Taegan Goddard's Political Wire

June 28, 2009

Is Bauer Trying to Push Sanford Out?

Within hours of South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford's (R) admission of an affair, Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer (R) "began planning a Machiavellian coup d'etat," according to the Palmetto Scoop.

One insider said "that publicly, Bauer will appear to be supportive of Sanford. But behind the scenes, his operatives are working with Sanford's enemies in a coordinated campaign to drive him out of office."

Politico notes a Sanford resignation would give Bauer "an advantage in what was already shaping up as a brutally competitive GOP primary to replace the term-limited incumbent in 2010."

"In effect, Sanford's travails have caused that intra-party contest to start early. Associates of some Bauer rivals have begun a covert campaign of trash talking and not-for-attribution opposition research to make the case that the 40-year-old lieutenant governor would be a flawed candidate."

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Taegan D. Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites.

Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.

Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country, including the Washington Post, USA Today, Boston Globe, San Francisco Chronicle, Chicago Tribune, Philadelphia Inquirer and Christian Science Monitor.

Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.

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