Vote for South Carolina’s Alvin Greene for U.S. Senate!
Are you watching this? The South Carolina Democratic Primary was held last week and the winner, by a significant margin… Alvin Greene over Vic Rawl.
Vic Rawl graduated from the USC School of Law in 1973. He and his wife Laura have been married 40 years and have one son, Vic Jr. He was an officer in the S.C. National Guard for twenty-six years, serving as a Judge Advocate and retiring as a Lt. Colonel. His law practice was open between 1973 and 1986, and he worked as a criminal prosecutor in 1976. He was elected to the South Carolina House of Representatives four times and served from 1977 to 1978 and from 1980-1986, for a total of eight years. From 1980 to 1986 he worked on the State Reorganization Commission, S. C. Housing Authority, and S.C. Prison Overcrowding Project. And he served as a Circuit Court Judge from 1991-2003.
So, basically Rawl’s a typical politician who wanted the people of South Carolina to send him to Washington to serve in the United States Senate for the next six years. Unfortunately, the people of South Carolina said no, but thank you for playing… and all eyes turned to Mr. Greene.
Out of a total of 170,215 votes cast, 100,362 went to Greene and 69,853 went to Vic Rawl. Voter turnout in most counties was in the range of 20-30%. Greene didn’t just win… he crushed his opponent winning 60% of the vote. A “mandate,” I believe is what they like to call that, right?
There was only little problem with the outcome, and both the politicians and the media started asking questions as soon as the results were in… Who the hell is Alvin Greene? The problem continues to be that no one has a real clear answer to that question.
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 a local newspaper 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.
Apparently, Greene, who is currently unemployed, lives at home with his father. He has no experience. He has no staff or campaign headquarters. He had no slogan and ran no advertising. He received no support from the Democratic Party, and no contributions from supporters. He held no rallies. No buttons. No lawn signs. No bumper stickers. No Website. No computer. No cell phone. No phone, no pool, and no pets.
However, it’s not like Greene has nothing in common with his would be fellow senators. The day after the primary election, the media reported that Greene was facing felony obscenity charges. Apparently, Greene was arrested in November 2009, charged with showing a pornographic Internet site to an 18-year-old female University of South Carolina student and then propositioning her in a computer lab. I realize that, traditionally, senators wait until they’ve been elected to rack up their first felony obscenity charge, but that just makes Greene an overachiever in my mind.
Now… when I first read about Greene’s victory I thought it was kind of funny and kind of sad. But, then the Democrats and media pundits gave me more than I could have possibly asked for as they started asking questions and attacking their party primary’s victor.
South Carolina Democratic Rep. James Clyburn kicked off the festivities with claims that “someone,” and by “someone” he means someone from the Republican Party, inserted Greene as a “plant” into the Democratic primary as part of the RNC’s plot to ruin Democratic chances in the November elections. Obviously, someone’s a plant alright… a potted plant… South Carolina Democratic Rep. James Clyburn, or at least he’s got a similar I.Q.
MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann really wanted to know where Greene got the $10,000 needed to enter the race? According to Keith, Alvin Greene filed as an indigent in South Carolina in order to get a public defender related to his felony obscenity charge, but he had $10,400 for a shot at the United States Senate. Greene said that he originally got the idea to run for office in 2008 when he was stationed in Korea, and that he paid the filing fee by saving two years of his service pay.
That was Keith’s big question… where did he get the ten grand? That’s the problem here? Gee, and here I would have thought that the Dems would have hung their heads in disgrace at how disconnected the electorate obviously is that they’ll vote for ANYONE that’s not a “politician”. Like, not only did Rawls lose to Greene, but he probably would have lost to “Blue” too. And I mean the color blue.
Keith, why didn’t you have Alvin Greene on your show during the primary, or at least look into him during the race? Or, did you just see an African American Democrat running and assume everything was fine? And where in the world is the Obama Administration? Isn’t there some Harvard type in charge of watching the Democratic primaries, leading up to this coming November’s all-important midterms?
