Is Fallon Loyal To The Party?
April 9th, 2006 at 11:15am Geraldine
Grinnell has a lot of people who support Ed Fallon’s gubernatorial bid. Yesterday, many went to volunteer at his campaign headquarters in Des Moines and got to know his friendly staff. They’re better organized than most campaigns, and — although they may be behind in fund raising — they have a lot more for volunteers to do at this point than other campaigns.
At least one volunteer expressed a little confusion, though, when he wasn’t able to tell a potential supporter whom he was calling that Ed Fallon will support whoever earns the Democratic nomination for governor in June. In fact, he was directed to give the ambiguous answer, “That’s a decision that’s still being talked about among the staff.”
What could this mean? Does Fallon think he’d have a shot running as a third party candidate in November (and would his chances be improved by all the volunteers who come in now, even though many will feel betrayed if he does that)? Or does his staff believe that he can’t commit to supporting the other democrats merely because he won’t look like he’s running to win anymore?
If it’s the second possibility, they’re wrong. Party loyalty (or, more notably, party disloyalty) can become a huge issue in Democratic primaries, and it can only hurt Fallon. After all, there are still a lot of people who remember when Fallon endorsed Nader instead of Gore in 2000 — who irrationally blame Fallon for Bush’s victory. Fallon needs to get out ahead of this immediately or he’ll lose a lot of supporters.
Update: This appears to have been resolved by a comment from one of his staff members.
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Entry Filed under: Gubernatorial, Democratic Party, Opinion, State Politics, Campus Democrats
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10 Comments Add your own
1. Hannah | April 9th, 2006 at 12:12 pm
In the debate at ISU Fallon chastised Blouin and Culver for tearing into each other—he said that would make it harder for the man facing Nussle… a quasi-endorsement?
2. Dylan | April 9th, 2006 at 3:24 pm
I believe that’s a gubernatorial bid not a presidential bid.
His endorsement of Ralph Nader is old news. See this letter to Ralph Nader begging him not to run in 2004 as proof (http://www.fallonforgovernor.net/blog/index.asp?blogID=15). I think you nailed it with your second rationale. Think about it this way. How many people have asked Chet Culver if he will endorse Fallon if he wins the nomination? With Blouin and and Culver pretending this is a two man race despite the fact that Fallon and Blouin are neck in neck it’s not a big surprise that Fallon wants people to take him serious.
This whole article seems like it didn’t need to be written. Who blames Fallon for Bush’s victory? Gore won Iowa? Although I doubt anyone was pleased by the decision, show me one person that actually blames Fallon. Finally the last sentence makes no sense at all. “Fallon needs to get out ahead of this immediately or he’ll lose a lot of supporters? This last one makes no sense at all. Get out in front of what? This fabricated controversy? Fallon’s chances will not be helped if he puts out a press release saying that he’ll support the democratic nominee if he loses the primary. That would just make him look like a loser.
Fallon should just keep doing what he’s been doing. Actually talking about the issues unlike his opponents.
3. Chase | April 9th, 2006 at 3:54 pm
I think it was made pretty clear in the post that blaming Fallon for Bush’s victory is irrational, since Gore carried Iowa. But it wouldn’t force Fallon to look like a loser if he asserted his party loyalty. If he came out and said he would support Culver or Blouin if one of them were the nominee, the other candidates might feel enough pressure to make similar statements.
And there are really people who think Fallon burnt his bridges in 2000 when he went against his party in an incredibly important election. I’m not saying he has to make a big deal out of it, but he should have something to say to reassure the yellow dogs who are concerned. It can only help him win the primary. Saying such a thing would only hurt him if he did actually decide to run as an independent.
All he has to do is say somewhere publicly that he’ll support the nominee and that’ll be the end of this story.
4. Gavin | April 9th, 2006 at 6:52 pm
The “Fallon will run as an independent” argument is just another attempt to undermine an unexpectedly successful campaign. Read his letter to Nader in ‘04. He understands that running as an Independent assures Nussle the victory in November, and there’s no way in hell he’ll do that.
Fallon did not ditch the Democratic Party in 2000. The Democrats ditched themselves by offering a candidate very similar to Bush (aside from his environmental record), especially when you look at his Republican-in-sheep’s-clothing running mate. Fallon said, hell no, I’m standing on principle, and he chose the far better candidate (Nader). Bad idea tactically, sure, and it’s clear Fallon understands this now. To suggest he helped Bush win by diverting resources from Florida is absolutely absurd, though. Do you really think a single individual (without tons of money) had that much influence? Plus, remember that 2000 had a far different political climate than 2004.
Those who think Fallon’s betraying the Democratic Party really need to take a look at the issues he’s talking about. Fallon is a true progressive, no doubt, and with the severe political limit of a two-party system, would you really expect him to run as an Independent? Fallon has lots of Democratic support; running an independent protest campaign would hurt the Dems far more than Fallon not proclaiming loyalty to his primary competitors. His platform is far truer to the IDP platform than any of his competitors. He’s a viable candidate. He will beat Blouin, if not Culver too, in the primary election. He’s working within the system, and Democrats should take pride in him for this.
5. Chase | April 9th, 2006 at 10:02 pm
Gavin, if what you say about him is true, why won’t he commit to not running as an independent? He hasn’t yet — even in the face of questions.
6. Gavin | April 10th, 2006 at 12:13 am
Has he been questioned about not running as an independent? I’m not disputing that, but I haven’t read it. Here’s the closest I came up with, from a fairly recent DM Cityview Civic Skinny column:
“Ed Fallon won’t talk about what happens if he loses a Democratic primary for Iowa governor - not really. He thinks he can win, and if he didn’t, he wouldn’t be running, he said. And with top Dems telling us Fallon is picking up steam, with Chet Culver and Mike Blouin seemingly tripping over each other, Fallon, we’re told, seems poised to make a move. ”
“Fallon told us he doesn’t want Jim Nussle as governor, so he is unlikely to run as an Independent. However, he will not rule it out. “If I were to lose, and I don’t think I will,” Fallon said, “I would support the party’s candidate if he decided to address the issues that need to be addressed - clear campaign ethics law, universal healthcare, true support for education and stopping urban sprawl.” ”
Notice that Fallon never says he’d consider an independent bid. His statement has absolutely nothing to do with running as an independent, but whether or not he would endorse another Democratic candidate. The independent run is completely inferred by the columnist. I’ve seen similar examples of this elsewhere.
I’ve worked on the Fallon campaign off and on for the past 11 months, and I haven’t seen any evidence that Fallon would run as an independent. Despite what some say (Matt McCoy, for example), Fallon is not a contrarian. He’s a very practical guy.
I don’t have any cold hard facts to back up this particular belief of mine, but I do feel like Ed is an extremely honest person who always has the best interests in mind, and I just don’t see him undermining the fight against Nussle.
7. Hannah | April 10th, 2006 at 1:06 am
Wouldn’t it be nice to know for sure though? Why go on hunches when he could clear this all up in a sentence?
8. Chelsea | April 10th, 2006 at 1:15 pm
Ed will not run as an independent. Trust me. I work for him.
9. Chase | April 10th, 2006 at 1:32 pm
That’s good enough for me.
10. Kyle Lobner | April 10th, 2006 at 2:18 pm
Check out this press release for details:
http://www.fallonforgovernor.net/news/details.asp?newsID=98
KL
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