Stop talking about I/P for ONE red hot second and consider this...

...Rick Santorum and his cohorts have just paid to get the green candidate on the ballot. The left vote could be split enough to keep him on the job. What is to be done about this? A month ago I would have bet he'd be tossed, now I'm not so sure. Now is not the time for third party options. Christ almighty this chaps my hide. This is not good in terms of taking back the senate to the party of the peacemakers like Carter and Clinton.

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Republicans Sponsor Green Candidate in PA Senate Race
By Paul Kiel - August 1, 2006, 3:31 PM

It's worse than we knew. Is the Green Party candidacy in the race for Rick Santorum's seat a wholly Republican sponsored affair?

As reported today by the AP and the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Green Party managed to get their candidate Carl Romanelli on the ballot with a costly petition drive, which was mostly funded by contributors who had also given to Rick Santorum's campaign. The party raised $66,000 for the effort, all of which they spent on a private company to collect signatures. TPMmuckraker was able to establish that at least $55,000 of that came from conservatives.

Virginia Davis, Santorum's spokeswoman, told the Inquirer that their office had encouraged the contributions. Why? Because a challenge from the left is seen as a liability for the Dem candidate, Bob Casey.

http://www.tpmmuckraker.com/archives/001247.php

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Greens - It's blood money!

Nader in Florida in 2000?

this candidate isn't a repuke plant, after all his spot on the ballot was paid for

They learned that they have value to Republicans and can get donations from them. They might even have learned that if they spoil enough elections, they move the Democratic leadership further to the right. Oh, they learned. They are the same as Republicans to me - not on the side of the human race.

don't want them on the ticket to take Dem votes away. The Republicans just want to make sure democracy is fair and everyone has a voice. Surely we shouldn't think otherwise.


/sarcasm off now.

It's disgusting.

Nader lost (as expected) but in a manner that made him reviled among progressives.

You don't run a third-party candidate in a close, contentious race if you want to be respected in future races.

You'll just be regarded as a spoiler, an opportunist.