One of the Democrats who’s running for governor doesn’t like the “big dogs” who he says are ruining state government, so he’s organized a parade today to symbolically unite his “little dogs.” Democratic gubernatorial candidate Ed Fallon will speak at a rally just before noon a few blocks away from the statehouse, then Fallon’s backers and their dogs will march to the capitol. “The big dogs or big money have controlled what happens at the statehouse for a long time and their control is getting more pronounced,” Fallon says. “More and more of our tax dollars are going to corporate hand-outs, more and more to tax breaks for special interests and the very wealthy and less and less of the state budget is focused on the issues that matter most in people’s lives.” Fallon says the state’s economic development program amounts to “corporate welfare” and it’s time to reform the election system to take the big money out of state politics. Fallon says the point he’s trying to make with today’s event is that if you get enough “little dogs” together, they can beat the special interests. “My campaign is not about trying to land a few endorsements from big names or people with positions in power, it’s about rounding up all the little dogs in this state who are sick and tired of seeing all their taxes go to corporate hand-outs and to seeing a political system that is bought and paid for,” Fallon says. That’s a direct shot at another Democratic gubernatorial candidate, Michael Blouin. Blouin has won the backing of 50 Democrats who serve in the state legislature, and he was the state Economic Development director who administered the Iowa Values Fund, which started by handing out a $10-million state grant to Wells Fargo. “Campaigns ought to be about issues…for all the small dogs in Iowa who have seen their issues neglected,” Fallon says. Fallon plans to walk today with his own dog, Pumpkin, who was a stray that ended up at the Fallon’s Des Moines home about 10 years ago.