Alvin Greene As Real As It Gets

Between Argentinian mistresses, primary campaign racial slurring and a hodgepodge of state investigations, its hard to tell at any given moment what's really "real" when it comes to South Carolina politics. Just when you think you've got some of the madness worked out in your head, in swoops one, Mr. Alvin Greene, to twist the political spectrum in the Lowcountry even more ascew.

On Tuesday, it seems Mr. Greene somehow won the primary race for Senate with little campaigning, no fund-raising, no bellowing street-side signage, without setting a platform, creating a campaign website or attending a single democratic event. Something is smelly in South Carolina and it's not the oil slick yet.

Wednesday I heard a tidbit of this latest foul political tale while running past the television cleaning up the house. With few details, I thought to myself, surely, there was some mix-up with this Alvin Greene guy which would be cleared up in a day or two. Unfortunately, I was wrong. In just one day's time his story got freakier and freakier. As details have been published, we now also know that Mr. Greene is facing felony obscenity charges. When I finally caught the entire spread splashed in the headlines of the New York Times , I was shocked at the rate of speed with which South Carolina politics can go from simple weirdness to total twightlight zone.
Now Congressman and House Majority Whip, Jim Clyburn (D) wants the mystifying events surroundingMr. Greene's win investigated, calling him a plant. My gut instinct tells me that Mr. Clyburn might be right in his suspision. But who can really be sure at this point, anyway? While South Carolina's politics continue to both alarm and surprise, it seems Mr. Greene is about as real as it gets for the moment. Here in the Palmetto State political plants and other surreal beaurecratic hijinx occur with certain regularity, and unraveling Mr. Greene's questionable tale is just a spell in our current political reality.