Looking for Blame in All the Wrong Places…
Democrats looking to place blame for Greene’s victory is, in itself, comical. That they don’t know why Greene won is similarly, laughable. I don’t see how it could be made any clearer that people went to the polls dissatisfied at the status quo, and angry enough to check the box marked “Other”. And, as I’ve said many times before, there are millions of people all across this country that have been shown just how powerless they are, will soon reassert their power in the privacy of the voting booth.
We’ve lost 7 million homes over the last few years and there are tens of millions of Americans all too aware that they could soon join those undistinguished ranks. It’s not something that polls well, however, as there are few that care to admit publicly that they are at risk of losing their homes. As a result, how these millions of Americans feel about their country continues to be ignored by our elected representatives.
On Sunday morning, NBC’s David Gregory asked senior White House adviser David Axelrod if Greene’s election was legitimate. Axelrod replied: “The whole thing is odd. I don’t really know how to explain it and I don’t think anybody else does either. … How [Greene] won the primary is a big mystery, and until you resolve that I don’t think he can claim to be a strong, credible candidate.”
All totaled up, most political observers are blaming some blend of faulty voting machines, foul play by political opponents, and the fact that Greene comes before Rawls when listed alphabetically. South Carolina State Senator Robert Ford claimed that the surname “Greene” is common among African Americans, so that may have caused African American voters to identify with him, which makes sense. Ford, after all, garnered most of his support because everyone knows how much African Americans love to drive Fords.
There’s even speculation that African American voters confused the candidate with soul singer Al Green, which is just hysterical on one hand and, I would imagine, unbelievably insulting to these voters on the other.
First of all, let’s get one thing out of the way: I hope the RNC planted Green into the race, because that would demonstrate to me that they do have some sense of humor and I might pay a little more attention to them going forward… but there’s no chance they planted Greene or anyone else for that matter. Why? Because it makes no sense that anyone would have done so, that’s why.
Why in the world would the RNC plant an unknown into a political race who doesn’t campaign, has no rallies, runs no advertising, raises no money, garners no party support, and ostensibly has absolutely no chance of winning? And more than just that… no one even knew he was there… until he won, that is.
Great strategy, Republicans. What else can you spend time and money on this year that has essentially no chance of ever being noticed by anyone? It’s positively brilliant!
I started watching a few interviews with Greene, and they all went something like this:
INTERVIEWER: “How do you think people heard of your name before the election?”
ALVIN GREENE: (pause) “… uh, Word of mouth. I got the word around. It’s not luck. 60% of the vote…” (pause) “… I had 60% of the vote…” (pause) “60% of the vote is not luck, that’s a decisive wins”.
Journalist Scott Creighton wrote that he thinks Greene is basically playing the role of Forrest Gump. He believes that evil Republicans planted Greene into the race, and he bases his argument on a TV interview in which Greene is unfamiliar with the term “indictment”.
“Alvin Greene is pretending to be an idiot,” Creighton writes, noting that Greene holds a college degree and worked as an intelligence specialist in the US military. “He is doing it because someone doesn’t want a strong populist democrat like Vic Rawl running against Jim DeMint in South Carolina for his seat in the United States Senate.”
What’s this… a college degree? The plot thickens.
And sure enough, Alvin Greene received a bachelor’s degree from the University of South Carolina in Political Science in 2000 and he rose to the position of Intelligence Specialist during his military career.
The University of South Carolina confirms that Greene graduated in 2000 with a degree in political science. The Pentagon confirms that he served in the Army, and in the Army and Air Force national guards. Although Greene has not boasted of winning awards, the Pentagon says he was granted the Air Force Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal and Korean Defense Service Medal. MSNBC
Olbermann asked Greene if he planned to withdraw from the race, and Greene said… without hesitation, no way, he’s in it for the long haul, announcing that:
“The Democratic Party has chosen their nominee, and we have to stand behind their choice. The people have spoken. We need to be pro-South Carolina, not anti-Greene.”
Here here! Vote for Alvin!
