Alvin Greene: The Forrest Gump of American politics

Stop wondering who Greene is and why S.C. Democrats picked him as their Senate candidate, says Kathleen Parker in The Washington Post. Like Gump, he's whoever you want him to be

Alvin Greene.
(Image credit: Screenshot)

Americans have spent weeks trying to figure out Alvin Greene, says Kathleen Parker in The Washington Post. An unemployed veteran nobody had heard of, Greene entered South Carolina's Democratic senate primary with "no campaign, no ads, no yard signs," yet defeated a well-known former state representative. Who is this "remote, expressionless man"? A real-life version of Forrest Gump and other fictional nobodies who become somebodies:

If Greene were to defeat incumbent Jim DeMint — and stranger things routinely happen in the Palmetto State — Republicans would have to be gracious as one of their favorite tropes became manifest. That would be William F. Buckley's famous statement, beloved by conservatives, that he would rather be governed by the first 2,000 names in the Boston phone book than by the Harvard faculty.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us