Meet the Democratic Senate Nominee of S. Carolina!

[Al B. Sure!]

http://gawker.com/5563087/south-caro...yline=true&s=i

It's been almost a week since mystery man Alvin Greene inexplicably won South Carolina's Democratic senate primary and yet he is still largely a mystery. We spoke to one of Greene's former Army colleagues for some insight into the guy.

Read the article for more.

From wikipedia:

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.[21] South Carolina State Senator Robert Ford claimed that the surname "Greene" is common among African Americans, and suggested that fact may have caused African American voters to identify with him.[21] There has also been speculation that voters may have confused the candidate with soul singer Al Green, whose real name is Albert Greene. [22]
Journalists and politicians have theorized that Greene might be a Republican plant. South Carolina Democratic party officials have noted that in 1990 a political consultant recruited an African-American challenger to run against white front-runners in South Carolina's Democratic primary for lieutenant governor in an effort to undermine their election prospects. The possibility has also been raised that Greene was put up by non-partisan political consultants that were bored. Nu Wexler, the former executive director of the South Carolina Democratic Party, commented "You have consultants doing this kind of thing just because they get bored, and they want something to tell good stories about. It's almost like fraternity pranks.

On the plus side, he is the first major party Senate candidate in S. Carolina since Reconstruction to be Black. But everything else is weird.

He's also currently facing felony obscenity charges.

[Ben Kenobi]

Rove, you magnificent Bastard.

First Tipper, now this. He's everywhere!

[Al B. Sure!]

Since I doubt many will read the article, some excerpts:

During the first couple of weeks of working with him, myself and most everyone else noticed that he wasn't all there mentally. Whenever he was given a simple task such as filling a temporary hand receipt it would never get done, mainly because he didn't know how to fill one out. And this is the most fundamental part of the job.

He also didn't show much interest in being a soldier. For instance, he was asked to do maintenance on the M249. This system is a little more complex than the regular service rifle. When it came to Greene's turn he was able to take the weapon apart but didn't know where to start when it came to put it back together. He showed no interest in learning and would mumble under his breath about not wanting to do it. So after a couple of months of trying and not getting anywhere, people just made sure he was where he was supposed to be and in the correct uniform. He would just basically come to work and stare at the wall till it was time for lunch and then do the same till it was time to go home for the day. The platoon sergeant tried to get him to go see a doctor for help but he would never seek help.

But I think he is a smart person. I asked him why he didn't go to Officers Candidate School since he has a bachelors degree [from the University of South Carolina] and he answered, "Why would I do that since that would require more work?" After he said that I realized what he was doing. He was being very lazy and working the system to get by. Even though it's obvious that he suffers from some kind of mental illness, I have worked with people that suffer from alcoholism to bipolarism and they would put more effort into what they did during their day to day life then he ever did.

[Al B. Sure!]

How does this happen?

http://www.wfae.org/wfae/1_87_316.cf...isplay&id=6223

The South Carolina Democratic Party will decide this week whether or not to uphold the surprising results of its U.S. Senate Primary election. An unknown man with no organized campaign upset a party insider in that election.

[Ben Kenobi]

What do you mean? I'm all over this article.

It's a good thing they have diebold voting machines. Hard to rig elections without them.

[Al B. Sure!]

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010...est=latestnews

Greene admits he had no campaign headquarters, no party support, no contributions, no job, no computer and no cell phone.

Yet, somehow, he managed to pull off the most unlikely of victories, and -- unless state Democratic Party officials have their way -- will face incumbent Republican Sen. Jim DeMint in November.

The Democratic candidate said he got no help from the South Carolina Democratic Party.

"From day one, they just didn't have confidence in my campaign," he said, adding that the state party wrote him off as a serious candidate because he had no funds and was unknown.

In fact, the South Carolina Democratic Party is so dumbfounded, one leading elected official is wondering if Greene is one of theirs at all.

U.S. House Majority Whip James Clyburn, D-S.C., called Greene a "plant" and has demanded an investigation into his candidacy.

It would sound like a feel good story about American politics if not for the fact that it all sounds so retarded.

[-Jrabbit]

This is a truly bizarre story. Heard about it on The Daily Show.

If this guy is the loser mope he appears to be (you should see him interviewed), how did he get on the ballot?

[Al B. Sure!]

Wow...

[DaShi]

Rove, you magnificent Bastard.

First Tipper, now this. He's everywhere!

You're a moron.

[Whoha]

"Vote Jefferson, the name you know"

[Wezil]

And some people are in favour of mandatory voting.

The idiots that want to vote can't figure it out.

[Heraclitus]

Americans mights as well opt for a demarchy. It will save you the time needed to go to the voting booths and will also improve the governance of your country.

[DinoDoc]

How does being lazy, a looming felony charge, and an affinity for internet porn differentiate him from the Democratic Party in particular and Congress in general?

[OzzyKP]

Wow...

Wow.

[Heraclitus]

Wow.

Show this video whenever someone talks about kids not being able to handle voting and ask them if they are sure adults can do better.

[gribbler]

Well, he's still better than a Republican.

[Heraclitus]

Well, he's still better than a Republican.

Depends on the repulbican. Even kooky Ron Paul beats him by a mile.

[Al B. Sure!]

Picture this guy if he actually gets elected! Picture him in office. He's not running to be a state senator... this is SENATOR... as in on Capitol Hill.

[a.kitman]

i hope he wins. would be awsome.

