Fiscal Conservatism

July 17, 2009 at 10:23 pm | Posted in American politics | Leave a comment

Today’s hypocrite? Governor Sanford. Here are the lurid details:

South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford shed his fiscal conservatism on several taxpayer-funded international trips, including a South American jaunt that included time with his mistress, choosing expensive first-class or business-class seats while his aides sat in coach.

Sanford, who once criticized other state officials for costly travel, charged the state more than $37,600 for one first-class and four business-class flights overseas since November 2005, expense records show. Other state employees flew in the back of the plane at a fraction of the price, according to the documents.

The Republican governor, who balked at taking federal stimulus money after arguing it was an unwise use of taxpayer funds, charged the state $8,687 for a Delta Air Lines trip to Brazil last year that included a leg in business class, state expense records show.

This is the face of today’s fiscal conservatives.