One of the Democrats in the race for governor is calling on his competitors to clean up their act. State Representative Ed Fallon of Des Moines says the campaign chatter has gotten too negative. “I mailed a bar of soap to Chet Culver and a bar of soap to Mike Blouin, along with a letter asking them to join me in keeping this campaign clean and positive,” Fallon says.
The issues are what matter to voters, according to Fallon, not the nit-picking that Culver and Blouin are engaging in. Culver has been blasting Blouin for choosing a runningmate who has donated to Republican candidates in the past. Blouin has been blasting Culver for failing to ensure Iowans get to vote in November on a constitutional amendment that would get rid of the ban on having “idiots” vote in Iowa elections. “We ought to be talking about the stuff that really makes a different in people’s lives,” Fallon says. “I’m really concerned that this campaign is going to get worse and worse.”
Fallon has lobbed attacks on Blouin and Culver for the nature of their campaign fundraising. Both have far eclipsed Fallon’s fundraising total, but Fallon contends he’s pressing the campaign finance reform issue because voters want their politicians to be less beholden to special interests. As for whether Blouin and Culver should use their bars of soap to wash their mouths out, Fallon says he wouldn’t advise anyone to do that.