Jenny Sanford, the political wife who did not stand by her husband, endorses candidate in GOP race to succeed him

She is the political wife who bucked tradition. When scandal struck her husband, the governor of South Carolina, she did not stand by his side. Instead, Jenny Sanford packed up her things and their four children and moved out of the governor's mansion for the family's home on Sullivan's Island.

Today she issued a letter supporting another "principled, conservative, tough and smart" woman in the crowded Republican primary to succeed Mark Sanford. (You may recall the governor, who once had presidential aspirations, went AWOL last summer, telling his staff he was hiking along the Appalachian Trail while he was actually in Argentina romping with his mistress.)

Jenny Sanford's pick for the state's next governor -- Nikki Haley -- was once a strong ally of Gov. Sanford, but in the wake of the scandal over his disappearance and his affair, she distanced herself, removing his photo from her campaign website.

This is one endorsement that could actually carry some weight. Jenny Sanford, a former Wall Street executive, was instrumental in managing her husband's campaigns, and has a network of supporters around the state. "It sends a signal that you might not be wasting your vote," said Danielle Vinson, a political scientist at Furman University.

In a letter, first reported by South Carolina's State newspaper, Jenny Sanford also talked about how her family is coping in the aftermath of the national scandal. 

"We all know this past year has been difficult for our state on many level," Sanford wrote. "It's been hard for me and my family too. But our family is resilient, and we will be fine. And the people of our state are resilient too. I have no doubt South Carolina will get back on its feet."

-- Johanna Neuman

Photo credit: Davis Turner / Getty Images

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Gay rights advocates get good news from unusual sources: Salt Lake City and the AMA

 
Gay rights advocates were disappointed last week when Maine voters voted to repeal a state law allowing same-sex marriage. But they got a boost on Tuesday from two unlikely sources: the American Medical Assn. and the Salt Lake City Council. 

At its semiannual meeting in Houston, the nation's largest doctors' group voted to oppose the military's "don't ask, don't tell' policy because it sometimes restricts the "honesty and openness . . . that is the basis of the patient-physician relationship."

The AMA also reported that same-sex couples excluded from civil marriage often do not have access to the same healthcare benefits that married couples do.  

Same-sex households are less likely to have health insurance than their married counterparts and are therefore at a higher risk of "living sicker and dying younger," said Dr. Peter Carmel, an AMA board member. The AMA said the disparity is also linked to a basic fact: Same-sex families aren't eligible to receive other benefits afforded to married couples, including tax breaks and Social Security survivor benefits.

The group resolved to "work to reduce the health disparities suffered because of unequal treatment . . . by supporting equality in laws affecting healthcare of members in same-sex partner households and their dependent children."

In Utah, the Salt Lake City Council passed two ordinances making it illegal to discriminate against gays in housing and employment. As the Ticket reported last week, voters in Kalamazoo approved a similar ordinance that grants anti-discrimination protections to gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender individuals.

Significantly, the ordinances in Salt Lake City were endorsed by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This is the same Mormon Church that strongly urged members to contribute money to the campaign in support of Proposition 8, the 2008 ballot initiative that banned same-sex marriage in California.

Mormons were credited with playing a strong role in the measure's victory in Salt Lake City.

Have the Mormon's had a change of heart?

No, said Michael Otterson, a church spokesman. He told the City Council that the church "remains unequivocally committed" to opposing gay marriage.

-- Kate Linthicum

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Photo: A car flies the gay pride flag in protest past the Mormon Conference Center during the 179th Semi-Annual General Conference of the Mormon Church on Oct. 3 in Salt Lake City. Credit: Getty Images

Scozzafava, the moderate banished by conservatives, vows to fight for the soul of the GOP

Last week, she dropped out of the race for New York's 23rd congressional district, throwing her support (with a friendly push from the Obama White House)  to the eventual winner, Democrat Bill Owens. The move was a political stunner, an attempt to thwart conservative Doug Hoffman, who was surging in the polls after attracting support from such heroes of the right as former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and setting off a blood feud within the Republican Party between pragmatists and ideologues.

