Cognitive dissonance: Supporters of Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum have lent their monetary support and signatures to help get a Green Party candidate on the ballot to run against Santorum and his Democratic opponent, Bob Casey. The Philadelphia Inquirer reports that Santorum himself called for support of the Green candidate, and man, his supporters responded generously:

When Sen. Rick Santorum (R., Pa.) encouraged everyone in state politics to help the Green Party earn a spot on the November ballot, at least one group answered the call: Santorum donors.

Fourteen Santorum supporters gave $40,000 to fund a petition drive that has allowed Carl Romanelli to collect about 100,000 voter signatures to qualify for the Senate race. That’s 33,000 more signatures than required, and double what independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader gathered here in 2004.

That’s also almost 80,000 more signatures than there are registered Green Party voters in Pennsylvania. Hmmmmm.

Santorum currently trails Casey in the polls. The newspaper speculated that Santorum is betting that pro-abortion, anti-Iraq war Romanelli will syphon off Dem votes from anti-abortion Casey, who also opposes setting a timetable for withdrawl from Iraq. Hey, the strategy worked in 2000, when Green Party demagogue Ralph Nader helped George Bush beat Al Gore by screwing up the votes in New Hampshire and Florida.

TPM Muckraker has more here.