# Ouch. Will someone please help Alvin Greene? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [July 20, 2010, 10:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ouch-will-someone-please-help-alvin-greene/547331 "2010-07-20T10:41:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![glilly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/48db29/32.png) [@glilly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glilly)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2010, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ouch-will-someone-please-help-alvin-greene/547331/21 "2010-07-20T20:31:27Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > I do not believe it was his money. That will be proven in time. I’m assuming you’ll think following the money will lead to the GOP. That, notwithstanding the fact that it (if your assumption is correct, did) work, would be a really harebrained scheme. There are always unelectable cranks on the ballot. Why would an opposition party pay to add another when you can get them for free? Also, how would funding someone unelectable result in him winning the primary? This line of thought just doesn’t make sense when looking at it from before-the-fact. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2010, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ouch-will-someone-please-help-alvin-greene/547331/22 "2010-07-20T20:48:17Z")
“Most people who come here to South Carolina, do so by vehicle.” The rest teleport, I assume. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2010, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ouch-will-someone-please-help-alvin-greene/547331/23 "2010-07-20T21:14:04Z")
Well, if you’re at Carowinds you can walk over the border. At least when I was a kid, snack bars on one side of the line had a different sales tax. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2010, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ouch-will-someone-please-help-alvin-greene/547331/24 "2010-07-20T21:29:36Z")
> [@friedo](#): > > Unemployment benefits from the Army, and he lives with his father so he doesn’t have any major expenses. > > Or what **Spit** said. There is no guarantee that a military person can draw unemployment when separating from the service. States view it differently. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2010, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ouch-will-someone-please-help-alvin-greene/547331/25 "2010-07-20T22:29:09Z")
> [@leander](#): > > Yes, he is a giant retard who somehow, amazingly managed to slip through the cracks. No one can quite understand how he became the Senatorial candidate for the Democratic party in S Carolina. It is a very bizarre thing. > > ETA: Is this going to be the new right wing talking point? > [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > This is what the press needs to follow up on. All evidence [raises doubts](http://news.yahoo.com/s/ynews/ynews_pl2523) he had a bank account with that much money: > > I’d lay even money the truth will out regarding who is pulling his strings, and they aren’t Democrats. Maybe you guys should put your heads together and figure out whose talking point his nomination is supposed to be. :D:cool: ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ouch-will-someone-please-help-alvin-greene/547331/26 "2010-07-21T16:45:12Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > There is no guarantee that a military person can draw unemployment when separating from the service. States view it differently. And WTF does this interesting tidbit have to do with the fact _that he was collecting unemployment benefits_ and that this is where some of his money came from? Not hypothetical unemployment benefits, actual ones, as detailed by South Carolina’s investigation of the matter. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Moto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de0a6/32.png) [@Mr.Moto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Moto)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ouch-will-someone-please-help-alvin-greene/547331/27 "2010-07-21T18:04:45Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > “Most people who come here to South Carolina, do so by vehicle.” > > The rest teleport, I assume. The governor of South Carolina reminded us all recently that hiking vacations are popular there. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ouch-will-someone-please-help-alvin-greene/547331/28 "2010-07-21T18:58:31Z")
Appalachian Trail doesn’t cross our borders, though. ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2010, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ouch-will-someone-please-help-alvin-greene/547331/29 "2010-07-22T21:27:07Z")
> [@Ferret\_Herder](#): > > I think an unemployed veteran who lays down $10K of his hard-saved money should logically be following up on that by hitting the proverbial/literal streets to spread the message that he’s a good candidate. And it bowls me over not only that he didn’t (again, apparently) do that, but that he also won. That is what gets me as well. If you are unemployed, but you have a $10k nest egg that is all you have in the whole world, but you want to be a U.S. Senator bad enough to pay the filing fee, why not campaign at least a little? ---
