NYT/AP: Pennsylvania Democrats Target Green Party Candidates in Court

[DeepModem Mom]

Pa. Dems Target Green Party Candidates
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: August 8, 2006

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) -- The Pennsylvania Democratic Party objected Tuesday to signatures collected by three Green Party candidates, including a challenger in one of the nation's most hotly contested U.S. Senate races.

The Democrats asked a court to remove the candidates from the November ballot. The candidates have said they jointly collected at least 90,000 valid signatures -- far more than the 67,070 needed to qualify for the ballot.

But the Democrats alleged in a Commonwealth Court filing that more than 69,000 included fake names, names of unregistered voters and illegible signatures....

***

Democrats have accused Republican Sen. Rick Santorum's campaign of financing signature-gathering effort. They also said Santorum campaign workers helped collect signatures for Green Party Senate candidate Carl Romanelli, saying one staff member traveled to locations hundreds of miles apart on a single day.

Romanelli has acknowledged that most of the $100,000 that his campaign spent gathering signatures probably came from GOP donors, including some who also gave money to Santorum....

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/us/AP-Green-Party-Challenge.html

[flyarm]

1. this is now what should be our next battle..enough..i say enough

of this shit by the green party!

we must not allow this to be done to our candidates any longer...

we must stop these phony assed republicans running as greens or third party candidates while being put up to it by rethuglicans..

this man is not a green..

he is a fraud..

and when are the greens going to stand up for their values and say no more???????

does santorum money follow your green values?? does it??
be honest..

does the republican party represent your green values??

enough!

fly

[comradebillyboy]

2. the greens have always done everything possible to

elect republicans and screw democrats. what's different about this election?

[Joe Bacon]

3. GREEN = Getting Republicans Elected Every November

Just look at how the Green Party guaranteed Republican victories first in New Mexico.

Then came Nader

Then Ronnie Dugger tore Jean Carnahan apart and gave a key Senate seat to the GOP.

Remember how Nader boasted that he was going to get rid of Paul Wellstone with another Green clown?

And now they are doing the same thing in Pennsylvania.

GREEN = Getting Republicans Elected Every November. Period. Case Closed!

[elocs]

8. I agree with this assessment.

Every vote that the Green candidate gets in PA is an indication that the Greens don't care who wins because they know it is either going to be a Democrat or a Republican. Just as they didn't care in Florida in 2000 that casting their votes for Nader was simply going to help Bush. Greens have far more in common with Democrats than Republicans, so I think it is safe to say that if most of them voted for somebody other than Nader that it would have been Gore. Apparently they are more than willing to bite their noses off to spite their faces. I am a Democrat who might have supported a Green candidate on a local level (where a viable 3rd party should be started), but I will never, never vote for any Green Party candidate under any circumstances. They care about their own pet issues and could care less about how their party negatively impacts the big picture in close races.

[countmyvote4real]

4. Given the "centrist" state of the current Democratic I'd like a 3rd party.

Hell, the Republicans/Conservatives could benefit from a 4th party (and I don't mean Libertarians.) However, tonight's Lamont victory in the CT Democratic gives me hope; just as Lieberman's refusal to just go away supports another party platform and choice. And yes, I do think that Lieberman is a rat bastard for doing it this way.

[samsingh]

5. want a third party? split the right, not the left

spliting the left has gotten bush in a position to steal power and destroy all the good things that Greens (and many Progressives) want to promote.

[countmyvote4real]

6. I totally agree. The right wing aka conservatives should be as true.

As progressives. "Run Joe, run away from the truth as fast as you can. Your pants are on fire. That might help put it out. Run away YLSOC."

[uhhuh]

7. I Fully Support The Dvelopment Of Alternative Parties

The problem with these Green Candidates that keep popping up is they only seem to appear when they can act as Spoilers. They don't seem to have any intention to win an election, or build a viable, national party. They don't seriously run in local, or even minor state offices in order to get their ideas into play. ( The only exception I have seen is the Green that nearly won the Mayoralship in San Francisco.)

The Green party should pour energy and resources in getting people on city coulcils, State Rep positions, School Boards, etc...

Jumping in at the National level, with no track record, makes them hard to take seriously, and tends to add to their negative reputation in important races.

[MrCoffee]

9. Get your 3rd party pie in the sky head out of the clouds

It is a near impossibility to build a viable third party in a "winner-take-all" system. It's not going to happen. I can certainly sympathize with the Green sentiment, but I think that their tactics and methodology are misguided in the extreme. Why not support progressive candidates who might actually have a shot at winning seats in Congress instead of sniping at them and splitting voter response?

The repukes were able to pretty quickly neutralize Perot and the Reform Gang, why can't Dems shut the door on these hippies?

*The reference to hippies is sure to get me assaulted, so just take a damn minute and realize that I say it with love. :hippie: Join us Greenies! The open arms of the progressive Dems are waiting to embrace you!!!