After hearing about Alvin Greene, and how he had no web site etc. I decided to have a little fun. I registered
http://www.alvingreene2010.com yesterday and put up a web site, which is the same as it is now except there is more stuff saying it is unofficial now. I linked it to Wikipedia. Then all three Alvin Greene Twitter accounts linked to the web site and said it was the official site - I did not control the most popular two, mine only had four followers. I also went on Facebook and made an account for him - I currently have 73 friends, many of them from Manning, originally at least. They are all talking about Alvin on their Facebook walls.
I also called Alvin's house a few times yesterday and spoke with him, and I believe his father as well (although his brother is there as well).
Obviously those who know best are those familiar with him, his family, the area and the like. I suspect black reporters from South Carolina would be best at learning the whole story.
I think this is one of the best stories I've read, and seems the most close and accurate -
http://free-times.com/index.php?cat=1992209084141467&act=post&pid=11861006100935349I have been getting a lot of emails and messages, and have talked to the Greene's a little, so maybe I have a slight insight into this. I think there are two important things to consider here in all the mystery, only one of which has been discussed somewhat in the press, the other one maybe implied in only the Free Times article.
1) Alvin Greene is a black-sounding name, especially in South Carolina. Vic Rawl is a white-sounding name. The Democratic primary has a lot of black voters, especially black women. I've been getting messages from black women in South Carolina who've told me they voted for Alvin and are asking me after the fact about what the positions are, and if these felony charges are true. I suspect he got a lot of votes because Alvin Greene was a more comfortable, down home and, frankly, black name then Vic Rawl. There was a news article that said Vic Rawl had very low name recognition.
This is not that unusual. In New York City, the Italian part of the Tammany machine wanted a piece of the ticket within the city. While the Irish got mayor (O'Dwyer), the Italians were given the City Council president slot. The slot was given to Vincent Impellitteri, a name which is as obviously Italian as you can get. While it can be high profile, the City council president is completely powerless, even within the City Council. But if the mayor resigns, the president becomes mayor. Which is what happens when scandal forced O'Dwyer out in 1950. Tammany felt Impellitteri was not competent enough to be mayor so didn't back him in the special election, and he didn't even get the Democratic party nod, but he won the election anyhow. No one outside of Tammany knew who Impellitterri was before he became mayor, if his name had not sounded Italian he never would have become mayor.
2) Where did the money come from? How about his father? Maybe not even directly his father - maybe he told his father he wanted to run two years ago and his father told him to save up for two years. His father was a teacher, a barber, and a nightclub owner who was active in town affairs and Democratic politics. His parents were also very into education and made sure their kids went to college. He probably inspired Alvin to run. Alvin has said his family are big advisers to him, and it sounded like that when I talked to him on the phone.
When I called Alvin I talked to his father (or brother?). Then I told Alvin I had put up a website echoing what he said and asked him if he wanted me to do anything. He asked where I was from and I said New York. He said it did not have his authority. Then he hung up. Not long after he went on Olbermann and the relevant transcript is -
KO: Do you have a Twitter account? Did you start a twitter account for your campaign today?
AG: No I haven't.
KO: So announcements that supposed...
AG: And I would like...
KO: Go ahead.
AG: I heard that there's some. I had people calling. There's just some false sites out there that I'm not operating. That's something that I just got today. That there are false sites out there relating to me and my campaign. I just want to let everyone know that there are sites out there that don't have my authority.
Authority and authorized were the same words he used when I talked to him. So I made sure to put up several times on the site that it was unofficial, unauthorized and from a grassroots supporter.
So I have a skeleton Facebook, Twitter, web site etc. for him if he wants. I figure its better to have that then the Republicans have it - some joker made a rival Facebook page which has him saying he likes Redtube (a porn site). The whole skeleton is ready for me to hand over as soon as he asks for it. I'd call him and offer it, but he sounds harried right now so maybe I'll wait before I call again.
Of course some investigation should be done, but first, they should actually do some investigating if they're going to investigate. I don't think his family coming up with $10k is that mysterious, it's $10k not $100k. I also think his black-sounding name got him elected, not some Alex Jones type conspiracy among South Carolina Republicans that they've been able to keep secret. Everyone expects DeMint to win in a landslide even before Greene showed up, so why break all those laws and go to all that trouble, it's not like it's Florida or Ohio. But some accounting for the $10k sounds in order, as well as a look at conspiracies etc.
If any *real* reporter is interested, I can put you in contact with a voter or two who voted for him without knowing who he is.
Finally - with all these DLC Democrats out there, I'm happy an ordinary American was nominated. I guess if he didn't have felony pornography charges hanging over him it would be better. When is the last time a Democratic senator nominee talked about a peaceful, democratic reunification of Korea? A sentiment which is very popular in Korea. I live in a Korean area, and when there was an opening in South Korea a few years ago, "Korea is One" signs were everywhere. An unknown who favors peace, justice, jobs, and so forth is better than any of these DLC types for me.
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