Boswell's record doesn't support flier's rhetoric

Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Des Moines Register - Letter to the editor

Just when I thought this election couldn't get any more petty, the Boswell for Congress campaign sent a highly entertaining (for all the wrong reasons) flier to my mailbox. As reported in "Boswell Turns Up Burners on Fallon Allegiance" (April 24), the flier attempts to paint Congressman Leonard Boswell's Democratic challenger, Ed Fallon, as a George Bush supporter.

It notes that Fallon once supported Ralph Nader and implies that the two of them teamed up on Bush's behalf. Given that Fallon couldn't be any further removed from Bush or his policies, this is the most pathetic and insubstantial guilt-by-association gambit I've seen in years.

Alas, the hilarity doesn't end there. The Boswell flier lists Bush's failings, including "a trillion dollar war." Would that be the same trillion-dollar war that Boswell voted to authorize in 2003?

Boswell also excoriates Bush for "huge tax breaks for the wealthy," even as Boswell votes for corporate tax breaks (such as the $14 billion he approved for oil and gas companies in 2005).

You could redo this flier with Boswell saying, "I blame Ed Fallon for George Bush's screw-ups, including the ones that I helped to facilitate," and it would be more truthful.

- Lars Pearson, Des Moines.