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BY JACQUELINE SMALL

In print | Published September 16, 2010

Jim Schneller is suspicious of President Obama’s nationality, is pro-life and wants tighter border control. Yet he is on the ballot as the third party candidate in the midterm election to fill Joe Sestak’s 7th district congressional seat in part because of Democratic campaigning.

Some Democrats, including campaign interns who go to Swarthmore, gathered signatures to put Schneller on the ballot. They hope that he will split the conservative vote with Pat Meehan, which would make it easier for Bryan Lentz, the most liberal candidate, to win. This has raised ethical concern in some quarters. On August 20, The Swarthmorean ran a letter to the editor from Joe Warren, which said, “The act in itself may not have been illegal, but it was simply wrong.”

Lentz, a former prosecutor, admitted that some of his supporters had done this, but denied any wrongdoing. “People who helped me also helped [him], but he made the decision to run on his own. There’s nothing wrong with what my supporters did.”

He also said that to run as an independent in Pennsylvania, one must gather hundreds of signatures, which some consider unfair.

Nick Allred ’13, a Lentz intern, declined to comment, while Adam Koshkin ’11, another intern, said in an e-mail, “I was not one of the interns who took part in the effort to get Mr. Schneller on the ballot … [But] being a die-hard Democrat myself, it’s pretty nice to see someone who is even remotely associated with the party show some balls.”

Rick Cairn, a Swarthmore resident who helped gather signatures for Schneller and wrote to The Swarthmorean in defense of this practice, also did not wish to speak to The Phoenix.

Benjamin Berger, a Swarthmore College political science professor, said that the practice of gathering support for one’s political opposition is not uncommon. He cited Democrats who supported Ross Perot for US president in 1992, and Republicans who helped Ralph Nader in 2004. He pointed out, though, that in those cases, people did not go as far as collecting signatures.

“There’s nothing wrong with doing it. In sort of glamorous terms, you could say it makes the democratic field open to more people. Of course, in realistic terms, it’s just doing what you can to win,” he said.

Splitting the conservative vote may not ensure a Lentz victory, though. “I’d be surprised if it makes much of a difference,” Berger said.

Schneller is also undiscouraged by the method by which he appeared on the ballot. According to a press release on his website, “Both parties have proven their complete cave-in to the ‘usual’ defamatory tactics of many political participants, and have done so against against a candidate of virtue and integrity. … [They] are apparently blind to the fact that their usual tactics … exhibit corruption on their part … and are antithetical to… common decency.”

Lentz said that the main difference between him and his opponents is the degree of accessibility, pointing out that he has been holding town hall meetings and going to train stations in the morning to talk to the district’s citizens. “Look, I’m available to be questioned and tested on the issues,” he said.

Schneller’s website claims that he is just as willing to be accessible. The same press release says, “Open debate between candidates ought to occur at a frequency of weeks, rather than months, so the public could judge character and wisdom, rather than become attuned to theatrics and meaningless ‘sport.’”

It also criticizes the way Schneller has been portrayed, saying that claims of him being a conservative are “inaccurate characterizations.” However, Schneller did file suit against the commonwealth of Pennsylvania, insisting that President Obama present his birth certificate.

Natalie Litton ’12, president of the College Democrats, said that Schneller has “Tea Party-esque” policies, though he is not officially endorsed by the Tea Party. She added that the College Dems will support Lentz in the election, and that they have had a relationship with him since 2006. “I think he’s a good person and a smart guy who’s had really interesting experiences as someone who’s served in Iraq and been a prosecutor here at home,” she said.

Litton, like many residents of the 7th district, is very invested in the election. “This is a really, really important race, with lots of hype. It’s the closest in Pennsylvania, and one of the most expensive in the country. Political junkies who want to get involved in the elections, you’ve landed in the right place for that.”

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