THE LEDE

American politics is all impeachment, all the time now, and so I texted this week with Mark Sanford, a Republican who voted to impeach Bill Clinton back in 1998 — and is now running against Donald Trump.

The impeachment stakes: Brace yourself for a lot of, let’s say, fanfiction about Mitt Romney in the coming months. That’s because in any world where Donald Trump is removed, Romney is the one whipping the needed, hard-to-imagine, 20 Republican votes in the Senate. And if you want to get a sense of how Romney might be approaching it, look it his pre-political career, when he built a reputation as a “turnaround artist.” He’s famous for doing it around the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics, but more significant in this context is a tale that is less well-known: He saved his company, Bain, from a crisis brought on when somewhat Trumpy senior partners pulled piles of cash out, angry junior partners threatened to quit, and Romney miraculously salvaged the mess.

I wrote about that in 2012, and always thought it was key to understanding him.

The political stakes: If you’re paying attention, you might be supporting Elizabeth Warren. That’s the main takeaway from this really striking bit of polling from YouGov for Data for Progress — an incredibly good sign for Warren.

READ RECEIPTS

Texting with Mark Sanford

This week I texted with Mark Sanford, the former member of Congress and South Carolina governor, who became one of Trump’s most vocal Republican critics — and lost his primary in 2018 to an extremely pro-Trump opponent (the seat eventually went to a Democrat). Sanford became a household name in 2009, when, as governor, he disappeared for six days, later admitting he was having an affair and was visiting his girlfriend in Argentina — a mild scandal by today’s standards. But he’s been incredibly consistent about limiting government spending and deficits and has launched a quixotic bid against Trump so he can, he hopes, remind Republicans they used to care about spending.

We texted about his campaign, impeachment, and what he thinks of some of his former congressional colleagues who now work for Trump.

BEN SMITH: Governor! Ben Smith from BuzzFeed here. Thanks for doing this. To begin with - where are you now, and what are you doing? MARK SANFORD: Headed to the Airport. On the way to NH. BEN SMITH: Can I persuade you to send over a selfie?

IMAGE DESCRIPTION: Selfie of Mark Sanford

BEN SMITH: Your staff wasn’t sure you’d do it! So: What kind of person do you find is most excited about your campaign? MARK SANFORD: Those who are thinking about issues. Too much of what’s occurring on both sides is simply tribal with red vs blue. If one gets passed that and actually gets to the point of discussing issues I’ve found it remarkable how receptive people are to our campaign.

BEN SMITH: You’re out there talking a lot about federal spending, and you were a Tea Party hero back in the day. But Trump seems to have proved that Republican voters don’t actually care about spending. So do you think the people who say the Tea Party was more about a racist backlash to Obama … have a point?

MARK SANFORD: I disagree with the hypothesis. I had thousands of conversations with Tea Party types who cared passionately about debt and spending over my years in politics. Either they’re still out there, and have not been spoken to given Trump’s dismissal of the issue… or they have evaporated. If it’s the second my campaign is short lived… but we better watch out for martians, asteroid strikes, and a few other less than likely scenarios given the ways in which it’s unlikely these people indeed evaporated off the face of the earth.

BEN SMITH: Ha. Not just the voters though, right? Mick Mulvaney used to be your kind of principled, fiscal conservative, South Carolina Republican, and you guys were close. Now he’s one of Trump’s main enablers. What do you them happened to him? MARK SANFORD: The bright lights of Washington are alluring. BEN SMITH: Trey Gowdy the same?

MARK SANFORD: In fairness to Trey, he’s never staked his claim on being an economic conservative. He’s been beloved within conservative circles based on his prosecutorial abilities. I’m coming up to the airport gate. We’ll text you back on the other side of TSA. BEN SMITH: *thumbs up emoji*

BEN SMITH: Next question, when you get to it: You got into some trouble back in 2009 over your personal life. Do you think anybody would have cared about that stuff now - when you’ve got a president paying off porn stars?

MARK SANFORD: It should always matter. And I think that’s part of the point. I learned a lot in that chapter of life. A level of empathy for others. A level of humility in the wake of failure I think important . And so I guess I’d phrase it this way, it’s not so much that we fail, we all will at some level and in some way… the question lies in regret and learning and soul searching in its wake that can make us the better for it. This lies in contrast to president trump, who says there is nothing that he regrets. I don’t understand that, and know that one can’t learn from this approach.

BEN SMITH: You voted to impeach Bill Clinton. But you said a few days ago the House should censure, rather than impeach Trump. Why? (And - sounds like you’re taking off soon - so that can be the last question) MARK SANFORD: Taking off, text when I land I Charlotte… BEN SMITH: *plane emoji*

MARK SANFORD: Because I have grown over the years to respect the power of process, political norm and institutional framework for government as I have seen its workings first hand over the years since then. Our founding fathers were genius in their design. Given we are nearing a presidential election, given there aren’t 20 republican votes on the senate, and given I don’t think trumps behavior should be sanctioned as okay...I think it’s important congress end on more than what amounts to a hung jury. If the senate did not convict he would say..see I was right..the senate acquitted me and found I was not guilty of (continued next image)

MARK SANFORD CONTINUED: wrongdoing. Congress must be concrete in its condemnation. It makes a stronger case to voters as they decide in November. If we don’t do this I think the presidents hand is strengthened with impeachment as it becomes a personality contest between him and jerry natler. I think the heartland of America sides with trump and consequently it makes it that much tougher to end the things he’s doing wrong to political norms, our institutional framework of government and the tone that he has paved new ground on. BEN SMITH: Thanks for doing this Governor - safe travels

MARK SANFORD: Apologies for the broken up messages with the travel!

ON THE TRAIL WITH BUZZFEED NEWS

Joe Biden said Donald Trump should be impeached, and his sister, Valerie Biden Owens, called Trump “unhinged.”

Speaking of Biden, his advisers knew his 2018 comments about Ukraine would be a problem.

Two little-known operatives working for Giuliani, who had waged a back-channel campaign against Biden in Ukraine, spent a lot of money while doing so, according to records we obtained.

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