Why The Fallon Loophole Needs To Be Closed
April 17th, 2008 at 12:55pm Geraldine
Ed Fallon has attacked the attempt to close the “Fallon Loophole,” the practice of professional politicians paying themselves salaries with campaign funds, as “status quo politics at its worst.” As laughable as this statement may be, Fallon’s own reprehensible actions show why the legislature must take action.
While Fallon defend paying himself from campaign funds by stating “Most candidates aren’t as fiscally responsible as I am. They finish in the red. I managed to finish in the black,” Fallon was lying at the time. According to an amended campaign finance report filed by his gubernatorial campaign the very same day his quote appeared in the Des Moines Register, Fallon for Governor was $21,225.51 in debt. This debt had been growing since the end of the campaign, mostly fueled by Fallon’s salary, although significant payments were also made to Fallon’s girlfriend, Lynn Heuss and Fallon’s daughter Fionna received smaller payments as well. While Fallon was an advocate for Iowa’s “Mom and Pop businesses” while running for Governor, he never made it clear that he considered his campaign to be one of those businesses.
It is behavior like this that shows why the legislature needs to stop other politicians from following in Ed Fallon’s sleazy footsteps. After all, a ban on this sort of activity was a fundamental part of the ethics reform legislation that Barack Obama passed in Illinois. But unfortunately, the legislature can’t protect everyone from Fallon’s serial profligacy. His campaign has less than $3000 in net assets and a payroll of roughly $40,000 a month and Fallon already has a history of leaving his campaigns deep in debt. If I was a Fallon staffer, I would insist on getting paid in cash.
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Entry Filed under: US House, Leonard Boswell
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14 Comments Add your own
1. desmoinesdem | April 17th, 2008 at 2:52 pm
Well, we can’t all have our campaigns bankrolled by corporate PACs and other moneyed interests.
Geraldine, why don’t you try defending Boswell’s votes on key issues of national importance for a change?
Is it because you know that many of those votes, when Boswell broke with Democrats to rubber-stamp Bush’s policies, are indefensible?
Or is it because you feel third district voters shouldn’t be concerned about small matters like writing blank checks to fund a war, passing the bankruptcy bill, repealing the estate tax, and giving the president’s torture policy the blessing of Congress?
By the way, how do you feel about spending taxpayer money to send out glossy campaign-style mailers for Boswell? How much do you think those cost to print and mail out? Tens of thousands of dollars, or hundreds of thousands? Sounds pretty sleazy to me.
2. desmoinesdem | April 17th, 2008 at 2:55 pm
Speaking of lying, wouldn’t you agree that it’s a little misleading for Boswell to brag about how he voted for timelines to bring the troops home, without mentioning that after those amendments failed, he then voted for blank checks to fund the war WITHOUT timelines for bringing the troops home?
Probably not, since you don’t seem to feel very inspired to talk about Boswell’s actual record.
3. take a second | April 17th, 2008 at 3:55 pm
lets take a second here desmoinesdem and consider a few things.
1) dont you think you should answer questions that have arised concerning fallons ethics and credibility
2) Dont you think its misleeading for fallon to take credit for doing alot in the legislature when he was considered by everyone and there mother for being the most ineffective legislator.
3) Dont you think its a little misleading for fallon to push for the mainstreet program, and take credit for 4% increase in school funding when he voted against them in the legislature
4) dont you think its a little sleazy for a guy to ask for donations to his buisness that produces/sells nothing so he can pay himself and his girlfriend a salary so they dont have to get a job
5) Why is vetting a candidate going negative while name calling isnt?
6) Since congress does not have the votes necessary to override a veto and bring the troops home why should he vote not vote for funding to keep them safe until they can get enough votes/ a new president to get them out of their
7) why do all of you wactivist forget that politics is the art of compromise and when you fail to work towards compromise you get nothing done like Ed fallon did in the legislature
4. take a second-correction | April 17th, 2008 at 4:10 pm
Correction-6) Since congress does not have the votes necessary to override a presidential veto or a filibuster in the senate why should he not vote for funding to keep them safe until they can get them out when they have enough votes in congress or have a new president who will pull them out.
