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Blue America Welcomes Ed Fallon
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May 12, 2008 Posted by Stacy Brenton
Blue America Welcomes Ed Fallon (IA-03)
By: Howie Klein Saturday May 10, 2008 11:00 amEd Fallon's introduction to politics was working as a community organizer in Reagan-era Des Moines. He founded the Des Moines Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament and entered electoral politics in 1992 by challenging an entrenched Democratic state Representative and beating him-- and then his Republican opponent-- handily.
He earned a reputation as a solid Wellstone progressive in the Iowa General Assembly, where he served until 2006 when he decided to run for governor. Although he lost that race, he did carry the 3rd CD, his home district where he is now challenging Bush Dog Leonard Boswell.
Even if you think you know how badly Boswell has been voting, I'd like to ask you to take a look at whoreallyownscongress.com, which was put together by our friends at Progressive Kick to show the relationship between the corporate donations Boswell has collected and his purely Blue Dog voting record.
When I spoke with Ed on the phone a few days ago I asked him if Iowa voters are really aware of Boswell's record in Congress.
People here are aware of his Iraq votes and a few of his other bad votes but what they haven't been aware of is his long history of voting with the Republicans. He was the deciding vote to pass Bush's for-profit prescription drug bill, the one favored by the drug companies; it passed 216-215. Democrats opposed it 199-8.
Here's a guy who's so out of step with the Democratic agenda that it is embarrassing-- which is why he doesn't want to debate. He's just lousy on the issues... Congressman Boswell has declined all invitations to debate-- from the Des Moines Register, our largest TV news station, the League of Women Voters, WHO Radio...
He said no to every debate, arguing that he is too busy in Washington tied up with the farm bill and just this weekend [Senator] Tom Harkin said the farm bill will be done by mid-May. The primary is June 3.
People here are really unhappy that he doesn't want to debate. Iowans are very used to having an open discussion about issues and for him to decline a televised debate is really rubbing people the wrong way.
If you recall from 2006, anti-war sentiment proved very potent in Iowa and helped outspoken Democratic candidates Bruce Braley and Dave Loebsack turn two red districts blue. In endorsing Ed Fallon today, Blue America would like to exchange a Bush Dog who consistently betrays Democratic values in order to rubber stamp the Bush agenda and please his campaign contributors for a real progressive leader-- so progressive, in fact, that he wound up refusing to support Gore because of his selection of reactionary warmonger Joe Lieberman.
I asked Ed which issues seem most important to Democrats in the district. He had already done a guest post over at DownWithTyranny talking about a wide array of issues, from campaign finance reform to support for Choice and equality for all Americans. So he went right to the biggie:
Congressman Boswell supported the resolution to go to war in Iraq-- [Boswell was one of the few Democrats who voted with Bush and the Republicans on all 4 roll calls on Oct. 10, 2002 authorizing Bush's unprovoked attack on Iraq]-- and then continued to support funding for the war for the next 4 years. I think most people are aware that it's only been in the last year that he's started to vote against funding-- and that's a pretty powerful issue in this district. It's one of the key issues that really resonates strongly with the Democratic base and with voters broadly.
But people are skeptical because of his support for the Patriot Act and its reauthorization, as well as his support for the Military Commissions Act allowing Bush to define torture. I brought up a lot of these votes at the 3rd district Democratic Convention last week; there were around a thousand people there. People were gasping at some of these votes. People in the district didn't know that Congressman Boswell was one of only a very small handful of Democrats who voted for the Military Commissions Act.
This primary has also become a bit of an Obama vs Clinton contest. Boswell is a superdelegate and insists he will support Hillary even though Obama won the state and, by an even bigger margin, district. Hillary came in a distant third after Obama and Edwards. Ed had been an Edwards activist but switched to Obama after Edwards dropped out. Ed's a multi-instrumentral musician and he teamed up with rapper $trick9 to tell a story about his race. Take a look-- and think about giving Ed a hand in getting his message out to Iowa voters.
101 Responses to “Blue America Welcomes Ed Fallon (IA-03)”
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Welcome to firedoglake Ed!
Good to be here. Thank you for having me.
Welcome to the Lake Ed Fallon!
Ready to dive in!
Good afternoon Ed! Welcome to FDL!
Hi everyone, hope you’ll all have the chance to check out www.fallonforcongress.com.
Would anyone like to start off with a question or discussion point?
So Ed, is yours another name that we can use to taunt Rahm and Steny and others, along with Donna Edwards?
And make the insiders fear the consequences of refusing to act like Democrats by referring them to the fate of Al Wynn And Leonard Boswell?
What kind of reception are you getting as you go around the district? Are people ready for a change?
Right now the prognosis for that looks favorable. Of course, I have to win on June 3rd for that to be the case. Our informal polling, based on our extensive door-to-door and phone outreach shows me up 60% to 40%. The more I can engage the national Progressive community in publicizing this campaign and generating buzz and financial support for it, the better equipped I will be to resist the deception and demagoguery coming from the Boswell campaing.
Polk County, ie Des Moines and its suburbs is 70% of this district. I won this county by 10% when I ran for Governor two years ago. The response here is awesome, and even in many rural parts of the district where my message is being received favorably.
Have you endorsed the Responsible Plan for ending the War In Iraq?
Do the folks in your district know of and endorse the plan?
Yes, I’ve endorsed it and the key organizations working for an end to the war in Iraq are all aware of it.
Show your support by adding me as a friend on the following social networks:
http://profile.myspace.com/ind.....d=53118226
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=583717499
Check out pictures from the campaign and fun videos at the following pages:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/fallonforcongress/
http://www.youtube.com/profile.....orCongress
Have any of you had the chance to check out our youtube videos? Specifically, “Campaigns of the Rich and Powerful” and our rap video have resonated powerfully among young people in particular:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMOQTXPlE64
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9kNJwOIpg6U
What is your view on the push for retroactive immunity for the TelCos and the spying on US citizens without a warrant?
