There were of course many possible explanations for Republican South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford’s affair with an Argentinian beauty. There is of course love, lust, or simply a mid-life crisis. However, it took Rush Limbaugh to isolate the true reason: President Obama. Limbaugh was heard yesterday explaining that Obama’s economic policies pushed poor Sanford into the arms of this mistress.
LIMBAUGH: This Sanford business! I’ll tell you, one of the first thoughts that crossed my mind, with Mark Sanford … this is the first thought: What he did defies logic. This is … more than being 180 degrees out of phase because of lust, or love. To split the scene for five days, and we know he’s been separated, and he knows, by the way, that the newspaper in his state has the emails between him and his concubine down there in Argentina, he knows this. He knows that somebody knows what’s going on. He knows his wife knows. So he ups and leaves for five days, doesn’t leave anybody in charge of the state, in case there’s an emergency.
Here comes the swing . . .
LIMBAUGH: This is almost like: I don’t give a damn! Country’s going to hell in a handbasket. I just want out of here!
LIMBAUGH: He had just tried to fight the stimulus money coming to South Carolina. He didn’t want any part of it. He lost the battle and said “What the hell? The Federal government is taking over! I want to enjoy life!”
Apparently, Republican marriages are undone by macro economic policy and the stimulus money. Indeed, his email about the “tan lines” of his mistress is simply code for runaway deficit funding:
“You have a particular grace and calm that I adore. You have a level of sophistication that so fitting with your beauty. I could digress and say that you have the ability to give magnificent gentle kisses, or that I love your tan lines or that I love the curve of your hips, the erotic beauty of you holding yourself (or two magnificent parts of yourself) in the faded glow of the night’s light – but hey, that would be going into sexual details … “
For Sanford’s email messages, click here.
The problem of over-stimulation under the Obama Administration remains a danger to all Republican governors. Fortunately, Dr. Russ Limbaugh is here to keep their marriages and budgets in line with monogamous free market values
For those interested in picking up an over-stimulated Republican Governor, the usual pick-up lines for economists are usually successful. Here are a few of the most successful at GOP parties and strip joints:
1. Do you work for the Fed, cause your raising my reserves.
2. My fiscal policy is all about contributing to your private sector.
3. You have a boyfriend? That’s ok. The wife and I are into credit-swapping.
4. Are you a Keynesian? Because you sure make my monetary policy inflate.
5. Pareto dominate me, baby!
For a tape and discussion of Limbaugh’s foray into marital conflict and macro-economic theory, click here.
Youth with a Mission (YWAM) and the Family are interrelated Christian fundamentalist movements. The C Street Residence is owned by WYAM, but it is run by the Family. WYAM has allowed Family members to use its tax-exempt property as a residence for many years.
The fundamental facts reported in this blog are correct. The property was classified as E-1 Religious until late 2009, even though used as a residence.
The portion used as a residence is now classified at Residential, and is taxed.
There was no allegation here that the property was sold to the Family. The complete online record, clearly showing ownership by YWAM, was posted last summer on another thread at this site:
Property Detail
Address: 133 C ST SE
SSL: 0733 0825
Record Details
Neighborhood: CAPITOL HILL Sub-Neighborhood: A
Use Code: 89 – Special Purpose-Misc Class 3 Exception: No
Tax Type: E1 – Religious Tax Class: 002 – Commercial
Homestead Status: ** Not receiving the Homestead Deduction
Assessor: LEIGHTON JONES
Gross Building Area: Ward: 6
Land Area: 3,466 Triennial Group: 2
Owner and Sales Information
Owner Name: YOUTH WITH A MISSION WASHINGTON DC INC C ST CENTER
Mailing Address:133 C ST SE; WASHINGTON DC20003-1807
Sale Price: Not Available
Sale Date: Not Available
Instrument No.:
Tax Year 2010 Preliminary Assessment Roll
Current Value Proposed New Value (2010)
Land: $682,800 $682,800
Improvements: $1,162,010 $1,151,700
Total Value: $1,844,810 $1,834,500
Taxable Assessment: * $1,844,810 $1,834,500
* Taxable Assessment after Tax Assessment Credit and after $67,500 Homestead Credit, if applicable. (Click here for more information).
The record for tax payments shows that “$0.00″ has been paid in taxes.
http://jonathanturley.org/2009/06/30/oklahoma-legislature-to-consider-proclamation-linking-the-economic-crisis-to-obamas-immoral-policies/
CC: Where is the “Corrective Deed” available so that we can see it? Is it online like the tax assessment records?
I will post this information at Jeff Sharlett’s site to see what he knows about this.
According to a “Corrective Deed” filed on September 28, 2009, the property was not sold to the Family as has been alleged. Rather:
1. Youth With A Mission, Washington, D.C., Inc. (YWAM-DC) currently holds title to 133 C Street SE.
2. YWAMDC changed its name to Youth With A Mission Renewal Ministries, Inc. (YWAM-RM) in 1983.
3. YWAM-RM changed its name to FaithAmerica in 1984.
4. FaithAmerica changed its name to Youth With A Mission National Christian Center, Inc. (YWAM-NCC) in 1985.
5. YWAM-NCC changed its name to C Street Center, Inc. in 1992.
The document was executed on behalf of YWAM-DC and C Street Center, Inc. by Marty Sherman, as Secretary, on September 23, 2009.