5. Geraldine | April 17th, 2008 at 4:36 pm
Des Moines Dem, I think Iowa Progress has addressed the issues you’ve mentioned before and frankly this is not a comprehensive chronicle of the race. But I can assure you if Leonard Boswell got himself involved in shady financial dealings, this blog would have posts about it. If Leonard Boswell was lying blatantly, this blog would have posts about it. I don’t think anyone ever intended for this much coverage and commentary on Ed Fallon’s sleaze but, I don’t think anyone ever imagined Ed Fallon to be sleazy, let alone this sleazy. Ideological questions are certainly important but Fallon’s continual ethical lapses are raising the more important question, “Is Ed Fallon honest?” The basic question of integrity is far more important than who supported what timeline when.
6. desmoinesdem | April 17th, 2008 at 4:45 pm
I’ve discussed several of these issues at length at Bleeding Heartland already.
If people are willing to contribute to a political advocacy business, what’s wrong with that? I used to send Steve Gilliard money to support his full-time blogging. He wasn’t providing any specific service to me, but I and many other people donated money because we thought his blogging had value.
Just like the people who have contributed to I’M for Iowa think Ed Fallon’s advocacy has value. Obviously, you are not one of those people. But isn’t the marketplace wonderful?
I am involved with 1000 Friends of Iowa, which advocated for increasing Main Street funding for many years, including while Fallon was its executive director. So I don’t know what you’re referring to when you say that he voted against Main Street. I also don’t know what specific education funding bill you are talking about.
I have to tell you that even if I disagreed with Fallon over some bill on state education funding (and I don’t know enough to say whether I do or not), that to my mind is not more crucial than Boswell’s votes on issues of great national importance, such as Bush’s horrendous energy bill, repealing the estate tax at a time of record deficits, the bankruptcy bill, trade agreements, and so on.
We simply disagree about the Iraq War supplemental funding bills. Bush needed Congress to pass those. I agreed with John Edwards–Congress should just send Bush bills with a timeline. If he vetoes that, send him another bill with a timeline. He is never going to do anything to bring troops home unless Congress exercises its power of the purse.
But Boswell wasn’t inclined to work with the Congressional Democrats who wanted to stand up to Bush on any number of issues.
From my perspective, the legislative accomplishments of our current Iowa House and Senate Democrats are not too impressive. They have failed to act on a lot of things that could improve this state’s economy, environment and quality of life. So their opinion of Fallon’s effectiveness doesn’t carry a whole lot of weight with me.
Are you seriously trying to tell me that the “Fallon loophole” is the biggest problem with Iowa’s campaign finance laws that needs to be addressed? They aren’t doing anything about much bigger problems, like the fact that one person can donate unlimited amounts to legislative and gubernatorial candidates.
Fallon self-limited donations to his gubernatorial campaign–I think he didn’t take more than $2,500 or $2,800 or something in that ballpark from any one person.
7. desmoinesdem | April 17th, 2008 at 4:47 pm
You mean like the integrity of using your franking privilege to send out a campaign flier?
Or the integrity of trying to pass yourself off as someone who stands up to Bush when in fact you have a habit of voting with Republicans “when the chips are down”?
I want my Congressman to represent my interests and not throw his lot in with the Republicans every time it’s politically expedient to do so.
8. Geraldine | April 18th, 2008 at 7:51 am
I just want my congressman to be honest.
9. Gavin | April 18th, 2008 at 1:29 pm
Geraldine, the campaign finance report you linked to reports $21,225.51 cash on hand, not debt.
10. Geraldine | April 18th, 2008 at 3:34 pm
Gavin, a number surrounded by parentheses on a balance sheet means it is a negative number. Notice how the campaign spent more than it took in during the last reporting period and, as a result, the debt increased.
11. Gavin | April 18th, 2008 at 11:57 pm
Missed that, my bad.
12. TheDemoMemo | April 21st, 2008 at 2:13 pm
What I want to know is why Fallon supported John Edwards for president when he was one of those evil war supporters. By the way, Edwards staff ran to hide whenever Fallon walked in their campaign office. They all could not stand him. I guess weasil talks louder than words.
13. Iowa Progress » Sta&hellip | April 22nd, 2008 at 8:39 pm
[…] other day, the Iowa State Senate voted by a margin of 47-2 to close the Fallon Loophole that allows candidates to pay themselves with campaign funds. The issue of candidates paying […]
14. Iowa Progress » Wel&hellip | May 19th, 2008 at 8:10 am
[…] he diverges from Wellstone and Feingold on an important policy position, the so-called “Fallon Loophole.” The Fallon Loophole refers to the practice when politicians pay themselves salaries with […]
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