Only In America
And now, the most remarkable story from Tuesday's primaries:
Alvin Greene, a relative unknown, shocked Democrats in the Palmetto State on Tuesday night by winning the chance to face Sen. Jim DeMint, a Republican, this fall with a commanding victory over state lawmaker Vick Rawl in the Democratic primary.
South Carolina Democratic Party Chair Carol Fowler on Wednesday asked Greene to withdraw from the race for U.S. Senate because of recently revealed court records which show the 32-year-old unemployed veteran was arrested last November in Columbia, S.C., for allegedly showing obscene photos to a college student.
[...] "As far as we know he has done no campaigning," state party spokesperson Keiana Page said. "We have no idea how he won."
Greene told Fox News he has never run for public office before, has no staffers and ran the campaign entirely on his own.
Greene is also being shunned by national Democrats [...].
Not just because this is such a zany embarrassment for the Dems will I insist that Greene's story is really mostly proof of how proud we should be of our country's amateurs. Which it is, "obscene photos" aside. (Higher-profile Democrats have been loved and praised despite worse.) I like a world in which this kind of crazy political victory, however small, is possible. Keep America Weird.
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May '10
Re: Only In America
I read that this morning and laughed at the part where they asked him what he thought about TARP and he said, "TARP? What's that?". He would get along great with the U.S. Rep. who's worried Guam will sink from the weight of our troops...or, was that tip over? I love the bizarre, too. :-)
May '10
Re: Only In America
Perhaps the key to this victory is the phrase attached to his opponent, "state lawmaker." In some of the local races last Tuesday, I found myself voting for the one candidate who was not a career politician, for just that reason. Could the South Carolinians have done the same?
Re: Only In America
Why yes indeed, G.A. And here's an update -- The Root has just posted its phone interview with Greene.
May '10
Re: Only In America
In the age of YouTube, it's a wonder political candidates spend as much money as they do on campaigning. There's plenty of free publicity to be found. Teenage volunteers have the technical skills to produce high-quality advertisements and excellent websites. The only thing that should cost money is driving around to talk with voters.