Home State Politics

So the Pennsylvania Green Party has been trying to get their candidate on the ballot for November's Senate Race. They needed money for the voter signature effort. They raised $66,000 in June and went out to get the signatures.

But wait... There's more! TPMmuckraker reports that the money didn't exactly come from Green Party supporters:

The Luzerne County Green Party raised $66,000 in the month of June in order to fund a voter signature drive. The Philly Inquirer reported yesterday that $40,000 came from supporters of Rick Santorum's campaign (or their housemates). Also yesterday, we confirmed that another $15,000 came from GOP donors and conservatives. Only three contributions, totaling $11,000, remained as possible legit donations.

Today, I confirmed that those came from GOP sources.

[...]

That leaves only one contribution, for $30, as a legitimate donation from a Green Party supporter. That came from the candidate himself, Carl Romanelli. He made it to his own campaign fund, not the local Green Party.

Romanelli's latest FEC report shows his campaign currently has $17.20 on hand.

In general, I'm supportive of third/non-major parties. The more view points in the discussion, the better. But when they are used as tools of either of the two main parties, it's really just gaming the system. The Green Party has a legitimate political position staked out and if people supportive of that position want to give their money to support it, great. If people want to vote for the Green Party, great.

Just don't use the Green Party as a tool to draw off support from a 'more established' political rival. It's unseemly and undemocratic. But then again, this is the GOP. What did we expect?

Hotline reports that PA Dems plan to challenge the signatures:

The chairman of the PA Dem party, T.J. Rooney, said today he'll challenge the signatures that Green Party candidate Carl J. Romanelli submitted to join the Senate ballot. A number of those signatures were collected by JSM, Inc.

Rooney: “This is a questionable and controversial firm that has a history of fraudulent activity where many signatures, and candidates in some instances, have been thrown off the ballot in various states. We will ensure that this doesn’t take place in Pennsylvania and that the integrity of the electoral process is safeguarded.”

The Green Party has only 20,000 registered members in Pennsylvania. Romanelli & JSM turned in 90,000 signatures. Hmmm...

Pennsylvania Republicans Democrats Green Party Rick Santorum Carl Romanelli