The Importance of Alvin Greene

[Truth2Tell]

Alvin Greene, the winner of the South Carolina Democratic Senate Primary, has an important message for all of us:

Things are very very fucked up in this country.

OK, so Greene isn't actually using those exact words as part of his spoon-fed Forrest Gump talking-points, but the message is crystal clear. In fact the message is Alvin Greene HIMSELF. He is a harbinger. A symbol. A cautionary chimera.

Our democracy is fucking broken people, and the mysterious Alvin Greene has taken shape from the mist, like some Shakespearean ghost, to deliver us some hard truths. And we all know what happens to those who fail to heed Shakespearean ghosts.

Regardless of how you cut it, the Alvin Greene story does not bode well. If the voting machines were hacked or faulty, well, that's a problem. If political dirty tricksters managed so easily to place an idiot on the ballot for U.S Senate, well, that's a problem. If the Democratic Primary voting pool of an entire state is capable of electing a complete idiot based on sheer ignorance, well, that's also a problem.

Regardless of what happened to bring us to our present Being There meets Idiocracy moment, none of the alternatives are pretty. The outcome is what it is. And it's shameful. It's an outcome which could only have been generated by system which is simply not working. Democracy fail.

Why? Specifically with Greene, who knows? But generally? All of the above speculative reasons and more.

Garbage in, garbage out. If the systems used for counting votes are flawed, democratic outcomes will be flawed. If shady operatives can cheat elections, democratic outcomes will be flawed. If voters don't have access to real news and information about candidates, democratic outcomes will be flawed. If voters aren't taught to think critically and independently, democratic outcomes will be flawed. And they are.

Garbage in the name of Alvin Greene was spit out the back-end of the SC Dem Primary, but garbage gets spit out the back-end of our political process every day. Greene is just a really really obvious example. Black-box voting, the corruption of money, a lapdog press, a pliable and propagandized public, a sick political culture. Democracy can't breath under such conditions. It just doesn't work.

For those of us who doubt the trouble we are in, the specter of Alvin Greene has appeared to remind us how bad it is. Alvin may not seem like the sharpest tool in the shed, but I think we would be well advised to pay close attention to his message. After all, you should never mess with ghosts.

[Sebastian Doyle]

1. I hope Greene wins, and if I lived in SC, I'd vote for him.

Because even if he's every bit as stupid as he appears to be, he's better than Jim DeMented.

But that doesn't mean it's not time to smash every worthless fucking electro-fraud machine with sledgehammers, baseball bats, or whatever you got on hand. :argh:

[Truth2Tell]

4. If he were just a goofy guy who decided to run for Senate,

I'd get behind him 100%. But it's just plain obvious that he's lying about how and why he got in the race. I don't know what the truth is, but I have trouble supporting someone who sits there and continues to lie to my face after it's clear they're lying.

I also half worry that success for Alvin Greene would set off a string of morons winning elections. Maybe I'm paranoid, but I have to keep reminding myself that Idiocracy was a work of fiction.

[Berry Cool]

19. Morons winning elections? We can't have that!

I mean, it's never happened before... :rofl:

[The Magistrate]

2. Well Said, Sir!

[corkhead]

3. If our elected dems won't do anything about the corrupt electonic voting machines, the fix is in

and we the people are screwn.

[noise]

5. We can rule out the voting machines

It is an absurd suggestion. The political establishment has too much respect for the concept of representative democracy.

Besides it is well known that "rigged voting machines" and "corrupt political insiders" are the stuff of fringe conspiracy theories.

[WillyT]

7. Um... You Forgot The Sarcasm Thingy...

:shrug:

[noise]

8. My faith in our leaders

is unshakable.

These conspiracy theories make the left look bad.

[WillyT]

12. LOL !!! - You ARE A Crack-Up !!!

:rofl:

:evilgrin:

:hi:

[Scuba]

20. Did you foget the 'sarcasm' smilie? ....

Last fall, ES&S quietly purchased Diebold, giving them 80% of market for electronic voting machings. And it's not just the un-auditable vote-counting; they now also own polling place check-in software (electronic pollbooks), voter registration software and vote-by-mail authentication software.

http://www.benalexandra.com/cool_stuff/diebold_ess.htm

This link has very scary information, all with appropriate citations, regarding what could easily be a mass-manipulation of our elections.

They've already been caught registering voters who thought they were just signing petitions. Getting total registered voter numbers higher gives them more room to fudge numbers.

When you buy a pack of gum, you get a receipt. Why is there no receipt/audit trail on our votes? I can only think of one reason.

[WillyT]

6. More Excellent Analysis... Thank You !!! - K & R !!!

:toast:

:kick:

:hi:

[Truth2Tell]

9. Thanks WillyT!

I'm not afraid to admit that I'm fascinated by the Alvin Greene story. I think it has a lot to teach us. And it's deliciously mysterious to boot.

:toast:

[lib2DaBone]

10. Well said. However Greene got there.. it proves the system is broke..

It proves the system is based on MONEY, graft and corruption. How else could weasels like Michele Bachman, Joe Lieberman and Mitch McConnel get elected?

Positions are bought and sold by those that can afford it.

[opihimoimoi]

11. VOTE HIM IN and defeat DeMented to teach those Pubs about unintended consequences

We Dems have a golden op to defeat Demint and cost the pubs one of their main senators...they would have Greene to caucus with them or not is still a win for us and a loss for them..

DEFEAT DEMINT ELECT GREENE

THEY LOSE

WE WIN

[Truth2Tell]

13. The problem

is that the likelihood of that happening - even with a massive national effort - is very near zero. And in the meantime all these well-intentioned Greene supporters keep an accused "sex offender Democrat" in the national spotlight. Already many in the MSM have picked up the "look who those crazy Dems chose!1!1!" meme. The Repugs and the media are whipping this story as "dumb Dem primary voters do dumb thing." Why give them more ammo and their little game a longer shelf-life?

:shrug:

[opihimoimoi]

17. I see... but...our turn will come to defeat the GOP into a meaningless existence

This Nov will see some changes detrimental to the Gross GOP

[HughMoran]

14. Or it could be SC where we had one crappy candidate who nobody cared about

in a state so sure to reelect the Republican, that only something bizarre as a nobody beating a lackluster could make this Senate race remotely interesting. The only thing it's a sign of to me is that Democrats have no presence in SC.

[Truth2Tell]

16. I believe that the ghost of Alvin Greene

is going to visit you in the middle of the night sometime HughMoran. And after he takes you on a strange and wondrous journey through elections past, present and future, the ice in your heart will have melted and you will be a changed man, clamoring for reform and progressive change. Do you sleep wearing a nightgown and nightcap with a pointy tip by chance? You should think about it. Best to look sharp when Alvin comes.

[HughMoran]

18. I would have expected a serious response versus a personal attack

If you really believe in what you stated in your O/P, shouldn't you make a cogent argument for it?

Or did I miss the sarcasm/joke in the O/P?

[opihimoimoi]

15. oops