Alvin and the Chumpmunks

Yes, Alvin Greene's victory in the S.C. Democratic primary for U.S. Senate is embarrassing. But if you ask me, it's much ado about nothing. It doesn't really matter in the end.

Does anyone think Vic Rawl, his opponent in the primary, could have beaten Republican incumbent Jim DeMint in November anyway? Not in this state.

From that standpoint, the media's lapse in coverage (of both Greene and Rawl) was understandable and maybe even forgivable.

As for how a candidate with no fundraising apparatus, name recognition or even a website garnered a major-party nomination, I think "conspiracy" is a little far-fetched. I suppose it's possible the GOP planted Greene on the ballot, but that seems like an awfully risky move for Republicans in a contest that DeMint will handily win anyway.

The truth is likely far more mundane and sobering: Greene probably won because his name came first on the ballot.

Yes, his victory is an indictment of S.C. voters: Other than Greene and his mother, who in good conscience would vote for this guy? Apparently, a lot of people in this insane state would.

But the win is also an indictment of a spectacularly terrible campaign run by Greene's opponent. I was no more surprised to see Greene's name on my ballot than Rawl's, and because I knew nothing about either man, I left that box unchecked.

Who the hell is Alvin Greene? I don't know. But I also had no idea who Vic Rawl was, either.

Greene's victory also reflects horribly on pretty much every media outlet that failed to vet him properly. It was almost as if the contest didn't even exist. To be fair, the governor's race was far sexier, and any newspaper or TV station with a stretched staff and budget likely figured (rightly) that if it erred, it should err on the side of the most interesting race.

Too bad there was more than one.

But the most damning indictment here is that of the laughable and disgraced S.C. Democratic Party. How did it even allow a man facing a felony charge onto the ballot? Even if the charges against him prove true, I feel badly for Greene, who himself seems stunned and overwhelmed. And yet the question remains: Greene is the best the Democratic Party can do? Hell, Rawl is the best it can do?

The sad fact is that the Democratic Party in the Palmetto State is in such disarray that its existence here is nearly pointless right now. And if Vincent Sheheen wins the gubernatorial race in November, it will be in spite of--not because of--his party's organization.

As a liberal, it pains me to say it, but if the S.C. Democratic Party is the organization dedicated to turning the state blue, we have about the same odds as Alvin Greene does in November.

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