Republicans Get Dirty Over PA Green Candidate

Following the 2000 election debacle, accusations abounded as to whether Green party candidate Ralph Nader tipped the election towards George W. Bush by taking away large enough segments of potential Gore votes in key states that Bush won a plurality, or if he just brought out voters who wouldn't normally participate in national electoral politics to make it seem that way. Regardless of the actual facts, the common wisdom seems to be that Green party candidates are unelectable, but make great spoilers for important races, usually tipping them towards Republicans by siphoning off some of the more liberal Democratic voters. The Pennsylvania GOP, facing the dismal prospect of losing longtime senator and bestiality aficionado Rick Santorum to newcomer Bob Casey seems to be buying that logic as well, as it appears they are bankrolling the Green party candidate.

While Santorum said Monday that he would welcome another candidate on the ballot, Casey's campaign accused Republicans of "trying to steal the election."

Green Party candidate Carl Romanelli, making his first bid for statewide elective office, acknowledged Monday that Republican contributors probably supplied most of the $100,000 that he said he spent gathering signatures to qualify for the Nov. 7 ballot.

Romanelli said he expects to turn in far more than the required 67,070 signatures by Tuesday's deadline.

"I have friends in all political parties. It's just that my Republican friends are more confident about standing with me than my Democratic friends. And as a group, my Republican friends are a little better off," he said in a telephone interview.

Romanelli, of Wilkes-Barre, supports abortion rights, while both Santorum and Casey oppose them. Political observers say Romanelli's candidacy would likely draw votes from Casey, the state treasurer, who has held a double-digit lead over Santorum for months.
I wouldn't go so far as calling this "stealing the election." More like not playing fair. But Casey's camp should lose the indignation - it shows an undeserved insecurity when you're enjoying an eleven point lead over an incumbent who is the third ranking GOP member in the senate. A reason why this could be effective is Casey's stance on abortion; he's against it, which it unusual for a Democratic candidate, and a more progressive one like Romanelli could entice some of those Democratic base voters who are turned off by Casey's flirtation with centrists. But even with that, it won't ever work. Besides George W. Bush, Rick Santorum may be the most despised member of the GOP by progressives who is currently holding a national office. His pushing of a creationist agenda, his entirely inappropriate comments about homosexuals and his disdain for separation of church and state, piled on top of local scandals seem to make it unlikely that even the most die-hard Pennsylvania Green party supporter would vote for Romanelli after what happened in the 2000 presidential election.

What's amazing is not Santorum's poor performance in the polls thus far, but that he has managed to stay competitive given the virtually endless stream of poor publicity he's gotten in his last term. Casey's campaign should recognize this for what it is, not a shrewd political ploy but an act of desperation on behalf of a party that is watching one of its premier members go down in flames.

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