Staff Blog
Breaking: Sestak successfully bullies Green Party candidate off the ballot
On Aug. 9, Democrat Joe Sestak filed a challenge to the petitions collected by would-be Green Party rival/spoiler Mel Packer, under the theory that enough of Packer's petitions were in some way defective so as to place him below the threshold Pennsylvania has established for ballot access (this year, about 19,000 ballots), Sestak's campaign confirms. And over the weekend, campaign lawyer Manly Parks told me, the two sides reached an agreement: Packer is off the November ballot.
Lesson: Bullying works.
As we've previously reported, Pennsylvania is the only state in the nation that requires minor party or independent candidates — folks with no money, usually — to pay off their rivals’ lawyer bills if their petition are successfully challenged. And in this case, that law worked to Sestak's advantage: The threat of paying tens of thousands of dollars in legal fees was enough to get Packer to bail out, on the condition that each side pays its own litigation costs.
More on this in the paper this week. I will update if I can get a comment from Packer, who has not yet conceded, at least on his website.
QUICK UPDATE: Haven't heard back from Packer, but scoping out his website, I came across this post from Aug. 10, in which he all by admits the likelihood of defeat:
On August 9, shortly before State offices in Harrisburg closed, Joe Sestak, Democratic Party candidate for US Senate in PA, filed a formal challenge to my election petitions for that same office. This was not unexpected and given the absurd requirements that third-party candidates must meet to attain ballot status, his challenge will likely be successful and I will lose my already state-certified ballot status for that position.
Let me be very frank about this action. Joe Sestak is a moral and political coward, who is unwilling to let the voters of PA decide for themselves which candidates they support based on their political platforms and positions. By using technicalities to keep 3rd party candidates off the ballot, he demonstrates his continued support for the corrupt and undemocratic system that so many voters have learned to distrust and in which they have no faith.
A candidate for office who is unwilling to face his opponents in the open market of political ideas becomes exposed as a fraud in his willingness to subvert democracy solely to maintain the entrenched powers.
Joe Sestak shows all of us that we are not only fighting a corrupt economic system that rewards the rich and punishes workers, but a similarly corrupt political system that serves at the will of those who have bankrupted our nation, forced millions into long-term if not permanent employment, wages endless wars that only benefit the corporate powers, and now seeks to decrease much of our social safety net at a time when we are most in need of increases instead.
My candidacy for US Senate is a clear departure from the politics of old, a clear challenge to the system that has failed most of our citizens, and a clear choice that voters should be allowed to make in a democratic society.
I call on Joe Sestak to immediately withdraw his challenge to my candidacy for the US Senate and to demonstrate his willingness to debate our ideas openly in front of the voters of PA. I welcome such a challenge and he should do likewise.
Anything less means he knows that his positions cannot stand in open debate and also shows the voters that he is on the sides of corporate power and against restoring power to the people of the State of PA.
- Mel Packer, Green Party candidate for US Senate in PA.
Lesson: Valid signatures work.
Alex, is that a joke?
Lesson: screwing honest Pennsylvania voters by invalidating their signatures on meaningless technicalities works.
I was supporting Sestak, I donated to Sestak, I was even campaigning for Sestak. But Sestak lost my vote by doing this. As a progressive I can no longer support a bully.
I am writing in MEL PACKER.
If we get Toomey, who cares. They’re all bullies, and the “little people” of Pennsylvania are screwed no matter which one wins.
Yesterday I wrote a check for Sestak on the “lesser of two evils” premise. Reading about how he bullied Mel Packer out of the Senate race sickens me. I feel like a political ‘ho. I signed that petition for Mel to run because I want to live in a democracy. Without the Greens, I am convinced we are under the rule of capitalism, not democracy.
Is it too late for a “STOP HOLD” on that check to Packer?
Alex,
education works. Go back to high school and read a few books before you comment on something. The signatures collected by the Greens and Libertarians were valid, but the Democrats and Republicans will challenge anything and everything. Stop being a slave- loser
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Philly City Paper, Philly News Now. Philly News Now said: Breaking: Sestak successfully bullies Green Party candidate off the ballot.: On Aug. 9, Democrat Joe Sestak filed … http://bit.ly/cB0fIZ [...]
Mel Packer would make a splendid US Senator.He is not owned by any corporation or the eternal war policy and war contractor machine.Aside from Sen Ferlo there is no anti-war Democrat in our neck of the woods.The democratic party has abandoned progressive ideas—depending entirely on the lesser of two evil theory. As long progressives give their votes to Democrats every two years,there is no incentive for any systemic change outside of both parties; representing a society fashioned on representing the top 2% and butchering innocents with drones.
