Ames Progressive

From Bleeding Heartland, Leonard Boswell’s latest mailer in the 3rd Congressional District primary:

In 2000, Ralph Nader said, “there’s NO difference between Al Gore and George Bush…”

…

Ed Fallon believed him.
Fallon helped elect George Bush
by endorsing and actively
campaigning for Ralph Nader.

Now, Fallon claims he’s a real Democrat we can trust.

With nearly 4,000 of our soldiers killed in Iraq, rampant corruption throughout our government, health care costs out of control and an economy in shambles, Ed Fallon’s support for Ralph Nader is unforgivable.

Enough phony politics.

Say NO to ED FALLON.

It’s pretty bold to claim that campaigning for a peacenik in a state Al Gore won contributed more toward the Iraq war than voting for it.

That said, there are differences between voting for the war itself and funding it once American troops are overseas, and Boswell, when I interviewed him about his support of Kucinich’s impeach Cheney bill, said of supporting the war, “I’m one of those that believed in the commander in chief when he said, yes, there are weapons of mass destruction that [are] coming down on Americans. And knowing what I know and what I’ve been trained to know in my ears, that brings a whole new picture to my mind.”

Still, those are two pretty big leaps. Saying, “Don’t blame me, they duped me!” really doesn’t cut it. Even a cursory glance at the Project for a New American Century’s papers should have raised red flags, especially in combination with the Bush administration’s obvious politicization of 9/11.

Either way, the Boz has become more vocal in his criticism of the Bush administration since the primary challenge, even if most of his tactics have involved calling into question the character of the man who may have prompted him to do so.

If Boswell does win the election, hopefully he’ll remember his progressive constituents from the primary as he begins his next term in office and continue to support legislation that holds leaders accountable.