[C0ckney]

i think he'd be great. he'd be out there working hard, for the people, y'know and above all concentrating on the issues.

[Ogie Oglethorpe]

And while the Carolinas are a hot bed of political intrique these days, Texas is not to be left out.

http://www.time.com/time/nation/arti...998076,00.html

Texas Dems Grapple With Their Own Alvin Greene
By Hilary Hylton / Austin Sunday, Jun. 20, 2010

Kesha Rogers, winner of the U.S. Democratic Party primary election in Texas's 22nd congressional district

South Carolina's unexpected Democratic nominee for the US Senate, mystery man Alvin Greene, says he wants to play golf with Barack Obama. But in Texas, another surprise Democratic primary winner, congressional nominee Kesha Rogers, wants to impeach the President. So while South Carolina party officials are still unsure of what to do about Greene's success at the ballot box, Texas Democrats have no such reservations — they wasted little time in casting Rogers into exile and offering no support or recognition of her campaign to win what once was Republican Majority Leader Tom DeLay's old seat.

Rogers, 33, told TIME she is a "full time political activist" in the Lyndon LaRouche Youth Movement, a recruiting arm of the LaRouche political organization that is active on many college campuses. The LYM espouses LaRouche opposition to free trade and "globalism" (the UN, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund) and it also calls for a return to a humanist classical education, emphasizing the works of Plato and Leibnitz. On her professional looking campaign website, kesharogers.com, she touts the LaRouche political philosophy — a mix of support for the economic policies of President Franklin D. Roosevelt and the impeachment of President Obama — and calls Obama a "London and Wall Street backed puppet" whose policies will destroy the Democratic Party. During the campaign, she was photographed carrying an oversized portrait of the President with a Hitler-style moustache penciled on his lip.

Texas' 22nd district is a relatively conservative, primarily suburban area west and south of Houston that includes — thanks to DeLay's redistricting efforts — the NASA Johnson Space Center and surrounding aerospace industries, where residents have expressed concerns about cuts in manned space programs. Another major LaRouche-inspired plank in Rogers' platform is support for the colonization of Mars. "Help send me to Congress, and we can send our grandchildren to Mars!" was a Rogers' slogan during the campaign.

Unlike South Carolina's Greene, Rogers ran a high profile campaign, staking out a corner on a major intersection in the district to appear almost daily with a large sign: "Save NASA. Impeach Obama." She garnered 7,467 votes, 53% of the vote, in a three way race that included a local information systems analyst Doug Blatt, who gained endorsements from local Democratic clubs and labor groups, and Freddie John Weider Jr., a preacher and onetime Libertarian candidate; Blatt came in second with 28% of the vote and Weider won 20%. "The people of the 22nd district voted for me," she said. "They recognized the party is not acting in the interests of the people."

"There wasn't a lot of money in the race," Anthony Gutierrez, deputy executive director of the Texas Democratic Party said. "We probably could have done a better job of educating the voters on what the candidates' positions were." All three candidates raised similar amounts, according to Federal Election Commission reports. Rogers raised $16,000, mostly from individual contributions, while Blatt received $2,600 from the Democratic Party and spent $12,650 of his own money. Unlike in South Carolina, the TDP can't really claim it was blindsided. Rogers' LaRouche connections and banner-waving activities were detailed in the local media and she ran for the state party chair in 2006.

Gutierrez knows the 22nd well — he was the campaign manager for Nick Lampson, the last Democrat to successfully hold the seat following DeLay's mid-term resignation. In 2008, the popular Lampson even outperformed Obama in the district, as Democrats poured major resources in an attempt to hold it, Gutierrez said. But Lampson still lost in a three way race to Congressman Pete Olsen, the Republican who currently holds the seat — 52% to 45%, with the Libertarian Weider pulling a little over 2% of the vote. Lampson did as well as any Democrat could hope to do in the district, given its configuration, Gutierrez said, and party resources this year were better spent in more winnable races. Democrats have their eye on state races this year, hoping former Mayor Bill White will oust Gov. Rick Perry and Democrats can retake the statehouse and control the redistricting process.

Meanwhile, the state party has adopted a resolution denying any party support for Rogers, citing the alleged racist and discriminatory views of the LaRouche movement — allegations that Rogers, who is African-American, firmly rejects. District 22 has also been stricken from the party's official online list of congressional races. "No, I can't explain the result in CD 22," Houston progressive blogger Charles Kuffner wrote on his blog, Off the Kuff. "Stuff just happens sometimes, especially in races where not much attention is being paid."

One theory, according to a Democratic Party insider, is Rogers benefitted from her name being in the top position on the Fort Bend County ballot, where African-American Democratic interest was high in two local races. But Rogers rejects that notion. "I went to senior citizens centers. I was knocking on doors everywhere — everyone knew my positions, " she told TIME. "I don't think the Democratic Party leadership is getting it. The people continue to see more and more economic devastation and they don't see any real leadership." And for now, the party leadership will pretend that it can't see Rogers.

[Al B. Sure!]

I don't think Democrats even care or know who they vote for anymore. It's almost like, if they're Black, they're in.

[David Floyd]

Similar to your dating criteria?

[Al B. Sure!]

What?

[David Floyd]

Just ****in' with you

[Ogie Oglethorpe]

To be fair Kesha is kinda cute. Bat **** Larouchie crazy but cute. Need a full body shot though to be sure.