http://66.225.205.104/JR20100611a.mp3
Ask Alvin Greene - a 32-year-old unemployed veteran - how he managed to defeat a well-known former state lawmaker in the Democratic primary for Senate, and this is his answer: "Hard work (long pause) um , just hard work." Greene is short on the details of that hard work. He had no formal campaign organization, no website. He filed no campaign fundraising disclosure forms. This week it was discovered that Greene faces a felony charge for showing obscene photos to a college student last November. South Carolina's Democratic Party is desperately trying to figure out how Greene ended up with nearly 60 percent of the vote. And they're hoping to undo the outcome, if possible. Party Chairwoman Carol Fowler has asked Greene to step down. So far he's refusing. Typically, Carol Fowler knows a lot about Democrats running for office. They come to party events. She sees them on the stump. Many will use the party's office for meetings. But Alvin Greene? She only met him once - on the day he filed to run for U.S. Senate. Fowler: He was obviously not campaigning and Mr. Rawl was campgining, so my assumption was that he had decided he didn't particularly want this nomination and that Vic Rawl would win the election on Tuesday. It's not up to me to go track him down and beg him to come visit. Rose: Wouldn't it be up to the party, to some extent, to vet the people who could take the nomination? Fowler: We don't get a choice in whether we allow them to run. Under South Carolina law I had to accept his filing. Rose: Why did the party not forcefully endorse Mr. Rawl? Fowler: We do not endorse candidates in a primary. We can't do anything for a candidate in a primary. That is our party policy. We've never done that. I think that if I had known that this man was facing charges for a sexual offense, I probably would have been obligated to make that known. Rose: You didn't - as a matter of course you don't look into the criminal records of candidates? Fowler: We might do that with a state candidate because I have to say a person is qualified to hold office. You can run for federal office even if you have been convicted of a crime. In South Carolina, for a state office, he could not have run. Rose: What was your impression of Mr. Greene after your long conversation the day he filed for office? Fowler: That he was very naïve. And had no idea what it would take to be elected. Rose: In order to file for office, there is a fee you have to pay, right? Fowler: He had to pay a fee of $10,400. Rose: Which suggests some seriousness. . . Fowler: Well I tried to talk to him about that and asked him where he got his money and 'could he afford to do that?' And he said it was his money and that's what he chose to do with it. I talked with him about how much money it would cost to be elected and he said well, he thought people would give him money when he was running. Rose: What was your thinking when you noticed that Mr. Rawl was trailing? Fowler: I was astounded. I am completely bewildered by the fact that this man that did not campaign at all and had no political experience and very little job experience, I have no idea how he could defeat someone who is very well qualified and has held office for a long time - and was actually campaigning the whole time. Rose: Do you think some voter fraud went on? Fowler: I don't know that at all. I have no evidence that there was any kind of voter fraud, that anything was done wrong with money - nothing. I don't know why he won. I have asked him to withdraw, but it was not because of anything except the fact that we've learned since the election that he has been charged with a sex offense and I don't think that's appropriate to have a candidate running on the Democratic ticket who is charged as a sex offender. Rose: What happens if your candidate remains Alvin Greene? Fowler: Well, if our candidate remains Alvin Greene, I don't know, I haven't looked that far ahead. I'm hoping he will see the wisdom of withdrawing from the ballot. So I don't know. Rose: Particularly since even an experienced, well-funded Democrat will face a tough race trying to unseat incumbent Republican Senator Jim DeMint. Fowler says attorneys for the State Democratic Party are still looking into the primary election outcome. Yesterday, South Carolina Congressman Jim Clyburn called for a full-blown investigation by state and federal authorities. But Greene has so far dug in his heels, saying he's the people's choice. He's already got a campaign slogan tied to his personal experience with unemployment: "Let's Get South Carolina Back to Work."