This week, in retaliation, Republicans in the Assembly stripped Dede Scozzafava of her leadership position there.

But the moderate Republican assemblywoman, who counts herself a champion of local politics over ideological purity, says she has no regrets and may even run for Congress again -- as a Republican.

"How can Sarah Palin come out and endorse someone who can't answer some basic questions," Scozzafava said in her first lengthy interview in today's Washington Post. "Do these people even know who they are endorsing?"

Bemused by commentators who now use her name as a verb -- as in Florida Gov. Charlie Crist could be "scozzfaved" as a moderate in the Republican Party's bruising Senate primary fight -- she thinks there are more of her than of them.

"There is a lot of us who consider ourselves Republicans, of the Party of Lincoln," she said. "If they don't want us with them, we're going to work against them."

-- Johanna Neuman

Photo: Gary Walts / Washington Post

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Dems trailing in today's elections: A referendum on Obama? No way, says White House

Democrats are bracing for a trio of losses in today's elections.

They are poised for defeat in Virginia's gubernatorial race, where polls show Republican Bob McDonnell has a double-digit lead over his Democratic opponent.

And they could lose in upstate New York, where the Republican Party's candidate in the 23rd Congressional District had to withdraw in the face of Tea Party passion for conservative Doug Hoffman, now leading over the Democrat.

Heck, one year after President Obama's election, the climate is so dicey for Democrats that they could even lose the governor's race in New Jersey, where incumbent Jon Corzine, a former Wall Street executive, has used his own money to outspend Republican opponent Chris Christie almost 3 to 1 and could still lose the election.

You could tell the White House was worried by its attempt to discourage any talk that the elections are a referendum on the president. Take a listen:

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs: "The notion that this [is] somehow a referendum on President Obama is just not the case." As for 2009 as a signal of what's to come in the 2010 elections, Gibbs added, "Whatever the results are, I don't think they portend a lot in dealing with the future."

White House political guru David Axelrod: "I don't really view those elections that way."

No one else is making that claim. The president has made three trips to New Jersey to help Corzine, and the Associated Press argues that if the incumbent Democrat loses, "it would be seen as a political embarrassment to the White House." And the New York Times calls the races a key "barometer on the president's popularity."

-- Johanna Neuman

Photo: President Obama and New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine. Credit: Associated Press

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Sarah Palin breaks with GOP to endorse Conservative Party candidate in N.Y. House race

Sarah Palin, who a few people may recall was the vice presidential candidate on last year's Republican Party ticket that crashed and burned, has broken with her party in the race for a House seat from New York and endorsed the candidate of the state's Conservative Party.

Palin announced late Thursday night that she was endorsing Doug Hoffman as, well, more conservative than the Republican Party candidate Dede Scozzafava in the race to fill New York's 23d District.

That seat was vacated by President Obama's appointment of Republican Rep. John McHugh as secretary of the Army. Hmmm.

"Doug Hoffman stands for the principles that all Republicans should share," Palin said, "smaller government, lower taxes, national defense and a commitment to individual liberty."

Palin then urged her supporters to contribute to Hoffman's third-party campaign against the establishment GOP pick that some conservatives complain is not Republican enough, a complaint sometimes also aimed at Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), who thrust Palin into the political spotlight last year.

During the last two congressional elections that were so disastrous for the GOP, Republican McHugh won the 23d's House seat with ease, even as Obama beat out the Palin-what's-his-name ticket with 52% of the vote.

Palin's backing of Hoffman matches the endorsement of Hoffman by former Sen. Fred Thompson and ex-Rep. Dick Armey and puts the trio in direct conflict with former GOP House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who  has endorsed and helped Scozzafava, and the party's Washington establishment.

The schism on the right creating a three-way race may well mean that Democrat Bill Owens squeaks to a victory in the normally GOP district, a House gain that probably never even crossed the minds of political strategists in the White House when they named McHugh to the Pentagon.

The New York House race and the governor's races in Virginia and New Jersey will be closely watched as indicators of voter attitudes 10 months into the hectic Obama presidency and 12 months out from the congressional midterm elections. Hence, the White House and Democratic National Committee investing so much effort in helping their party's candidates.

