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Greens Defend PA Candidate for US Senate Against Democrat Slurs

Green Party of the United States
www.gp.org

Friday, August 4, 2006

Contacts:
Scott McLarty, Media Coordinator, 202-518-5624, mclarty@greens.org 
Starlene Rankin, Media Coordinator, 916-995-3805, starlene@greens.org 

Greens respond to Democrats' slurs against Pennsylvania candidate

  • Allegations come from Democrats trying to discredit Carl Romanelli, Green for U.S. Senate, and limit choice on the ballot for Pennsylvania voters; Greens note that Rick Santorum (R) and Bob Casey (D) both support the Iraq War and oppose women's reproductive rights

  • Greens running for Governor and Lt. Governor also on Pennsylvania ballot

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Green Party leaders across the U.S. responded to misinformation and panicky accusations by Democrats against Carl Romanelli, a Green candidate running in Pennsylvania for the U.S. Senate <http://www.romanelli2006.com>. 

Mr. Romanelli, competing for imcumbent Rick Santorum's (R) seat, will be placed on the ballot after his supporters submitted over 95,000 petition signatures (67,070 were required) to the state's Bureau of Elections on August 1.

Supporters of Mr. Romanelli's Democratic opponent in the race, Bob Casey, have objected to Mr. Romanelli's acceptance of campaign contributions from registered Republicans, and have falsely accused Mr. Romanelli of accepting money from the Pennsylvania Green Party in violation of contribution limits.

"This is a craven and dishonest ploy by Democrats who seem to believe that the field should be limited to two parties," said Marakay Rogers, Green candidate for Governor of Pennsylvania <http://www.geocities.com/mjr91/RogersforAG.html>.

"The Democratic Party apparently needs a lesson in civics and democracy."

Carl Romanelli joins two other Greens seeking statewide office in Pennsylvania, Ms. Rogers for Governor and Christina Valente for Lieutenant Governor. Pennsylvania Greens are awaiting a decision by the Third Circuit Court of Appeals regarding the Constitutionality of Pennsylvania's ballot access law filed by Ms. Rogers, a lawyer, earlier this year.

Greens responded point by point to Democrats' allegations:

  • Greens accept campaign contributions from Greens, Democrats, Republicans, and others all the time, just as Democrats and Republicans accept contributions from registered members of each others' parties. There is nothing illegal or improper about such contributions.  Greens, however, refuse money from corporations -- unlike Democrats and Republicans -- and have called for corporate contributions to be outlawed.

  • Contrary to the Casey campaign's accusations that the Luzerne County Green Party violated contribution limits in contributing to Mr. Romanelli's petition drive, the contribution was completely legal, under the coordinated expenditure limits between party committees and federal candidates, according to rules written by Democrats and Republicans. Furthermore, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee has spent $80,000 in in-kind "coordinated expenditures" to benefit the Casey Campaign, and the Pennsylvania Democratic Party has spent $25,000 in in-kind "coordinated expenditures" to benefit the Casey campaign.

  • The Green Party provides voters with an alternative to the Democrats and Republicans. If Mr. Romanelli were not in the race, voters would be limited to Mr. Casey and Mr. Santorum, both of whom support the war on Iraq, oppose women's reproductive rights and equality for gay Americans, and accept contributions from powerful corporations seeking to influence their votes in the U.S. Senate.
    "Voters in Pennsylvania who want to bring our troops home from Iraq and support a woman's right to choose deserve a choice on Election Day. With Carl Romanelli on the ballot, Pennsylvanians have that choice," said Nan Garrett, spokesperson for the Green Party's National Women's Caucus.

  • Despite accusations repeated in an August 1 Associated Press story <http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/....>, a Green candidate cannot "steal" or "siphon" votes away from a Democratic candidate, because a Democratic candidate doesn't own anyone's votes (except his or her own). Voters in Pennsylvania and everywhere else in the U.S. are free to vote for whomever represents their interests and ideals.

  • Greens urge Democrats and Republicans to stop distracting the electorate with insinuations that only Democrats and Republicans are entitled to be on the ballot and receive votes, and instead to enact reforms like Instant Run Off Voting (IRV). IRV allows voters to rank their choices in the order of their preference, ensures that winners have majority support, and eliminates accusations like 'vote-splitting' and 'spoiling' from our political lexicon.

"Until Democrats take steps to bring IRV to Pennsylvania, we can only assume they'd rather see a Republican victory than tolerate Greens and other parties on the ballot," said Paul Teese, chair of the Green Party of Pennsylvania.

For more information about IRV, visit <http://www.fairvote.org>.

"Our electoral system has been corrupted -- not by the participation of third parties and third party candidates, but by two-party rule," said Liz Arnone, New Jersey Green and co-chair of the Green Party of the United States. "Elections have been ruined by the influence of corporate money on Democratic and Republican politicians; by tampering with computer voting machines, obstruction of votes, and other irregularities, all of which were evident in the 2000 and 2004 national elections; and by Democratic and Republic attempts to hinder other parties through restrictive ballot access laws."

For more on 2004 election irregularities and the Green response, visit <http://www.iwantmyvote.com>. For Green campaign listings, news, photos, and web sites, visit the Green Party's candidate spotlight page <http://www.gp.org/2006elections> and the Green elections database <http://www.greens.org/elections>, which lists all 2006 candidates.


MORE INFORMATION

Green Party of the United States
http://www.gp.org 
1711 18th Street NW
Washington, DC 20009.
202-319-7191, 866-41GREEN
Fax 202-319-7193

Green Party of Pennsylvania http://www.gpofpa.org/ 

 

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