Your video here in Howie’s post is super! Love the rap.
Can’t be bought…against the war…campaign products made in the USA…down to earth
Sounds like a great candidate!
Welcome, Ed.
I strongly oppose granting immunity to the telecoms and eavesdropping on American citizens. In the past, Boswell was always for granting telecom immunity. He was one of 2 Democratic members of the House Intelligence Committee who wrote a letter asking the House to grant retroactive immunity to the telecoms.
Are you seeing a lot of foreclosures in your district, or distress house sales? What’s the unemployment situation, not just the official statistics but are there a lot of people out of work? Do you have one major employer or a lot of small businesses? Are there farms in your district?
Ed, other than Earmarks (which I think comprise only 1% of the overall budget) what about trimming some of the waste and FRAUD rampant in the hiring of independent contractors for use in wartime? (and apparently now to Shoot at illegals coming across our southern borders now).
Regarding the Patriot Act, Boswell not only voted for it on the first round, but for three additional authorizations, which Democrats opposed 155 to 44.
Welcome Mr. Fallon! Best of luck in the 3rd CD.
Since I don’t know the press atmosphere in the 3rd, I’d like your impressions about Boswell’s refusal to debate - is he running and hiding, or is he just dismissing the challenge?
Also, has he responded to criticism of his record, or is he playing it like Al Wynn in the Maryland 4th?
Again, best of luck!
First, the foreclosure problem is huge in parts of Polk County, northeast Des Moines has been very hard hit in particular. In some rural parts of the district are some of the poorest census tracts in the state.
Hi Ed,
Welcome! I added you as a friend on Facebook.
So I hear Boswell sold us out on FISA this week. Can we get him out of there fast enough?
In Des Moines, we have a reasonably healthy mix of large employers and small businesses. Some communities, like Newton, were hit really hard when, in Newton’s case, Maytag closed up shop.
What is your position on the use of private contractors, e.g., Blackwater, to provide armed support for agencies of the US, state, or local governments here, e.g. New Orleans, or abroad?
Polk County is home to Des Moines and most of it’s suburbs, and accounts for 70-75% of the Democratic primary vote. The district also includes 11 rural counties. So, yeah, we’ve got farms!
Americans are desperate for decent jobs, here in my town a semiconducter factory closed and a Home Depot and Lowe’s opened, much much lower pay.
Good question, Jacqrat. We address some of these issues in my position paper on the Iraq War and the paper on Budget and Tax reform which can be found here:
http://www.fallonforcongress.c...../i/1155673
http://www.fallonforcongress.c...../i/1155678
I would also ask on the Government Oversight and Reform Committee, which is a watchdog over fraud and abuse. Chuck Grassley gets great mileage out of cracking down on waste, fraud and abuse, and its an issue I’m really going to hit hard in the general election.
I feel bad that Baghdad does not have electricity 7/24, not even close, and have the US bombed it to pieces. I know the US has blown 100 billion in “reconstrution” is there any chance they could get electricity?
I spent five hours at the Des Moines farmer’s market this morning. Its a venue that draws between 5-10 thousand people. Since I have very high name recognition in this district, particularly in Polk County, a lot of people came up to visit. One of the most common remarks I heard was people indicating that they had decided to support me because of Boswell’s refusal to debate. That’s a horse we’re going to continue to ride all the way to the June 3rd primary!
To answer your second question, Boswell is avoiding the issues like reasonable people avoid the plague.
No we can’t get him out of here fast enough!
If the service is one that can be provided by a branch of the US military, the National Guard, or the US Coast Guard, then there is no need for private mercenaries to be involved.
Briefly, regarding the war in Iraq, before I won the election to Iowa’s legislature in 1992, I worked full-time in the peace movement. One of the last major initiatives I was involved with was organizing opposition to the Gulf War. In 2002, as a state legislator, I actively spoke out against President Bush’s push for war in Iraq, and am deeply offended that Congressman Boswell not only voted for the resolution in 2002, but has continued to support funding through the last year.
I would think a primary loss would allow Boswell to vote his Blue Dog agenda with impunity. He has nothing to lose at that point. Sad commentary.
Do you have a lot of veterans in your district who are being sent over for the second, third, fourth times? Are they getting the treatment they need when they come home injured?
We’ve been able to get a lot of mileage talking about the economic impact of the war. Voters are increasingly aware of the connection between $845 billion for the two wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the lack of money to address a plethora of problems on the home front.
It sounds like that’s what Boswell is doing anyway, so by kicking his behind in the primary, there would at least be an end date to his voting against his constituents.
Whenever I talk about the travesty of over 4,000 of American lives lost and $845 billion spent, I always talk about the horrible consequences for the people of Iraq as well, and for the destruction of Iraq’s infrastructure.
True, so we’d be back to witnessing the Leonard Boswell as we knew him for 11 years. The truth is, when he learned that he would have a primary challenge, he suddenly began voting more like a Democrat. But very few people in this district have been fooled by that transformation of expedience.
As an extension of egregious @ 38, are there any VA Medical Centers or Outpatient Clinics in your district? If so, have you discussed budgetary or treatment issues with officials at those facilities?
Helping our veterans is the one issue that Boswell is seen as being proactive on. That said, many if not most veterans still feel like our country has hung them out to dry. Once they’re done with their tours of active duty, while a lot veterans are going with Boswell, I’ve talked with many who are supporting me, and it helps that I recognize the Congressman’s contribution on this issue and that I emphasize my own commitment to make veteran’s issues a priority.
lol. imagine that.