Wow! And they didn’t even need to bring in Bill Clinton!
[...] might even have a decent platform in spots. But you know what? He’s still kind of an asshole. Sestak just used an arcane PA law to bully Green Party candidate Mel Packer off of that ballot. In the parlance of Sestak, “This is what democracy looks like — a win for the people over the [...]
Fuck democrats. I’m starting to entertain the idea of voting specifically AGAINST them whenever I can for this shit they pull. Fucking worthless party. Liberals have no one to vote for any more.
Appreciated this article telling it like it is. Greens get screwed every time they try to run. Excellent candidates, A/H democrats.
What is good about the upcomming election is that 6 Pennsylvanian candidates did get on the ballot because they had enough signatures (although still each a rediculous amount) 1 for US Congress, Ed Bortz, Pittsburgh; 5 for State legislature: Hugh Giordano, Philly; Jay Sweeney, Wyoming County; Rex D’Agostino, Lehigh County; Ed Bonsell, Montgomery County; Charles (Skip) Moyer, Bucks County. Please support them.
The 2-party system is one system, the corporate interest system. It’s like the NFL – some places are AFC, some are NFC, but they’re all in the same league playing the same game by the same rules for the same (OK, sometimes different) big bucks. As Kevin Phillps said, the Democratic party is, after all, history’s second most rabidly capitalist party. Rabid capitalism brought us our current recession.
And don’t forget that Sen. Al Frankin supports this bully. Let Al know who he is supporting. info@alfranken.com
[...] A rather one-sided account from a Philadelphia daily accuses PA Senate candidate Joe Sestak of “bullying” the Green Party candidate out of the race through ballot challenges. Needless to say, I’m not a huge fan of the hurdles third parties have to clear to make the ballot, but it would be nice to hear a more objective version of the story. posted in: Main Comments (0) [...]
[...] the rest of this great post here Comments (0) Posted in Liberal Candidates [...]
It’s pretty sad that Pennsylvanians have chosen such an awful form of democracy. The Greens deserve to be on the ballot just as any other political party.
However Al Franken, though he disses the Greens in public and in his books, supports getting them on the ballot. When Minnesota Green Party ballot petitioners approached him in 2006, he signed each one. There is hope when hard-core Democrats actually support democracy, rather than undermining it.
Jeffrey, great article. Call me up, I’m in the phone book. 412.243.4545 It’s true, I had to withdraw. Faced with the knowledge that we only had about 1000 extra signatures above the minimum and the most basic human errors alone would probably would be about 10%, it would have been worthless and possibly break me financially if they sued for legal costs. Heck, I might have had to apply for a job with the City Paper!!
It’s amazing how much Sestak spent (but don’t worry, we probably paid for it). They even handed over copies of 710 petitions to hand-writing experts!! Give me a break, Joe, this isn’t CSI !
Seriously, once again, democracy is denied to the voters of PA, thwarted by corporate cash funneled through corporate candidates. Take heart in the fact that elections are just one small part of the struggle to build the movement for peace and justice and in that, I believe we made some progress. My campaign was an uncompromising stand for an end to a system that has failed the people of this nation, continues wars without end, and continues to increase human suffering both here and abroad. We remain a nation run by thieves, a corrupt government in which our legislators are simply hired guns for those who presently run the world and continue to exploit it for their own gains. We found thousands who agree and there are thousands more who will continue to stay home rather than vote for corruption. Good for them. The lesser of two evils is STILL evil and must be opposed every day in every way. Remember, we’ll all do better when we ALL do better. It’s that simple.
Mel Packer, former PA Green Party candidate for US Senate
[...] camp for comments as to his Packer's factual representations, and update as warranted: Jeffrey, great article. … It's true, I had to withdraw. Faced with the knowledge that we only had about 1000 extra [...]
[...] after Team Sestak forced Green Party candidate Mel Packer out of November's election (a post on my interview with Packer will come later today), the Libertarians announced that their [...]
[...] you Cloggers are well aware, I've been obsessing a bit this week over the major parties' bullying tactics toward their minor party competitors — [...]
[...] you Cloggers are well aware, I’ve been obsessing a bit this week over the major parties’ bullying tactics toward their minor party competitors [...]
It’s amazing. There is no real information about Mel Packer on the internet anywhere except that he is a physician’s assistant. Was he a real candidate? Could his candidacy have been a ploy by the republicans /libertarians to dilute the democratic vote?