Greene’s 18% win does not a conspiracy make. Even if someone else paid the filing fee.

Many South Carolina Democrats, including Majority Whip Jim Clyburn, are suggesting that someone paid Alvin Greene’s filing fee (and maybe even secretly influenced voters) with the intention of spoiling the Democratic Primary for the benefit of Senator Jim DeMint. Some are also saying that cross-over Republican voters influenced the primary, which is silly considering all the seriously contested Republican races.  I’ve even heard allegations of absentee ballot tampering, which also is silly considering that Greene won by 30,000 votes.  There is talk of investigations, litigation and official action to remove Greene from the ballot.

If conspirators successfully swung a race by 30,000 votes by finding a fool facing felony charges, secretly influencing voters, tampering with absentee ballots, and motivating Republican cross-over voters after the nationally-covered Nikki Haley accusations/slurs, I want those conspirators on my team.

Yes, Greene was clearly unable to pay his filing fee. But – regardless of who paid it – I reject the notion that anyone would organize such a grandiose conspiracy in order to spoil the Democratic Senate primary. Although such interference is not unprecedented, this situation reads like a sick (albeit illegal) joke.  Or local cooking.  Enjoy your 15 minutes, Alvin Greene.

1.  DeMint is about as strong as he can be.  He was well-poised to decisively beat Rawl or any other Democratic comer.  Although his campaign will assuredly benefit from this Greene foolishness, DeMint has absolutely no incentive to plot.

2.  Neither the State Democratic Party nor the candidate did the minimal research to find out about this guy.  The media and windbags like me were asleep at the switch as well.

3.  His last name is Greene, a most common surname in SC, especially among African American voters, who disproportionately comprise the primary electorate.  In his traditional inartful manner, Robert Ford is right on this point.

4.  Rawl did not run a primary campaign.  He was gunning up to run against DeMint.  He might have met with key leaders, but he did not run a primary campaign.  Period.

5.  If there was secret outreach, it was amazingly secret and undetectable, somehow reaching 30,000 voters.  Give me a break.

6.  In the First Congressional District primary, Ben Frasier (another weirdo who happens to be African American) beat Robert Burton, the party’s anointed candidate, under very similar circumstances. Frasier has almost done this before, has no alphabetical advantage, and how more Charleston (and African American) can the surname “Frasier” be?

The bottom line is I think voters of all races had no idea about either candidate and made guesses.  Some may have voted for the first name on the alphabet.  Others might have connected with surnames.  I’m sure there was a lot of “eeny meeny miney mo.” So, it’s everyone’s fault:  the party and the candidate for not reaching out to voters effectively, the media and activists like me who dropped the ball, and voters for not availing themselves of information.  However, I am certain it’s not the Republican’s fault.  And I am certain there was no conspiracy outside of a potentially illegal filing fee payment.

Democrats should immediately end this sideshow, chalk this one up to a loss, focus on the races we can win, and move on.

Don’t Get it Twisted: SC Democrats earned the Alvin Greene (Senate) and Ben Frasier (First Congressional District) nominations.

Stevie!

It’s undisputed that I have the musical tastes of a middle-aged African American church deacon.  As I approach 30 years of age, in order to stay hip I often force myself to listen to current music.  Some of it is fly, but after a few minutes I usually find myself grumbling (like a curmudgeon) that too many current artists sound like a recycled wailing sheep.  As my grandmother often said, “Aaron, you’ve been here before.”

That’s why I’m a huge Stevie Wonder fan.  “Stevie Wonder is a musical gee-nius!”  So, I was thrilled last night when – for the first time – I saw Stevie live.  As a “thank you” courtesy of the Pollin Family, former owners of the Washington Wizards and Verizon Center, Stevie performed a free show of at least 24 songs (with no break) for an audience of public servants ranging from teachers to hospital workers (I escaped controversy by being the guest of a teacher).  This was the sort of crowd that lived Stevie’s music, swooning together with love and utter joy.  I had a ball!  So did Roxanne, the lady who sat next to us and kept screaming “ahhh shit!” whenever her jam came on.

