Only In South Carolina?
By Rabble Rouser Reverend Amy on June 10, 2010 at 1:00 PM in Crime, Current Affairs, Democratic Party, General Election, Republicans, South Carolina, US Senate
Recently, South Carolina has been in the news for our “wacky” politics, especially amid allegations of impropriety on behalf of Rep. Nikki Haley. Haley is now in a runoff for Republican candidate for Governor by two men, one of whom worked for her competitor. Despite these allegations, and an upcoming run-off (June 22nd), she is widely expected to win.
But the one about whom you may NOT have heard is the Democratic nominee for US Senate, set to face Senator Jim DeMint. I guess with this story, we really do have to accept and acknowledge that we have some whacked out politics in this state. This is a good one.
So, here’s the thing. Okay. The guy who won, Alvin Greene, raised not one dime, had no campaign website, and STILL beat a 4 time state official for the shot to go against Senator DeMint. There is just one tiny little problem with him, though, as this article highlights, S.C. Dems Ask Senate Nominee To Withdraw After Felony Charge. Oh, oops:
Less than 24 hours after Alvin Greene’s surprise win in the South Carolina Democratic Senate primary, the state party has asked him to withdraw from the race because of a pending felony charge.“Today I spoke with Alvin Greene, the presumptive Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate, and asked him to withdraw from the race,” Carol Fowler, chairwoman of the South Carolina Democratic Party, said in a statement.
The Associated Press reported Wednesday that Greene is facing felony charges for displaying pornographic pictures to a University of South Carolina student.
Fowler said she didn’t take her decision “lightly.”“I believe strongly that the Democratic voters of this state have the right to select our nominee,” she said.
“But this new information about Mr. Greene would certainly have affected the decisions of many of those voters.”
The party said that as of Wednesday afternoon it had not received a response from Greene.
I don’t know about you, but for me, it begs the question: how did Greene even get on the ballot? Great that Fowler is stepping in now, but, seriously – how did he even get on the ballot? I hope someone knows, because he ain’t talking:
The candidate could not be reached for comment. He declined to comment on the charges to the AP.Greene posted bond after his arrest in November for showing the obscene Internet photos to the young woman, according to the report. Though Greene has yet to enter a plea or be indicted, if convicted, he could be imprisoned for up to five years.
In an earlier interview with The Ballot Box, Greene declined to comment about his pending charges, but admitted he was surprised with the results of Tuesday’s vote. At the time of the interview, the party had not called for his resignation.
He said his chances against Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) were good because “this is a dire time in South Carolina and the U.S.”
Greene stunned observers Tuesday when he won the nomination. He raised no money and put up no campaign website but beat former four-term state lawmaker Vic Rawl 59 percent to 41. (Eden Stiffman)
I suppose one could look at this as knowing about his crime BEFORE he got into office, so it would not be a big surprise to anyone…Ahem. Seriously, though, why did people give this man a vote when they knew so little about him? That is just a tad problematic.
Oh, these wacky, wacky South Cackalackians, right? Right. Still, I’d sure like to know how the hell he even got on the ballot. Maybe Carol Fowler can answer that question for us.
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