GOP Stealing the PA Election? You Decide

HARRISBURG, Pa. - Thanks to the generosity of GOP donors, a Green Party candidate is expected to make it onto the ballot in Pennsylvania's Senate race and siphon votes from Democratic front-runner Bob Casey in his bid to unseat Republican Sen. Rick Santorum.

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.

UPDATE: No question about it now. 99.9% of Carl Romanelli’s senate campaign has been funded by Republicans. (The only legit campaign donation from a Green Party member was the $30 the candidate himself donated. Yes, you read that right - $30.) This transparent effort by PA Reublicans to split the liberal vote – at least enough to siphon off the double digit lead of Democratic candidate Bob Casey is shameful for both the Republicans and the Green Party. Is that the “green” the Green Party really stands for? Will Santorum speak out against this ruse? Don't hold your breath!

Ed.: Hmmm… reminiscent of Tom Delay’s handiwork, don't you think. The handwriting is on the wall – Santorum can’t win fairly, so the GOP is stacking the deck by trying to divert some of their discontented voters away from the Democratic option. Do I trust the voters in PA (who have elected Santorum twice) to see this for what it is? No, I'm sorry I don't. (Hope I am wrong!)

And in a related story…

In Indiana, GOP Purges Voters Rolls

Although the seat held by Rep. Julia Carson (D-IN) is rated "Democrat Favored" by CQ, the Indianapolis Star reports on a voter registration purge that could benefit challenger Eric Dickerson (R).

Over the weekend, the GOP in Marion County, which includes Indianapolis and is a huge part of IN-7, began deleting 4,500 names from voter rolls, saying the people were registered twice. They are investigating a list of 36,000 "suspect" names supplied by a vendor for the secretary of state's office.

Democrats questioned the weekend rush to purge the names, while Republicans claim its necessary to quickly clean the "bloated" registration records before the upcoming elections. The county election board voted yesterday to allow Republicans to continue purging names.

Ed.: Florida 2000, Part Deux