Where did this guy come from???

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I just have to talk about a news story that has blown my mind. So I’ll get right to the point and ask the question that everyone is thinking but have not asked. “Where did THEY get this Negro?” I am talking about Alvin Greene the Senate nominee who won the South Carolina Democratic primary this week. I guess I should say first that he is from South Carolina, which might explain or answer the question, as they have had their share of odd characters. Mr. Greene, and I use that loosely, has the distinction of being the first African American to win a major party nomination for U.S. Senate in the state and faces the Republican Party Senator or maybe Tea Bagger Jim DeMint in the general election.

Let me tell you a little about this character Greene before I agree with everyone else except those who planted him into the equation. He won the Democratic primary race in June of 2010 with 58% of votes cast despite virtually no campaigning, no campaign spending, no website, no computer, no cell phone, and had only one campaign sign. He was in the Army and Air Force before an involuntary honorable discharge to which he says is a long story. He is currently unemployed and lives with his father. Ok, so far, not so good.

The state Democratic Party chairperson says she has not seen Greene since he filed the papers to run. Clarendon County Democratic Party Chairman Cal Land told local newspaper The Item that local party leaders have never met Greene. Lend went on to say, 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 nor did he file the legally required forms with the Secretary of the Senate or the Federal Elections Commission. He also said Greene attempted to pay his $10,400 filing fee with a personal check, rather than a check from a campaign account.

Now, this is where it gets messy: The day after the primary election, the media reported that Greene was facing felony charges stemming from a November 2009 arrest for allegedly showing obscene internet photos to an 18 year old University of South Carolina student in a computer lab. As a result of these charges, the South Carolina Democratic Party issued a statement calling for Greene to step down, saying:

"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."

Greene has refused to bow out of the race and emphatically stated 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." When asked to explain how he won Tuesday's primary, Greene rambles for a bit and then concludes "just hard work," which frankly appears to be revolutionizing the definition of "hard work." The interviewer posed a follows up question, "You didn't hold any campaign functions, you had no campaign signs, no campaign literature, no website, how did you work to get the name out, I mean what did you physically do?" Greene said, "I did just simple old fashioned campaigning, nothing fancy or expensive."

I am going to give him the benefit of doubt although I don’t believe any of that old fashion stuff. Baffling is to kind, but let’s say that all the stars lined up and God sent him to deliver South Carolina. Has anyone asked his position on anything? Well the only thing I have been about to find about his platform was "jobs, education and justice."Let’s be mindful that the U.S. Senate has only had a few blacks elected to that office and never more than on at a time. So, are we supposed to be leave that this guy is the beneficiary of Martin Luther King’s – I have a dream?

There has been speculation that he might be a Republican plant in order to stir up trouble in the Democratic Party in order to ensure his opponent an easy victory. Could it be that the Republican’s crossed over casting their votes for him? House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn and other have suggested that Greene is a plant and has called for an investigation into the primary. I will say this, and I have lived in America for a half century, this notion, particularly after hearing him speak, is as ridiculous as the Governor going for a hike on the Appalachian Trail.

Let me go back to the charges against him. The news report says he has not entered a plea or been indicted in connection with the obscenity charge. Greene asks: "I have not been indicted? Indicted? What does that mean?" His brother, according to reports, explained during an interview that a charge and an indictment are different things.

Greene's now 19 accuser have said she didn't know Greene was running. "I really wish I'd known before the election, so I could have said something so that people would have known who they were voting for." She says, Greene asked her to look at pornography on his screen at a computer lab in a University of South Carolina dormitory and suggested, "Let's go to your room." Both her and her mother wants Greene to withdraw from the race adding one other thing: "We want this guy to crawl back under the rock he came from." Enough said…


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