-- Andrew Malcolm

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Meg Whitman still explaining decades of not voting

Meg Whitman is still fending off questions about her spotty voting record.

Whitman, you may recall, is the former eBay CEO who spent most of her adult life not registered to vote. She also is hoping to become the GOP candidate for governor in California. Presumably, this would be accomplished through a decidedly un-high-tech fashion — people (or to be precise, registered voters) going to the polls or filling out absentee ballots and popping them in the mail.

As our friends over at the political blog The Swamp report, Whitman had to answer more questions about voting this morning on the Fox Business Network. "I’ve been very straight-up that my voting record isn’t perfect,” Whitman told Neil Cavuto. "I did not consistently vote. Like many Americans, I’ve missed too many elections ... ” Here's the full report.

So how will California voters react? Two letters to the editor in the Opinion section of today’s Times offer instructive examples.

Audrey Wicks of Irvine says Whitman has the abilities to be a great governor and doesn’t mind that Whitman had not registered until a few years back.

“She was very busy not only running a large company but furthering it, making it a big success,” Wicks writes. “She puts all of her energies into the job for which she’s responsible. This is to her credit. There are too many people who vote because they think it’s the American way. There are too many people who do not study the issues and merely vote without thought on the issues. This is one of the factors that has our state in such a detrimental status.”

Vincent J. Carollo of Upland takes a decidely different view and Whitman has to hope he's in the minority:

“I have two signs for the campaign trail: ‘Sorry Meg, I will be too busy to register and vote for you.’ And: ‘Meg, ever heard of the absentee ballot?’ ”

Meanwhile, the Whitman campaign announced today that she has won the endorsement of former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani. In a statement the campaign says she’s already been endorsed by former California Gov. Pete Wilson, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and Arizona Sen. John McCain. No word yet on whether Whitman will be tapped for any GOP get-out-the-vote efforts.

 -- Steve Padilla

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Photo: Meg Whitman speaks at the California Republican Convention in Indian Wells in September. Credit: Associated Press

Spielberg, Katzenberg and Geffen step up to support Jerry Brown for California governor

Hollywood’s three top political heavyweights didn’t waste any time throwing their support behind Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown, who announced Tuesday that he was filing papers to explore a run for the Democratic nomination for California governor.

An adviser to Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg and David Geffen disclosed this afternoon that the three men would be hosting a fundraiser for Brown on Nov. 18.

The location is TBA, but expect it to be west of La Cienega Boulevard, which, as Angelenos know, is where a lot of money resides.

“This should be a huge launching pad for Brown’s candidacy,” said Andy Spahn, who's organizing the event.

The details are still being worked out, but this much is certain: when the SKG boys get together, the take is usually huge. (Just ask President Obama, who raked in millions at the threesome’s fundraisers.)

Up until now, Brown, a former governor and Oakland mayor, has been quietly raising money in Hollywood, tapping his old friends from the 1970s, including Cindy and Glenn Frey, Sharon and Don Henley, Jena and Michael King, Deborah and Jeff Wald, and Ellen and Ken Ziffren.

Also making the money rounds is San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, who is admired in Hollywood for his leadership role against Proposition 8, the statewide measure that banned gay marriage.

The question: Will the industry back the guy they’ve known for years (Brown is 71) or the fresh young face (Newsom is 41) in California’s 2010 Democratic gubernatorial primary?

There’s still eight months between now and the June 8 election to find out.

— Tina Daunt

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Top photo: Jerry Brown in Los Angeles in September. Credit: Getty Images. Bottom photo: David Geffen, Jeffrey Katzenberg and Steven Spielberg in New York in 2004. Credit: Associated Press.

Speaker Pelosi throws cold water on resolution to honor Michael Jackson

Even in death, Michael Jackson has the power to create controversy.

During the Monday memorial service in Los Angeles, Texas Rep. Sheila Jackson-Lee told the thousands of mourners in Staples Center (and the hundreds of millions of fans around the world, eagerly watching on television) that she would introduce a resolution in the hope of honoring the King of Pop for his humanitarian efforts around the world.

