Missing The Point

The political world is abuzz with talk of Alvin Green's surprise win over Vic Rawls in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate in South Carolina. No one was even questioning Rawls winning the race so then Green pulled in nearly 60% of the vote party officials were stunned. I would have loved to have been at Rawl's campaign headquarters as they watched the results come in.

Since the election it has come out that Green is facing a felony charge allegedly related pornography. He also paid the $10,400 filing fee for the election out of his own money and says he spent less than $2,000 on his campaign. The campaign, by the way, consisted of "driving around and meeting people".

Now Democrats are asking him to step down and suggesting that he is a Republican plant put in place for Senator Jim DeMint to steamroll in the general election. It's a ridiculous charge since DeMint would have steamrolled Rawl as easily as Green. Or perhaps, they suggest, it's because alphabetically, Green's name appeared above Rawl's on the ballot.

There has been much mocking of Green for his unpolished performance in interviews and intimations that he's not all that intelligent. This has come from both sides of the political spectrum. I think they're missing the real point here. Rawl campaigned campaigned relentlessly, so people knew who he was. Green was an unknown yet he was chosen.

People are so fed up with politics, they are willing to choose an unknown over someone who represents more of the same. All the mocking and laughing is done at the peril of the parties. I think people are looking for the average person to represent them now as opposed to the politicians who have been doing so. Whether or not Green is a viable candidate is beside the point. The larger truth is that the political landscape is changing and the political establishment is not recognizing the shift.