The Curious Case of Alvin Greene

[Torie]

Maybe Obama can offer him a government job, to "solve" this little matter. He seems to have had considerable practice at this endeavor, and he tells us it is all legal, so why not? Just why this dude would exit for free escapes me.

[Torie]

Why bother? It's not a competitive seat.

One can always hope.

[Torie]

Is this all a function of uber low information primary day voters? I mean the suggestion that there was massive ballot tampering in SC just doesn't seem very believable.

[Torie]

The Republican plant theory gains steam in Lunar's mind...



http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/06/10/AR2010061004943.html


"The intrigue surrounding this week's Democratic primary contests in South Carolina intensified Friday as campaign finance reports linked Gregory A. Brown, the challenger who lost to House Majority Whip James E. Clyburn, to a Republican consulting firm."

Besides, the SC GOP is famously sneaky

So a bunch of Republican like AHDuke voted for the guy?   I mean just because you are a GOP plant, does not mean you win a Dem nomination for a statewide office. But hey, if it works in SC, maybe it should be tried in my state.

[Torie]

So a bunch of Republican like AHDuke voted for the guy?  I mean just because you are a GOP plant, does not mean you win a Dem nomination for a statewide office. But hey, if it works in SC, maybe it should be tried in my state.

No, no, my point was that the race was even more low-turnout because informed voters would want to vote in the GOP primary.  

So you agree it was a low information primary day voter thing that was the explanation of the chap getting so many votes (as a percentage since you are saying few voted in the Dem primary relatively speaking) on that day?  How he got on the ballot is another matter.

[Torie]

That's probably one of the largest contributing factors.

But, since he showed up with that $10k check to get on the ballot of money that was not his own, and another no-name African-American beat the SC Democratic Party's choice in a congressional race as well, all bets are off on what other kinds of shady things were done here.  

Well, perhaps you will indulge me Lunar, and speculate for me about what mischief might be at least somewhat plausible and doable. I mean we don't want to be viewed as some sort of conspiracy kook now do we?  Thanks.

[Torie]

The SC GOP planting candidates is much more believable, but alas, not illegal without more information than what we've got.  Amusing that Dem primary voters fell for it, but this is certainly not without precedent in either party in many states.

The $10,000 that Greene spent may have been illegal.  Obviously for a federal race, the maximum contribution is a notch about $2k.

Torie, I'm not saying they rigged the counting.  At worst, the shady things involved independent expenditures to target black voters.   Which may be illegal campaign expenditures, depending on the source of the money.

Well for a mere $10,000, someone got a lot of bang for their buck, per voter and otherwise. I am not sure there is any there, there. It may be, that nobody cared, sort of like voting for party committee person. I never know who the heck they are, or care. So, the guy was the first name on the ballot, and that was that. Or maybe, it was just racial fealty, if the other dude was white.

[Torie]

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Seek help.


Moving right along, what is illegal about AHDuke (as it were) sending out a mailer for Greene with his own money?

[Torie]

You must be logged in to read this quote.

Seek help.

Haha.  Just a joke.  I'm not a fan of the struggle.  If someone told me the winning lottery numbers I'd do that and retire. 

Yes, that is more like the sybaritic Lunar, I know and love. I was worried for a moment!

[Torie]

Honestly, interfering in the other side's primary is done all the time.  Hell, I may have done it.  But there is a big difference between legal and illegal.    

Of course.  

But show me the federal statute that says said action is illegal.  What are the elements?  What is the standard of proof?  What are the parties who can be implicated in such actions and what are the circumstances that catches them within the meaning of the statute?  Build me a case, because otherwise accusations of illegality are baseless.

Oh and btw, lawyers struggle for their money.  Anyone who actually works and take responsibility struggles for the money which is why folks around here have such a positive view of government jobs.

I just composed quite a long post, about my thoughts of being a lawyer, the ups and downs, the stresses, the responsibility, the demands on yourself, if you demand of yourself a very high quality of performance (and that is the key really), the periods of time when you work almost every waking moment (sometimes for months on end) struggling with tough, close, complex issues, which involve judgment calls on which very large amounts of money can be riding, the sometimes hideous complex financial formulas one must get just right, on which large amounts of money may be at stake, forcing clients to think about contingencies that they think will never happen (hey we will all just get along, we are friends), and paying me thousands to draft the legal mechanics to deal with such contingencies that they think will never happen, disciplining clients to get over their emotions and anger, or greed, or impulse to dishonesty, or hiding the ball in some transactional deal, where the hiding ultimately may win them the battle but lose the war (I sometimes have to give almost therapeutic lectures about that), and having the moxie to do it without fear,  and with self confidence, and getting them to the point where they almost enjoy being bitch slapped by their lawyer, and just how long it takes I think to really become worth a damn, but I accidentally erased it all, so that is that.

But you know what? Over the decades, you end up with the clients who you really want, who really trust you, and are used to your style, and over time, have come to understand that it is to their benefit. You become friends. And that much at least is really satisfying. And now, it is hard to really retire, as long as I think some of those clients really need me, and want me.

Anyway, good luck Sam.

CC: Bullmoose, Badger

[Torie]

In the 2000 census, Green was 36% black, and Greene was 25% black.

[Torie]

In other news, PPP per its own analysis says the Greene thing was a "completely random" event, so it is time to move on folks. It's been fun.

[Torie]

AHDuke knew I was just using him as a prop. Of course he would go nowhere near any of this - ever. Hey, he wants to be a lawyer, and in my opinion, he was the potential to be an excellent one, and that means among other things, being an ethical one. Enough said.