The Democratic congresswoman displayed a framed copy of the resolution she was proposing and insisted it would come to the floor.

On the face this would seem to be a no-brainer: iconic singer and long-time donor to charities gets a last recognition. Besides, anyone whose death can so monopolize the public arena should be a slam-dunk for a congressional resolution.

Not so fast, as The Ticket warned Wednesday in this item.

Some Republicans, including Long Island Rep. Peter King, said they had problems with the adulation pouring over Jackson. King, in a video posted on YouTube, called the....

Big Billy Mays' big heart gave out, coroner finds

Qwik update:

Sort of dueling autopsies on opposite sides of the country today: One case in LA possibly involving OxyContin and that famous singer what's-his-name, who died at 50 last week, and the other in Tampa involving OxiClean spokesman Billy Mays, who also died at 50. Hmmm.

We had our tribute to big Billy Sunday (click here to see the hilarious video of Billy having so much fun at his own expense), wishing he'd been in politics or his style of pitching had been in politics.

And we affectionately celebrated his big presence and big voice and big heart. Turns out today's autopsy results indicate it was that big heart that gave out.

The Hillsborough County Medical Examiner reports the exuberant TV pitchman died quietly in his sleep from hypertensive heart disease -- the left ventricle was enlarged, a key symptom.

The M.E. also said there was no evidence of head trauma. So the heart rate of U.S. Airways lawyers' is slowing down now. During a rough landing Saturday, something fell out of an overhead bin and hit Mays on the head, raising speculation of one of those silent brain injuries without symptoms that claimed Natasha Richardson after a skiing accident left her feeling fine for several hours.

The stocky Mays was taking painkillers for a bad hip, but the M.E. found the dosage was appropriate.

Check out the video here of the American insomniac's best friend.

-- Andrew Malcolm

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Photo: WireImage

Can Ted Kennedy save Chris Dodd? Video here

He is fighting brain cancer. He has not cast a vote in the Senate in three months. He is calling in plays on the healthcare debate, sometimes through his friend, Utah Republican Orrin Hatch.

But Ted Kennedy -- the lion of the Senate and the last surviving brother of President John F. Kennedy and New York Sen. Robert Kennedy, each felled by an assassin's bullet -- is still a player in Washington politics.

And now, the Massachusetts senator who passed the mantle of Camelot to Barack Obama at a key moment in last year's primaries is hoping to anoint Connecticut Sen. Chris Dodd with the imprimatur of healthcare champion.

Widely viewed as the most vulnerable Democrat up for re-election next year, Dodd has a lot to recover from. Battered by reports that he received a favorable loan from Countrywide Financial, the current chairman of the Senate Banking Committee said he'd done nothing wrong. His poll numbers plummeted. And some voters were still grumbling that he deserted Connecticut during his run for the presidency, moving his family to Iowa for a year, enrolling his daughter in kindergarten there but, at the end of the day, not garnering enough votes for a single delegate.

Last month, a Quinnipiac University poll of registered voters showed Dodd with a 53% unfavorable rating -- and that was an improvement on his 58% unfavorable showing in March.

Can Kennedy's endorsement help? Dodd was savvy enough to release the ad now, about 18 months before the election. See what you think.

This is not the first time Dodd has rolled out a big name in hopes of recovering voter sympathy. Last month,  he posted an ad featuring the popular President Obama in the Rose Garden signing a credit card relief bill, giving "a special shout-out to Chris Dodd, who has been a relentless fighter to get this done.”

But this endorsement may actually say more about Kennedy than about Dodd, an indication that the man once viewed as the face of partisan liberalism in the Senate has become a respected figure to mainstream voters.

As the Washington Post's Chris Cillizza observed this morning, "That Dodd would use the once-controversial Kennedy in an ad is a testament to two things: He is worried about a primary challenge ... and that feelings toward the once-controversial Massachusetts senator have softened as he approaches the twilight of his days."

-- Johanna Neuman

Photo: Associated Press

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