more women and more true conservatives involved in all levels of government to bring common sense and efficiency to our big, bureaucratic government.”
I couldn’t agree more. I’ve always wondered why more conservative women aren’t running for office. Who cares about being a Pink Elephant or phone banking at your local Republican headquarters? Volunteering is certainly important, but conservative women can effect change by working in front of the scenes and not just behind them.Who better to advocate common sense conservative values than those who are living them? This is not just at the federal or state level. Conservative women are needed on city councils and school boards throughout the country. Sanford is exactly right.
Now if Sanford does take a more public role, it will be interesting to see how the media and left-wing women react. Will she be Palinized? By all accounts, she seems genuinely conservative. However, she had a successful career in investment banking and went to Georgetown. The “she’s a stupid beauty queen” line won’t work on her.
She endorsed
Nikki Haley, a very conservative candidate for governor that
Red State supports. She didn’t take the Hillary Clinton approach of standing by her man to jump start her political career, yet she’s garnered a tremendous amount of praise from both sides. Much like another conservative woman from Alaska, she was
profiled in
Vogue. Right now, the media has labeled her as the good guy in the marriage debacle. Will the love affair with Sanford end when they realize she’s a conservative endorsing pro-life candidates? The media loves to build up a person and then tear him or her down. Is Sanford a future victim?
Her new
book comes out this week. That looks to be an interesting read. Keep your eye on Jenny Sanford. She’s planning something.
3 Comments
Hi, I work with Vanity Fair columnist and Newser.com founder Michael Wolff. I think you may find Michael’s blog today particularly interesting. http://www.newser.com/off-the-grid/news.html
It has been said that she was the real powerhouse behind her husband’s political career. That he may have had the charm and good looks, that she really understood the fundraising, the campaigning, the politicing, etc.
I’ve seen 2 interviews with her, and while they’ve focused mainly on her husband’s infidelity, Ms. Sanford (is she changing her name after the divorce? If not, is she still MRS. Sanford) seems to be very bright and have a strong command of the facts.
Should she choose to run for something and I agree with you that she is planning on it, she won’t get “Palinized” because she is clearly a lot smarter than Ms. Palin.
I don’t know if Sanford is smarter necessarily but certainly more polished and “acceptable” by DC norms. Just look at the hand-writing incident that you brought up on another post. She cut it off at the knees with the “hi mom!” Palin has the hokey, small town America charm, whereas, Sanford has the insider/DC gloss approach.
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