Santorum Staffer Hijinks with Green Party Candidate Petitions

[RamboLiberal]

This is from PA Democratic Party Email so posting in entirety. And what the hell is with Repukes shadowing Dem candidates with people in animal costumes! Juveniles!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Abe Amorós
August 4, 2006


ROONEY: RAMPANT DISCREPANCIES IN
GREEN PARTY SIGNATURE GATHERING
Santorum Staffers Apparently Involved


HARRISBURG: Pennsylvania Democratic Party Chairman T.J. Rooney today said that he would challenge the nominating petitions of Carl Romanelli, the Green Party candidate for U.S. Senate, who was unabashedly supported by Sen. Rick Santorum.

"As we looked at the validity of petitions line by line, we found that this was as bad as Ralph Nader in 2004,” Rooney said. "We have found excessive and serious instances of multiple signatures by the same persons, unregistered voters and fake names."

Rooney said that the Democratic Party is justified in being concerned given the Green Party's track record. In 2004, the President Judge of the Commonwealth Court said that the Green Party's signature gathering conduct "was the most deceitful and fraudulent exercise ever perpetrated on this Court."

He went on to say that the conduct of the Green Party candidates, through their representatives "shock(ed) the conscience of the Court" and that "there were thousands of names that were created at random and then randomly assigned either existent or non-existent addresses by the circulators."
Rooney said that a Florida-based firm, JSM, Inc., was hired and paid by the name to collect the signatures. This company has a history of fraud that it is now carrying out in Pennsylvania.

However, this company may not be the only one involved in this apparent fraud. Numerous Santorum staffers, including Luke Bernstein (Deputy Campaign Manager) and Julianne George (Deputy Coalitions Coordinator) worked for the Green Party candidate while another staffer allegedly drove all around the Commonwealth in a single day collecting signatures.

John Michael Glick, who follows Treasurer Bob Casey around in a duck costume, signed seven nominating petitions – on the same day – in Beaver, Washington, Fayette, Juniata (3 petitions) and Schuylkill counties.

"This person would have shattered every single land record for speed had he actually collected the signatures, driven from county to county in time to file in Dauphin county," said Rooney. "It would have taken him eight hours, not counting stops, for him to do this and file by 5 p.m. Instead of his duck attire, one has to ask if he wore a Superman costume that day."

In addition, new evidence shows that the GOP and Santorum have entirely funded Romanelli's operation. With the exception of a $30 check written by Romanelli, himself, prominent Republican donors funneled $66,000 dollars through the Luzerne County Green Party, according to available FEC reports.

"Romanelli is nothing more than a pawn and literally the 'Greenpublican' candidate," Rooney said "He was targeted by Santorum to get in this race, he broke federal election laws to pay for the signature gathering effort, and wouldn’t have broken 5,000 legitimate signatures if not for the illegal contributions from the GOP."

"Romanelli should withdraw and give up this sad charade," Rooney continued. "He may not have known the type of collusion and shennanigans that have been committed. But he and Santorum are making a mockery of democracy and will turn Pennsylvania into the laughing stock of this nation if this sham by the GOP and Santorum succeeds."

Rooney said that the Party will aggressively pursue every available action to ensure fraud is not perpetrated in Pennsylvania and added that the Green Party submitted approximately 85,000 signatures, far fewer than the reported 95,000-100,000 figures they originally gave to members of the news media.

"Given this rampant fraud and the lower number of signatures turned in, we are confident that Romanelli will be yanked from the ballot," Rooney said.

In another comic twist, Halliburton lobbyist Bill Wichterman admitted that his wife made a $1,000 contribution to the Luzerne County Green Party but refused to answer questions or make his wife available to comment.

Earlier in the week on KQV Radio (7/31), Santorum admitted his role in helping Romanelli calling it "politics" and then trying to cover his tracks by suggesting that it was good for democracy to have more than one candidate in the race.

"Santorum is making a mockery out of democracy with this foolishness," Rooney said. "You can't have it both ways. You can't call it political and then turn around and say that it's about ideas and the good of democracy. Real democracy is when a candidate organizes his or her own volunteers and campaign contributions without an opponent's help."

"Santorum created a puppet. What’s democratic about that?"

[LiberalVoice]

1. K&R

[tigereye]

2. someone ought to follow Sahtorum around

either wearing a Puritan costume or some fascist gear.... :grr:

[yellowcanine]

3. This is fraud. Why isn't Glick prosecuted?

http://www.phmc.state.pa.us/bah/dam/counties/county.asp?secid=31

Note that Beaver, Washington and Fayette are in the southwestern corner, while Juniata County is in the center of the state north of Dauphin and Schuylkill is further east.

According to MapQuest it is 4 hours and 33 minutes driving time from Washington, PA (Washington County) to Pottsville, PA (Schulkill County). And that doesn't take into consideration side trips to Juniata, Beaver, and Fayette, as well as the trip back to Harrisburg from Pottsville, assuming he started in western Pa and drove east. If he started in Pottsville or Harrisburg the driving time alone would eat up way more than 8 hours. And then there is the time to actually collect the signatures, eat lunch, piss, etc.

Seems John Michael Glick has some 'splainen to do.
Ricky Santorum also if he approved this effort.