Alvin Greene's Mental Status Questioned in Senate Race

A lawmaker in the state of South Carolina wondered out loud if the Democratic Senate nominee, Alvin Greene, is intellectually capable of running for Senate. State Rep. Todd Rutherford told Fox News that when he spoke to Greene in person at his home, he had a hard time getting an answer to his questions.

"About two questions into a conversation with him, it would become apparent that he is not probably fit to answer the questions befitting a Senate candidate," said Rutherford. "If he was put into this, then it is a joke that is funny to all the rest of us, but he doesn't get it -- because I don't know that his mental status is such that he can get it."

On Friday, authorities in South Carolina launched an investigation into Greene's primary win. Greene's opponent, Vic Rawl, is citing complaints all over the state from voters who "experienced problems with voting for whom they intended." Greene ultimately won with 60 percent of the vote.

Rutherford said that he couldn't even figure out whether Greene's honorable, but involuntary discharge from the Army, was related to his mental state.

"When I asked him whether they had checked his mental health status, he seemed to suggest that doing so brought about racist implications and other things. He kind of ducked the issue," said Rutherford.

There are some interesting theories about how Greene ended up winning the Democratic nomination for the Senate. Some, like Congressional Whip James Clyburn, believe that Greene may be a plant by someone who wanted to split the vote. There are others who argue that Greene's name came earlier in the alphabet, leading many voters to select him by accident.

"I never said he was a Republican plant. I said he was someone's plant. ... I saw the patterns in this. I know a Democratic pattern, I know a Republican pattern and I saw in the Democratic primary elephant dung all over the place," Clyburn told CNN.

Anyone who listens to Alvin Greene speak for more than 20 seconds immediately knows that something is wrong. Greene allegedly won the election without campaigning, holding any meetings or even moving out of his daddy's house. His pending felony charge is an embarrassment, and it's hard to imagine that an unemployed man would spend his last $10,000 running for an office for which he didn't even campaign. I want to see his campaign investigated to ensure that someone isn't playing with our American liberties and opening the door for Tea Party candidates by using dirty tricks. I hate to say this about another black man, but Alvin Greene has no place running for any elected office.

Dr. Boyce Watkins is the founder of the Your Black World Coalition and a Scholarship in Action resident of the Institute for Black Public Policy. To have Dr. Boyce's commentary delivered to your e-mail, please click here.