“FICTIONAL” ACCOUNT OF EX-GOVERNOR’S POLITICAL IMPLOSION LOOMS LARGE ON HIS RADAR
|| By FITSNEWS || U.S. Rep. Mark Sanford and his chief of staff – Scott English – are sweating the July 2015 release of a “fictional” book by one of the former governor’s ex-staffers.
Entitled “The Speechwriter: A Brief Education in Politics,” the book was written by Barton Swaim – who worked for Sanford from 2007-11, during his second term as governor of South Carolina. And yes, that’s right smack dab during the middle of Sanford’s first political implosion.
Swaim’s book – which is available for pre-order on Amazon – is described as “an intimate and hilarious look inside the spin room of the modern politician: a place where ideals are crushed, English is mangled, people are humiliated, and the opportunity for humor is everywhere.”
“English?” Hmmmm …
The book describes a fictitious governor (modeled after Sanford) as “a charismatic maverick who goes up against the system and its ways, but thinks he doesn’t have to live by the rules.”
According to the Amazon pre-order page, the book “tells the story of a band of believers who attach themselves to this sort of ambitious narcissist.”
Chief among them? English – who began working for Sanford during his first stint in the U.S. Congress from 1995-2001. And who has remained fiercely loyal to Sanford ever since despite bearing the brunt of his mistreatment of staff.
“Through his three years in the office of a controversial governor, Swaim paints a portrait of a man so principled he’d rather sweat than use state money to pay for air conditioning, so oblivious he’d wear the same stained shirt for two weeks, so egotistical he’d belittle his staffers to make himself feel better, and so self-absorbed he never once apologized to his staff for making his administration the laughing stock of the country,” the pre-order page continued.
Several prominent authors – including Joe Klein (of Primary Colors fame) – have reviewed Swaim’s book.
“This is the truest book I’ve read about politics in some time, hilarious and sordid and wonderfully written,” Klein wrote in his review.
Author Jonathan Alter is also favorably disposed to the book, praising it for capturing – among other things – “the exquisite torture of working for a narcissistic and unappreciative boss.”
Jeffrey Frank – author of the book Ike and Dick – also gave props to Swaim’s volume.
“Politicians don’t always come with warm smiles and narcissistic dispositions, but it was Barton Swaim’s bad luck to work for one, and our good luck that he stayed long enough to tell his very funny tale,” he wrote.
Who isn’t looking forward to the book’s July 14 release? Sanford.
Nor is English, whose fawning, borderline “battered housewife” persona is depicted through a fictitious character in the book named “Stuart.”
Another Sanford supporter – S.C. Senator Tom Davis – is depicted in the book through a fictitious character named “Rick.”
FITS reached out to Swaim – who currently works for the S.C. Policy Council – for more details on his forthcoming book, but he declined to discuss it with us on the record.
Guess we’ll have to wait for this summer to see how much damage this account does to Sanford … who of late has decided to shed his “principled” political roots in exchange for political whoredom.
Making him nothing but a narcissist.
19 comments
Where’s that fictions book about Will Folks and Gov. Haley having an affair?
Fiction? Really? You so funny!
Not “fiction.” Non-existent…
It sounds like a shitty book to me….
It’s a Hustler pocket smut book.
I have a hard time deciding who is South Carolina’s biggest asshole. Currently, Sanford, that Kincannon prick and Thomas Ravenel are all tied for first.
They are all members of “Team Voltron- Asshole Edition”. God help us if they are all spotted in the same room.
“maverick who goes up against the system and its ways, but thinks he doesn’t have to live by the rules.”
Doesn’t that describe FITS, John McCain and the whole Liberal-Tarian Movement….????
So that’s two books and counting about the saga that is Sanford. He just might be egotistical enough to like the centrality of being featured in another public work. He’ll put his spin on it for sure….
Is Belen’s code name Bonita? Jenny is Jewel and Mark is Gatsby?
Belen…aka, Deep Throat.
Hah! I forgot about that prominence, and presumable talent. In the end, it didn’t win the day (reportedly.)
Really a MISSED opportunity by FITS. And FITS, I would have likely worked w/ you to write it…because I think Sanford is a pretty interesting, enigmatic and tragic figure….His story could dazzle an audience by his sheer ignorance of himself…that we could lay out in prose.
Sanford is a man given a lot…who kills himself in small and petty – paper cut – types ways for NOTHING. Petulant – and thin skinned- he is…..We could show how – and speculate as to why – he is like he is…
Probably too late now…but you had the inside…With my intellect and insight, and ability to create intrigue and drama…it would have been a great book.
Who stole GT. Who using his name to write this.
The promo for this book reminds of the guy in Army boot camp who wrote home, “Dear Mama and Papa, I miss you both very much and, most of all, I miss my little potty.” To which the reply was, “Dear Son, your sentiments are lovingly appreciated by Pa and me, but don’t be concerned about your potty – you missed it a lot when you were little.”
IAM cancels union vote at SC Boeing.
http://www.seattletimes.com/business/boeing-aerospace/machinists-withdraw-request-for-union-vote-at-boeings-south-carolina-plant/
Wonder if Barton included anything about Mark, a certain Indian woman,and China?
The philanderer who was AWOL. What a sorry day in S.C.
I have no desire to read a fictional account about “users of others”.
I will look forward to reading this. Someone close to me worked for Sanford, and I have no love lost for either him or English.