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's from the link above. This is the strategy Mr. Sphincterrific is using: Santorum knows if it comes down to a two-way race, his chances of keeping his position against a Democratic challenger are about as good as surviving stepping between a bottle of Jack Daniels and Robert Downey Jr. He's trailing that badly in the polls. So, in hopes of dividing and conquering, he's funding an Indy candidate who wouldn't have been able to get on the ballot otherwise. If he can get Carl Romanelli to siphon votes away from Bob Casey, the Democratic challenger with the best shot at unseating the demonic incumbent, he might be able to squeak by to another term.
But the most horrible thing about this is not just the filthy political dealing of Santorum and his fellow Republicans; it's the fact a Green Party member sold his soul for the chance to run a campaign he knows would only serve to help a monster like Santorum keep his position. Romanelli has sold every principle he might have once had, just for the chance to screw over a Democrat. He's supposed to be trying to beat the corrupt Republican, not the one hope Pennsylvania has of getting rid of said corrupt Republican.
If this is how the Green Party is going to run in elections, then Americans are better off turning to a political party whose members will not sell their souls to the GOP.
3 comments:
I couldn't agree more! The Green Party in Europe does good things but not be siphoning votes away from other liberals.
This is what happened in the 2000 race too. No, Nader didn't cause Gore to lose, cheating on the part of Republicans did. But this is so like what happened in 2000, hasn't the Green Party noticed?
Our system just isn't built to support more than two parties, much as that dismays many people.
How do people believe we got Clinton?
I agree that Perot's race siphoned conservative votes away from Bush Sr. and Bob Dole. But then, I don't think Perot needed or wanted to take money from Democrats to do that; he's a billionaire and he used a lot of his own money to run.
Greens, unfortunately, are not in such a position. They have to raise money from donors, but any party that runs on principle must be willing to accept the hard truth that it will take decades of work before being able to secure a national-level seat in government. You have to start at the bottom, and work your way up.
Granted, that's what a lot of indy parties are doing but the Greens don't seem to realize the importance of this. They keep running candidates for national races with the mindset that they can run a serious campaign, and that's what is hurting them and America. Running a candidate for president is fine; it gains the party national attention. But at no point in this era of electoral fraud and manipulation by both the major political parties should they expect to win even one state. That's why local, county/regional and state offices must first be secured. THEN, as the party gains in size and power, can it run serious candidates for national-level public offices.
But taking money from the GOP just to screw over the Democrat with the best chance of defeating a Republican incumbent (especially one as loathesome as Santorum is alleged to be)...that's just plain wrong.
Yes, the Greens did the right thing in Ohio, challenging the vote when Kerry was not willing to do that. They should be applauded for that.
But this business of accepting money from Republicans to run against Democrats is ludicrous, and they have done it again and again. As you say, start by having Greens run in smaller races and build a following on reputation. If people are so disgusted with Dems they refuse to vote for them, let's have a viable candidate that genuinely stands for what he/she advocates.
I don't anticipate people saying, "I stand for cheating to get what I want!"
I, personally, am unwilling to throw the entire Democratic Party out because some Democrats are not what I admire. There are still those who ARE what I admire. At least half the party is still on the right track.
Money is politics is a huge problem!
Post a Comment