Throughout a decade of eight-hour drives up and down I-95, I’ve listened to Stevie’s four-disc box set “At the Close of a Century” dozens of times.  It kicks off with “Fingertips,” where “Little” Stevie Wonder – after being introduced to an audience one would imagine at the heyday of the Apollo Theater (or Charleston’s County Hall) – tears up the harmonica.  “Uptight” to “I Was Made to Love Her” and “Shoo-Be-Doo-Be-Doo-Da-Day,” are pure Motown Funk Brothers classics, always making me regret never taking up the bass.  Usually around the time I hit the interminable part of the drive (near the Virginia/North Carolina border), Stevie takes a dark turn on “I Don’t Know Why” and “Never Dreamed You’d Leave in Summer” (remember Poetic Justice?).

I think about Charleston legends Tony Burke and the Sea Breeze Band (featuring James Middleton on the organ) when the wedding music starts at “For Once in My Life” to “You and I” and “Ribbon in the Sky.”  Things get gritty, urban, and 70s when Stevie launches into “Too High,” “Living for the City,” and “Higher Ground.”  Stevie takes it Latin and reggae with “Don’t You Worry About a Thing,” “Boogie on a Reggae Woman,” and “Another Star.”  By the time I get to “Sir Duke,” “I Wish,” and “Do I Do,” I’m usually almost home and ready to dance.  Anxious to see my family, “Overjoyed” and “These Three Words” always bring a tear to my eye.

“As,” officially my favorite Stevie song, makes me think of that amazing scene from “The Best Man,” and dream that one day I might be possessed to publicly sing that song.  But, luckily for you my car is the best place for hours of Stevie covers by Aaron.

All of this sappiness is to simply say that I really had a great time, y’all.  Thanks, Stevie!

PS:  Stevie performed Uptight, All I Do, Higher Ground, All That’s Fair in Love, You and I, Don’t Your Worry About a Thing (with a great salsa interlude), I Was Made to Love Her, Hey Love, Knocks Me Off My Feet, I Heard it from the Grapevine, My Girl, Respect, For Once In My Life, My Cherie Amour, Signed Sealed Delivered, Ribbon in the Sky (with two random yet amazing volunteer audience solos), Boogie on Reggae Woman, Sir Duke, I Wish, Do I Do, I Just to Called to Say I Love You, As, and Another Star.

There is only one way to solve the DC voting rights travesty…

Statehood?  No.  (See, e.g., Civil War).

A House vote for DC in exchange for a House vote for Utah or some other Republican stronghold?  A good (albeit incomplete and morally bankrupt) start, but not good enough.  And it just failed.

Maryland retrocession?  The only people who like the idea live in places other than Maryland or DC.  And I tend to think that the 1847 Virginia (arguably pro-slavery) retrocession was illegal and foolhardy.  Sorry about that, Alexandria and Arlington County, VA.

DC Voting Rights Constitutional Amendment?  Bingo.  It’s the only holistic solution and should be tried again (hopefully sans the ratification deadline, which itself might be ripe for re-consideration of constitutionality):

Section 1. For purposes of representation in the Congress, election of the President and Vice President, and article V of this Constitution, the District constituting the seat of government of the United States shall be treated as though it were a State.

Section. 2. The exercise of the rights and powers conferred under this article shall be by the people of the District constituting the seat of government, and as shall be provided by the Congress.

Section. 3. The twenty-third article of amendment to the Constitution of the United States is hereby repealed.

Section. 4. This article shall be inoperative, unless it shall have been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several States within seven years from the date of its submission.

I couldn’t imagine Americans of good will – when properly informed – would disagree with the notion that just because a fellow American lives in the nation’s capital, he or she should be denied representation in both the House and Senate, denied an equal opportunity to choose presidential electors, and excluded from the constitutional amendment process.  It’s a wrong and embarrassing situation in the capital of the “free world.”

Nevertheless, I think it makes sense for Congress to maintain a modicum of control over the nation’s capital.

Unfortunately, American politicians of bad will are willing to sidestep their purported adherence to democratic principles because DC would assuredly elect two Democratic Senators, one (possibly two) Democratic House members, and perhaps grant the Democratic nominee for President one additional electoral vote.  These same Americans of bad will are the ones who abuse the modicum of control that Congress should retain in order to make national political waves on issues like gun control.  ”Government that’s closest to people is best” and local control is paramount except when (among many morsels of hypocrisy) it comes to the capital of the Republic.  Sheesh.

