Some interesting stuff on Sanford...
http://blogs.thestate.com/bradwarthensblog/mark_sanford/index.html
That one's from a prominent SC political site. The author apparently knows Sanford and chronicles lots of interesting things, including the ongoing fight between Sanford and Lindsey Graham, the fact that many SC Republicans accuse Sanford of being a Libertarian and not a "real Republican", and more.
He mentions the fact that the McCain asked Sanford to endorse him three times this year, and Sanford kept turning him down, then once it was clear McCain would be the nominee, Sanford issued a half-hearted endorsement through a spokesman.
I was particularly amused by the author's anecdotal account of his experience at the 2004 Republican National Convention, where he encountered Sanford standing calmly in an aisle away from the rest of the delegation while the crowd went wild over Bush's speech. He claims Sanford leaned over to him and asked him if he'd ever read "Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds".
http://ballotbox.governing.com/2008/08/south-carolinas.html
A good column on the way Sanford's political enemies, including Republican officals who campaigned for Sanford's Democratic opponent, refer to him constantly as a "libertarian".
A quote from Sanford: "I'm an unabashed conservative, and sometimes accused of being a libertarian, to which I say, 'I'm guilty, I love liberty.'"
http://www.reason.com/blog/show/126383.html
A play-by-play of an anti-Real ID conference at the Cato Institute. The author notes Sanford commends Bob Barr for "travelling around the country talking about the problems with the PATRIOT Act."
http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=25806
And interview with Sanford where he criticizes Republicans in SC for favoring big government. He also says that he doesn't "play ball" with lobbyists, whether they're from the right or the left.
It also mentions that Sanford has taken heat from Republicans for not being a strong enough 'social conservative'. Sanford responds that his true passion is fiscal conservatism.
http://www.fitsnews.com/2007/05/17/mark-sanford-is-a-roman-general/
A neocon blog that claims Sanford said the Republican Party needed to distance itself from Iraq by saying "the way you guarantee you lose is if you're the party of Iraq."
http://www.conservativeusa.org/wagdog.htm
A site by Ron Paul supporters. This page points out that only five Congressmen voted against the policy of regime change in Iraq: John Conyers, Sheila Jackson Lee, Cynthia McKinney, Ron Paul, and Mark Sanford.
Sanford also voted against going to war over Kosovo.
http://www.wistv.com/Global/story.asp?S=4343283
In searching for "Mark Sanford + Iraq", "Mark Sanford + Iraq War", "Mark Sanford + War", "Mark Sanford + Afghanistan", and "Mark Sanford + Foreign Policy", I couldn't really find much of substance.
I certainly didn't find anything where Sanford spoke out in favor of the war. Most of the stuff is like the above, his 2005 State of the State address, in which he points out the financial costs of the war and then asks people to wish well for the troops serving in harm's way. Very noncomittal...
I'd like to see him pressed more to define his foreign policy, but domestically I like what I see.
