Republican South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford has been saying for a while that he would turn down any stimulus money that comes his way via this economic stimulus bill. And as of yesterday, he made it official ... turning down about a quarter of his state's $2.8 billion share. He says, "Fundamentally, if you boil down what the stimulus means for South Carolina, it means we would go through the process of spending a bunch of money we don't have." Finally, a guy who gets it.

Then, Sanford likened the approach of the Obama administration to that of Robert Mugabe and Zimbabwe. He says, "What you're doing is buying into the notion that if we just print some more money that we don't have and send it to different states, we'll create jobs ... If that's the case, why isn't Zimbabwe a rich place? ... 'Cause they're printing money they don't have and sending it around to their different-- I don't know the towns in Zimbabwe but that same logic is being applied there with little effect."

Now enter James Clyburn, South Carolina Senator and carrier of a huge racial chip on his shoulder. Clyburn thinks that Sanford's comparison of Obama's stimulus package to Zimbabwe's economic policies is "beyond the pale." And according to The Politico, Clyburn suggested that the comment might carry a racial subtext. Clyburn says, "For him to compare the president of this country to Mugabe. ... It's just beyond the pale." For Congressional race whore Clyburn, everything is "beyond the pale." This guy has never seen an issue that didn't have some racial component. His day should be done and his type should be fading into the obscurity he so richly deserves.