**Author:** ![Spit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/76d3ee/32.png) [@Spit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spit)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2010, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ouch-will-someone-please-help-alvin-greene/547331/30 "2010-07-23T13:20:07Z")
> [@friedo](#): > > And WTF does this interesting tidbit have to do with the fact _that he was collecting unemployment benefits_ and that this is where some of his money came from? Not hypothetical unemployment benefits, actual ones, as detailed by South Carolina’s investigation of the matter. He is proof that Democrat policies work? Had a tough life, got some public assistance, and now he has a shot at being a Senator. ---
**Author:** ![glilly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/48db29/32.png) [@glilly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glilly)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2010, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ouch-will-someone-please-help-alvin-greene/547331/31 "2010-07-23T13:44:33Z")
> [@jtgain](#): > > That is what gets me as well. If you are unemployed, but you have a $10k nest egg that is all you have in the whole world, but you want to be a U.S. Senator bad enough to pay the filing fee, why not campaign at least a little? He probably wasn’t thinking rationally about his chances or what it takes. Maybe he thought he had such a compelling story the press would come to him. Think of people you knew in high school who had high aspirations but either had no drive or had no sense of what it took and did no real work towards the goal. That’s what this reminds me of, except for some reason it worked (at least through the primary). ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2010, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ouch-will-someone-please-help-alvin-greene/547331/32 "2010-07-23T13:54:18Z")
… and his military records [come out](http://www.thestate.com/2010/07/22/1387194/records-detail-greenes-air-force.html). Yeah, some “hero”. A highlight from the article: > [@](#): > > The reviewer also wrote Greene “required a daily to-do list” to perform basic duties and had a “consistent inability to follow instructions or maintain basic job knowledge.” Most seriously, the reviewer wrote Greene would represent “a threat to others” because of his inability to grasp the basics of military training. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2010, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ouch-will-someone-please-help-alvin-greene/547331/33 "2010-07-23T14:43:07Z")
> [@jtgain](#): > > That is what gets me as well. If you are unemployed, but you have a $10k nest egg that is all you have in the whole world, but you want to be a U.S. Senator bad enough to pay the filing fee, why not campaign at least a little? That is, indeed, puzzling. I think it’s clear that the guy is a tad mental. ---
**Author:** ![joebuck20](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/74df32/32.png) [@joebuck20](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joebuck20)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2010, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ouch-will-someone-please-help-alvin-greene/547331/34 "2010-07-23T14:59:59Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > … and his military records [come out](http://www.thestate.com/2010/07/22/1387194/records-detail-greenes-air-force.html). Yeah, some “hero”. A highlight from the article: And his job as “intelligence analyst” seemed to involved little more than “shredding documents and escorting contractors around the base.” ---
**Author:** ![Death\_of\_Rats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a6a055/32.png) [@Death\_of\_Rats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Death_of_Rats)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2010, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ouch-will-someone-please-help-alvin-greene/547331/35 "2010-07-23T15:12:20Z")
Personally, I think SC could do a lot worse then this guy for a senator. Like Jim DeMint, for instance. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2010, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ouch-will-someone-please-help-alvin-greene/547331/36 "2010-07-23T16:20:33Z")
> [@joebuck20](#): > > And his job as “intelligence analyst” seemed to involved little more than “shredding documents and escorting contractors around the base.” It calls him an “intelligence librarian”, which is a nasty little blow to my profession. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2010, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ouch-will-someone-please-help-alvin-greene/547331/37 "2010-07-24T00:27:09Z")
> [@](#): > > At his home in Manning on Thursday, Greene told an AP reporter who reviewed the documents with him that the evaluations show he was discriminated against by military supervisors but he did not explain what that meant. > > “I’m telling you who they promote: the terrorists and the communists,” said Greene, wearing a blue U.S. Air Force T-shirt. “This is why we need to overhaul the military and get these people out.” "In other words, he’s running as tea partier now. " ---
**Author:** ![magellan01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@magellan01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magellan01)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2010, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ouch-will-someone-please-help-alvin-greene/547331/38 "2010-07-24T01:40:49Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > "In other words, he’s running as tea partier now. " Now, I’m really concerned. He might actually win! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ouch-will-someone-please-help-alvin-greene/547331.md?page=1)