This foolishness continues because individual voters nationwide aren’t informed of the anti-democratic antics of their representatives.  Walter Fauntroy took the battle for home rule outside of DC and to the people, and – after a congressman was toppled – DC won the right to elect its own mayor and council.

With money and a long-term targeted strategy, I think citizens nationwide can be compelled to rally behind an unquestionably just and common sense amendment (especially if individual state legislators are targeted during the ratification process).

Now, how do we improve DC governance?  Your guess is as good as mine.  Stay tuned…

Mayor Fenty Needs Some Political Therapy

Unlike an increasing number of Washingtonians, I remain somewhat supportive Mayor Adrian Fenty.  The fresh young incorruptible shine has definitely worn off, but the District of Columbia is increasingly livable, and at least he isn’t a complete embarrassment.  Filling the shoes of a once-decent but now completely foolish predecessor is a tall order (although Fenty’s immediate predecessor, Anthony Williams, gets credit for breaking the madness).  And Mayor Fenty was instrumental in my neighborhood getting a cool new park.

Many of my friends are lining up behind Council Chairman Vince Gray, an establishment figure who – at the minimum – apparently has the people skills and political acumen that Mayor Fenty lacks.  I remain undecided.

Nevertheless, I’m disappointed by Mayor Fenty’s response to a simmering controversy surrounding a minor certificate given to the leader of PFOX, a group that thinks homosexuality can somehow be repaired.  We can look no further than the recent George Rekers “luggage” controversy (stay classy, South Carolina) to establish the silliness of such notions.

But reparative therapy is more than just silly.  Forced “therapy” (sometimes even exorcisms) causes great emotional harm, irresponsible secretive behavior, and many suicides.  Not only is it wrong on its face (and dare I say intolerantly anti-Christian), but has been seriously questioned by every reputable source.

So, Mayor Fenty:  an intern or some other staffer prints off and signs a minor certificate (among hundreds) that never crosses your desk.  The recipient (which is not based in your constituency) starts bragging about the recognition and using it to raise money.  Representatives of a large, vocal and active portion of your constituency are seriously offended.  And their ire is escalating.  What do you do?

Mayor Fenty has only apologized and blamed others for the error, although he has acknowledged that this group stands for bad principles.  Bad politics.

Good politics would be to apologize, accept responsibility, and retract the honor as easily as it was given.  It’s also the right thing to do.

No fair. Everyone got a low-cost carrier but me!

Southwest Airlines’ decision to serve Charleston and Greenville was the best economic development news for South Carolina since Boeing’s announcement (especially sans the economic incentives given to Boeing, which came with blatant anti-union haterade).  For me, it means that the days of paying $500 to connect through Charlotte (or enduring I-95 traffic) in order to see my momma might be numbered.  For our backwards state, it means we can check one more item off the list of reasons to “thank God for Mississippi” (our unofficial motto of thanks for the Magnolia State being 50^th where we’re 49^th, although Jackson already has Southwest service).

After a few good hours of happiness, stories like this tempered my excitement.  In a similar story, Ike McLeese of the Greater Columbia Chamber of Commerce said:

“If we were to do that, then we would start losing flights and that presents very serious economic development issues. Especially when the two communities that you’re competing with are so close by and they have Southwest.”

Ike, you’re competing with Columbia and Greenville?  That’s like kids fighting over the new fancy bubbly bathtub recently installed in the family double-wide.  South Carolina has no where to go but up… together.

I’ve always been perplexed that Charleston County has 16 municipalities (many with their own police department in addition to a county-wide Sheriff), several public service, water, sewer, and fire districts, a school system (with a county-wide board and eight additional constituent school boards), a county parks and recreation commission (for which I have a soft spot, despite being in addition to municipal parks), and a powerful state legislative delegation (appointing an airport authority, among other autonomous boards).

One of Gov. Mark Sanford’s few achievements (other than keeping it real) was admitting that a primary goal of the racist 1895 Constitution (which still governs our state) was devolving government into smaller units in order to break up the votes of the then-majority black populace.  Somehow, South Carolina issues can always be traced back to race.