From the comments to the TPM article (above, November 17, 2009 at 5:11 pm):
dustbunny44, November 18, 2009 12:50 AM:
in reply to runfastandwin
“I suppose it’s a church because it’s full of people praying they don’t get caught.”
November 18, 2009 9:20 AM in reply to dustbunny44
“LOL”
Tip of the hat to citizenw.
Debate on the C St House in the Post at:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/17/AR2009111703700_Comments.html
Rachel.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26315908/#34004536
Move slide over to 3:45 for start of C St portion.
Elaine, no, missed it. I will look it up on Youtube.
FFLEO, that is an easy temptation to resist here in D.C.: No Senators, no Member of Congress, no voting Delegate.
CEJ, thanks.
Vince–
I hope you saw the first segment of the Rachel Maddow Show tonight!
Vince,
Kudos, again! I was so pleased to see that TPM credited you!:)
In the comments following TPM’s post Jeff Sharlet wrote he was going to be on TRMS tonight discussing this story…
Good job VT. Now, how’s about running for Congress or other political offices.
Vince,
They have to have somebody to blame. They certainly cannot take responsibility for anything the GOP has done. I guess they could blame Clinton who really started the economic decline by singling out one thing he did by abolishing the Glass Act. Which was really in play because of BushI.
Another Turley thread discusses C St SE:
http://jonathanturley.org/2009/06/30/oklahoma-legislature-to-consider-proclamation-linking-the-economic-crisis-to-obamas-immoral-policies/
Ed Brayton at Michigan Messenger has followed up on yesterday’s story (above at November 16, 2009 at 2:38 pm):
http://michiganmessenger.com/30404/stupaks-dc-residence-no-longer-tax-exempt
QO
Stupak’s D.C. residence no longer tax exempt
By Ed Brayton 11/17/09 5:25 PM
The now-infamous C Street house in Washington D.C., owned by a mysterious Christian group called the Family or the Fellowship and home to numerous members of Congress including U.S. Rep. Bart Stupak of Michigan, is no longer tax exempt. The house, which was formerly a convent, has long been listed as a church with the city and was thus exempted from property taxes. That is no longer the case.
You can find the details here on the District of Columbia government website. It is now listed as residential and taxable and valued at $1,834,500. And here it shows that they paid their property taxes of $1,714.70 on October 21.
But it appears to have been only partially redesignated. TPM Muckraker reports:
Natalie Wilson, a spokeswoman for the Office of Tax and Revenue for Washington D.C., told TPMmuckraker that her office inspected the house this summer. “It was determined that portions of it were being rented out for private residential purposes,” she said. As a result, the tax exempt status was partially revoked. Sixty-six percent of the value of the property is now subject to taxation.
No word on whether the residents of the house may have to pay more in rent to cover the cost of the property taxes.
UQ
You know, I tried really hard to tell the Washington Post about this tax scam back in June. See the comments to the article “The Political Enclave That Dare Not Speak Its Name: No sign explains the prim and proper red brick house on C Street SE.” by Manuel Roig-Franzia, Washington Post Staff Writer, Friday, June 26, 2009.
I also sent my comments directly to that reporter.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/25/AR2009062504480_Comments.html
“vtreacy wrote: The records are at:
https://www.taxpayerservicecenter.com/RP_Search.jsp?search_type=Assessment
“The other properties are taxable and have paid a lot of taxes.
“133 C St has paid none. It seems to be a shelter for depressed penniless Senators and Representatives far from home in need of counseling. Where can tax-deductible charitable contributions of nickels and dimes be sent for this worthy cause?
6/28/2009 4:28:30 PM”
And many more comments below that one….
And the Post got the information from me yesterday. Here is the email thanks:
Re: Message via washingtonpost.com: Tax exempt C St
From: Mary Jordan (jordanm@washpost.com)
Sent: Mon 11/16/09 3:49 PM
To: Vince Treacy (vtreacy@msn.com)
Thank you for sending this.
Mary Jordan
The Washington Post
Well, well , well. The once-mighty Washington Post has finally caught up with the Turley Blog, a day late and dollar short.
Note that there is no credit to Turley or to TPM. They make it sound like they came up with this all by themselves: en quote!
Tax man comes for C Street residence
Updated 4:57 p.m. By Al Kamen
The famous rowhouse on C St. S.E., where disgraced South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford sought counseling after his affair — as did Sen. John Ensign (R-Nev.) after his affair — has begun paying D.C. real estate taxes, according to city officials.
At least four congressmen live there, renting upstairs rooms from a group affiliated with “the Fellowship,” a secretive group that organizes the National Day of Prayer Breakfast. Ensign, who recently moved out of the tidy brick home, lived there and Sanford, when he was a member of Congress, came by for what he called “a Christian Bible study.”
