Ed Fallon: Culver, Other Dems “All Too Comfortable with Present System”
State Representative and gubernatorial candidate Ed Fallon (D-Des
Moines) held a press conference at the Capitol today to show how
Secretary of State Chet Culver’s campaign finance reports show the need
for a Clean Elections Law in Iowa.
“The
whole campaign finance system is corrupt, with elections being sold to
the highest bidder, rather than won by the candidates with the best
ideas for moving our state forward,” Fallon said.
Over 65%
of Culver’s donations in 2005 came from outside of Iowa, including over
$300,000 from Washington DC, Maryland and Virginia.
“I think
it’s obvious that donors from Chevy Chase, Maryland or Dallas, Texas
who gave Chet tens of thousands will probably have more influence than
a donor from Creston or Cresco who gave him $10,” Fallon said.
While
refusing donations from political action committees, paid lobbyists and
large donors, Fallon still received 2114 donations in 2005, compared to
Culver’s 2080. However, Fallon’s average donor gave $52.08, while
Culver’s average donor gave over $658.
“For my
average donor, their donation is the price of a night out at the movies
with their family,” Fallon said. “For Culver’s donors, it’s the cost of
the monthly payment on a Mercedes Benz.”
Fallon went on to say that many of his opponents have become “all too comfortable” with the present political system.
“I think
they’re all good people, but they’ve been sucked into a system that is
flawed,” Fallon said. “It’s not that they’re dirty, but they are all
too comfortable with the current system.”
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