Lying To Make Friends

A great deal of attention has been given the last few days to Alvin Greene, the unemployed veteran who pulled off a shocking upset in the Democratic Primary for South Carolina’s Senate seat.  Greene won 60% of the vote despite seemingly not even running a campaign;  South Carolina’s Democratic leaders cannot recall him appearing at any campaign events, and he himself is unable to describe his own campaign activities beyond cliches that he “worked hard” and “went where the voters are” or to name towns in which he campaigned.  The strangeness of his victory has led some to speculate that he is a Republican plant, particularly since he is unemployed but paid the $10,000 filing fee to get on the ballot.

While the Greene story is certainly fascinating, particularly if there ends up being some kind of trickery involved, it is ultimately rather insignificant because the Republican, incumbent Jim DeMint, was an overwhelming favorite to win re-election regardless of the Democratic nominee.  What is far more significant are the crazy people Republicans have been voluntarily placing on November’s ballot through their own primaries.  On the same night as Greene’s mysterious victory, Nevada Republicans gave Sharron Angle their nomination to take on vulnerable Democratic Senate Leader Harry Reid.  Huffington Post has helpfully chronicled some of Angle’s more extreme positions, such as believing that fluoridation of water is a nefarious governmental plot, advocating the revival of prohibition, and promoting the myth that abortions cause breast cancer.  Angle’s nomination comes weeks after Rand Paul captured the Republican nomination in Kentucky’s Senate race and promptly announced his opposition to provisions of the Civil Rights Act banning private discrimination.  (This put Senate Republicans in the awkward position of choosing between their new golden child and an incredibly popular piece of legislation, not to mention their ongoing, always awkward efforts to ensure people of color that the Republican Party isn’t just for white folks.)  Paul, like Angle, subscribes to anti-government conspiracy theories, such as secret plots to bring about the union of the United States, Mexico, and Canada.

Whereas Greene’s victory merely turns a near certain Republican victory into a certain Republican victory, the primary wins of Paul and Angle, and the subsequent light shed on their more extreme views, have turned what were expected to be comfortable Republican wins into competitive races.  In short, I’m all in favor of Republicans putting as many unqualified candidates as they like on November’s ballot, Democrat or Republican, as long as they continue to do so in a way that only enhances Democrats’ prospects of holding their majority.

-AR