GOP DIRTY TRICKS IN S.C. DEM SENATE PRIMARY

From Wikipedia:

Alvin Greene

South Carolina Democratic Party chairwoman Carol Fowler said she had not seen Greene since he filed to run. Clarendon County Democratic Party Chairman Cal Land told local newspaper The Item that local party leaders had not met Greene, that he had not attended any local Democratic events and had not responded to any invitations to local stump meetings. He did not attend the state Democratic party convention, did not file the legally required forms with the Secretary of the Senate and the Federal Election Commission, and attempted to pay his $10,400 filing fee with a personal check, rather than a check from a campaign account.

The day after the primary election, the media reported that Greene was facing felony obscenity charges stemming from a November 2009 arrest for allegedly showing a pornographic Internet site to an 18-year-old female University of South Carolina student and then propositioning her in a computer lab. The mother of the victim has claimed that USC authorities had warned Greene not to visit certain parts of campus in the past.

And

Though his victory has baffled many, several explanations have been offered. Some observers, including State Representative Bakari Sellers, have stated that the fact that his name appeared above Vic Rawl may have caused voters who were unfamiliar with either candidate to vote for Greene. South Carolina State Senator Robert Ford observed that the surname "Greene" is common among African Americans, and suggested that fact may have caused African American voters to identify with him. There has also been speculation that voters may have confused the candidate with soul singer Al Green.

Journalists and politicians have raised the possibility that Greene might be a Republican plant. South Carolina Republicans have been known to recruit African-American challengers to run against white frontrunners in Democratic primaries, with a view toward damaging the frontrunner's general election prospects. House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn has said that he suspects Greene is a Republican plant and has called for an investigation into the primary. Clyburn recalled the events surrounding the 1990 primary, when Rod Shealy recruited unemployed black fisherman Benjamin Hunt, Jr. to mount a primary challenge to Arthur Ravenel, Jr. He also claims that Greene's campaign manager works for Representative Joe Wilson (R-S.C.).

More here.

It is entirely possible, I suppose, that this is just some weird fluke: a guy who didn't campaign, has no name recognition, no job, no money, no home, no political experience, and is facing felony obscenity charges can conceivably win the Democratic nomination for US Senator. I mean, it's not like we're talking about the existence of God or Santa Claus or anything along those lines. This is definitely in the realm of the possible.

Of course, as my friend Jay once observed about my hopefulness when I was getting my ass kicked in a game of Risk, it's also possible that all the air in the room could spontaneously move to one side.

Who are we kidding? Greene did not win because his name appeared first on the ballot--maybe that works with something like county dog catcher, but not for a US Senate race. Greene did not win because lots of black people are named Greene--that's nothing short of insulting. And Greene most definitely did not win because voters confused him with Al Green. Do they think we're stupid? This stinks to high heavens.

Check out this CNN interview with him. The poor guy, obviously somebody's dupe or patsy, can barely string a sentence together. One wonders why his honorable discharge from the military was "involuntary." If you had asked me a decade ago if there was some sort of political dirty trick going on here, I would have been skeptical. After all, it's not like we're some banana republic. This is the USA. But that was before then Florida governor Jeb Bush, in collusion with then Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris, literally stole the election for his brother back in 2000. Apparently, we are some banana republic. That is, Republican operatives, we know for sure, and probably Democrats, too, are ready, willing, and able to subvert the electoral process for their own gain.

I mean, we don't know that's the case in South Carolina. But we do know that we live in a country where political players can and do fuck over the electorate in order to win. And right now, without any hard information, the only reasonable speculation is that S.C. Republicans tampered with the Democratic primary in order to nominate their preferred US Senate competition, a semi-crazy unemployed guy up on obscenity charges.

Okay, go prove me wrong.

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