New York City’s mayor and council govern 8,000,000 people.  In Charleston County, sixteen mayors and councils govern 348,000 people.  For those who hate New York City comparisons, the City of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County, NC, offer streamlined governance of 890,000 people.

It’s no surprise that there is intra-county/intra-metro economic development competition.  And now more intra-state competition.  Stop the madness!

Judicial Experience: What’s Good Enough for the Gander?

Moments after President Obama nominated Solicitor General Elena Kagan to the Supreme Court, the right rushed out with silly spin that Ms. Kagan is not qualified because she has never served as a judge.  Predictably, my home state’s senator, Jim DeMint, jumped right in:

“I’m concerned that she has no judicial experience to give Americans confidence that she will be impartial in her decisions,” DeMint said. “However, I will withhold judgment until she has the opportunity to present her views and the Senate has time to fully examine her record in academia.”

The list of Chief Justices and Justices who were never judges is damning enough.  Not to mention the fact that the Solicitor General represents all of us before the Supreme Court.

To help further douse this dustup, I looked into the experience brought by all current members of the Court:

Justice Sotomayor:      10 years, 10 months, U. S. Court of Appeals (2^nd Cir.), 6 years, 2 months, 1 day, U. S. District Court, Southern District of N.Y.

Justice Alito:               15 years, 9 months, 1 day, U. S. Court of Appeals (3^rd Cir.)

Justice Breyer:             13 years, 7 months, 23 days, U. S. Court of Appeals (1^st Cir.)

Justice Ginsburg:         13 years, 1 month, 22 days, U. S. Court of Appeals (D. C. Cir.)

Justice Kennedy:         12 years, 10 months, 24 days, U. S. Court of Appeals (9^th Cir.)

Justice Scalia:              4 years, 1 month, 9 days, U. S. Court of Appeals (D.C. Cir.)

Justice Roberts:           2 years, 3 months, 27 days, U. S. Court of Appeals (D.C. Cir.)

Justice Thomas:           1 year, 7 months, 11 days, U. S. Court of Appeals (D.C. Cir.)

Senator DeMint railed against Justice Sotomayor, the most experienced justice, yet adores Chief Justice Roberts and Justices Scalia and Thomas, the least experienced justices.

How typical.

Quake safety

The Post and Courter printed my letter to the editor on the Charleston school earthquake controversy:

I’m incensed about the Charleston County School District’s proposal to temporarily move students at five downtown schools to alternate sites. Although no one wants the blood of children on their hands in an earthquake, this proposal is hasty, disjointed and suspicious.

Since 1886 Charlestonians have been well aware of the area’s susceptibility to major earthquakes. Why is CCSD suddenly concerned about earthquake safety, especially after it borrowed and spent hundreds of millions of dollars for several recent major facility improvement initiatives? Since downtown enrollment is obviously declining, will all schools be re-opened? If certain schools won’t be re-opened, why should they be renovated?

I predict that the by-product of this proposal will be the controversial and divisive reorganization of all downtown schools to appeal to economically advantaged and primarily white families that have repopulated the peninsula. Downtown schools should have always appealed to all families, but there has to be a better way to cleanly break away from de facto segregation.

Reorganization is necessary since most minority and poorer families have moved away or been displaced from the peninsula. However, this proposal reeks of bait and switch and is offensive to generations of African-American families who wonder, “Why all the fuss now?” Before spending a dime, CCSD should facilitate an honest and realistic conversation about the future of downtown schools and establish a consensus around an intelligent and inclusive school-reopening plan.

School board changes seismic plan again.

Third time is not a charm, but is a slight improvement.

On Lena Horne.

I first saw Lena Horne on the Cosby Show. Around the same time, she said:

“My identity is very clear to me now. I am a black woman. I’m free. I no longer have to be a ‘credit.’ I don’t have to be a symbol to anybody; I don’t have to be a first to anybody. I don’t have to be an imitation of a white woman that Hollywood sort of hoped I’d become. I’m me, and I’m like nobody else.”

She radiated with quiet dignity. RIP.