The downstairs part of the house, valued $1.8 million, is used for meals and prayer meetings, while the upstairs houses residents that included over the summer three House members, as well as Ensign and Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) (see our colleague Manuel Roig-Franzia’s June report on the house).
It was there that Coburn, an obstetrician and gynecologist, met with Ensign’s friend and former top aide, Doug Hampton, the husband of Ensign’s mistress, for an emotional chat about forgiveness. Coburn reportedly advised Ensign to stop the affair but has said he would never reveal the details of those discussions, citing his religious privilege as an “ordained deacon” and his doctor’s privilege.
Last summer, the tax records show, the house paid no taxes because it received an E1 or religious exemption. It was coded: “89 -Special Purpose-Misc” and it was classified for tax purposes as a commercial property.
But the property now is classified “TX – Taxable” and is listed as a residential property. The owner, according to tax records, remains the same little-known “Youth With A Mission Washington DC Inc C St. Center.”
The current property records also show that there was a tax payment of $1,714.70 on the property on Oct. 21. The records page notes that “Only payments received on or after Jan. 14, 2005 are displayed on this page.”
It appears that, sometime after The Washington Post’s article on the house, the city took a look at the situation. “The property in question was inspected by our office,” a city official told our colleague Nikita Stewart, “and it was determined that portions are being rented to private individuals for residential purposes. As a result, the exemption was partially revoked and adjusted so that only 34 percent is now tax exempt and 66 percent has become taxable.”
The property “went 66 percent taxable Aug.1,” the official said, and the full taxable bill for 2010 will be $10, 234. Now, maybe if the lawmakers would stop paying rent, then the property would be fully tax-exempt. Of course, then the members would be questioned about accepting free accommodations.
By 44 Editor | November 17, 2009; 4:43 PM ET
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/44/2009/11/tax-man-comes-for-c-street-res.html
Speaking of Dr. Who, I read Michael Moorcock has signed on to write an episode. I’m thinking Elric could stomp the good Dr. into Time Lord paste. It’ll be interesting to see his take on the Dr. mythos.
Science Blogs has also picked up on the Turley blog: “Street House No Longer Tax Exempt,” posted on: November 17, 2009 9:37 AM, by Ed Brayton
http://scienceblogs.com/dispatches/2009/11/c_street_house_no_longer_tax_e.php?utm_source=sbhomepage&utm_medium=link&utm_content=channellink
Josh Marshall’s TPM site (http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/ ) is now headlining the report, by Zachary Roth, that C Street SE has lost its property tax exemption, and giving full credit to the Turley Blog.
Another triumph for the site “VOTED THE #1 LEGAL THEORY AND LAW PROFESSOR BLOG OF THE TOP 100 LEGAL BLOGS BY THE ABA JOURNAL”(tm)(R)(C)!.
QUOTES ON
TPMMuckraker
C Street House No Longer Tax Exempt
Zachary Roth | November 17, 2009, 1:40PM
Residents of the C Street Christian fellowship house will no longer benefit from a loophole that had allowed the house’s owners to avoid paying property taxes.
Previously, the house — despite being home to numerous lawmakers — had been tax exempt, because it was classified as a church. That arrangement had allowed the building’s owner, the secretive international Christian organization The Family, to charge significantly below market rents to its residents. In recent year, Senators John Ensign (R-NV), Tom Coburn (R-OK), Sam Brownback (R-KS) and Jim DeMint (R-SC), and Reps. Zach Wamp (R-TN), Bart Stupak (D-MI) and Mike Doyle (D-PA) have all reportedly called C Street home.
Natalie Wilson, a spokeswoman for the Office of Tax and Revenue for Washington D.C., told TPMmuckraker that her office inspected the house this summer. “It was determined that portions of it were being rented out for private residential purposes,” she said. As a result, the tax exempt status was partially revoked. Sixty-six percent of the value of the property is now subject to taxation.
According to online records, the total taxable assessment is $1,834,500. The building’s owner last month paid taxes of $1714.70 on the property.
A commenter using the name Vince Treacy, posting on a blog run by George Washington Law professor Jonathan Turley, noted in June that the property enjoyed tax exempt status. In a comment yesterday, he wrote:
“Well, at least one complaint just happened to be filed a few months ago, by some anonymous citizen who will remain nameless “”wink, wink,” with the taxpayer hotline at the DC tax office.” QUOTES OFF.
http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/11/c_street_house_no_longer_tax_exempt.php
Nal, I meant “sites.” Just finished watching a tape of 1977 BBC Dr. Who: Voyage of the Damned, rerun on BBC America. Great fun. They tell the Doctor they named their starship the “Titanic” after the most famous ship on Earth. He asks if they knew why it was so famous. Uh, no. My only problem is that, like Dr. Asimov, I hate it when the robots start to violate the First Law….
Coming, Dec. 19, 9 PM, Dr. Who: The Waters of Mars, along with some more new episodes.