Well, I’ve decided that I’m pro-Greene. In fact, I’m going to volunteer to help with his campaign, so in preparation for that job, I’ve taken the liberty of putting together a platform that I believe will resonate with the people of South Carolina, as well as with Americans from coast to coast.
- On the topic of BP in the Gulf of Mexico, Greene says: “Clean that sh#t up!”
- On Wall Street bankers and the financial crisis, Greene says: “Clean that sh#t up!”
- On the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, Greene says: “Clean that sh#t up!”
- On the ongoing foreclosure crisis, Green says: “Clean that sh#t up!”
- On the topic of unemployment, Greene says: “Clean that sh#t up!”
- On transparency at the Federal Reserve and Treasury, Greene says: “Clean that sh#t up!”
- On illegal immigration Greene says: “Clean that sh#t up!”
- Campaign reform? “Clean that sh#t up!”
See what I mean? Which one of his positions don’t you agree with?
If elected, Greene would be the first African-American in the Southern United States to win a seat in U.S. Senate since Reconstruction in the 1870s, and the first popularly elected African-American Senator from the South… ever!
Greene says he’s a moderate Democrat. His new campaign slogan is “Let’s get South Carolina back to work.” He supports offshore drilling. He supports reform of the financial industry. He supports job creation and would increase highway construction projects and pursue alternative energy sources. He has called for better school facilities and increasing pay for teachers. Greene favors winding down the wars the Middle East and “using that money for domestic programs, such as job creation, education, and Social Security. And, as to firearms, Greene said he supports the Constitution.”
Regardless of any of the preceding facts, South Carolina Democratic Party chairwoman Carol Fowler issued a statement calling for Greene to drop out of the race:
“We are proud to have nominated a Democratic ticket this year that, with the apparent exception of Mr. Greene, reflects South Carolina’s values. Our candidates want to give this state a new beginning without the drama and irresponsibility of the past 8 years, and the charges against Mr. Greene indicate that he cannot contribute to that new beginning. I hope he will see the wisdom of leaving the race.”
Don’t listen to her Alvin! Stay in there and hang tough… help is on its way. I’m in all the way. You’re not alone, by the way. We’ve already seen a number of long-time politicos get tossed out by the primaries.
2010 Primaries – Upsetting the Incumbents
In New Jersey, former NFL lineman Jon Runyan, 36, won the GOP primary and used his outsider status to trounce his opponent.
“People always question my experience in politics,” Runyan said in his victory speech. “Yes, I have no experience raising taxes over and over again. Yes, I have no experience increasing the debt. Do you really think the people who created these problems are going to be able to solve them?”
In South Dakota 38-year-old state Rep. Kristi Noem, who is a rancher and hunting lodge owner scored an upset victory over the better-known Secretary of State Chris Nelson.
Republican Sen. Bob Bennett was thrown out of office Saturday by delegates at the Utah GOP convention in a stunning defeat for a once-popular three-term incumbent. West Virginia Democratic Rep. Alan Mollohan lost his bid for a 15th term at the hands of Mike Oliverio, and if that doesn’t say “throw the incumbents out,” nothing does.
According to a CBS poll taken 10 days ago, only 9 per cent of Americans think “most members of Congress deserve re-election”. More than 80 per cent want “new people”. New people… I love new people. They’re so cute and cuddly, and they drool… Yay, for new people!
Want to see what I’m saying slap someone in the face? Then stand by in Nevada, which has the highest home foreclosure rate in the US. When incumbent Senate Democratic majority leader Harry Reid won out over the two lovely ladies that ran against him, well… he probably fainted.
And keep in mind who Reid against. Former beauty queen, Sue Lowden, who recently suggested patients could barter with their doctors as they did in the “olden days”. And her opponent, Sharron Angle, a Tea Party darling who is known for her position on drug therapy for prisoners recommended by the Church of Scientology. It includes massage.
I’m not sure what Alvin Greene’s position on massage is, but as far as his position on Harry Reid goes, Alvin says: “Clean that sh#t up!”
ALVIN GREENE
FOR US SENATE!
HE KNOWS HOW TO CLEAN THAT SH#T UP!