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.
April 17th, 2008
First of all, lots of Dems are throwing around cutesy Nussle rhymes and it’s gross. Vilsack has coined the “Nussle hustle,” and Fallon kicked it up a notch by ending his convention speech with the chant “Out-muscle Jim Nussle, out-hustle Jim Nussle, let’s tussle with Nussle and win!”
According to Radio Iowa, the Iowa Department of Economic Development released a report today showing that the Values Fund has only actually created or retained 8,000 of the 25,000 jobs Vilsack was claiming. In other words, Ed Fallon was right all along. (In case you’re keeping score, that’s still 0 points for Vilsack.)
Yepsen flaps his mouth about why Culver decided to call for Archie Brooks’ resignation. After implying that CIETC is indicative of “the Democrats’ culture of cronyism in Polk County” and that Democrats need Brooks to deliver votes, he briefly bothers to mention that Culver is “among the majority of civic-minded Democrats who are profoundly outraged that people who call themselves Democrats would engage in the obscenity of milking a program designed to benefit the jobless.” So what you’re really saying then, Dave, is that corrupt politicians exist (gasp!) and that every now and then they happen to be Democrats. You would never, ever write a biased story that makes unnecesary jabs at Culver (just read it for yourself), right?
One happy bit though: another Register columnist goes over how Michael Mauro shouldn’t be tarnished by having relatives working at CIETC. It even includes quotes from Republicans saying what a great, professional, nonpartisan job he has done as Polk County auditor. Of course, one does manage to “sneak” a nonpartisan raspberry into print: “Michael has forgotten more about elections and election law than Chet Culver ever knew.” Sometimes I wonder if it’s wrong for me to even bother repeating their nonsense, but that one’s just funny.
p.s. Hotline has a story about the Culver campaign accidentally appropriating a Nussle quote on their website. WTF, mate?
June 20th, 2006
