Fallon says Boswell backed war too long

Thursday, May 29, 2008

(The Des Moines Register)By THOMAS BEAUMONT, tbeaumont@dmreg.com

A key difference between 3rd Congressional District Democratic candidates Leonard Boswell and Ed Fallon has to do with Iraq war policy. But it's more about the when than the what.

Boswell is facing his first primary challenge since his election to Congress in 1996 from Fallon, a former state representative who says Boswell supported for too long measures to continue paying for the war in Iraq.

Both of the Democrats from Des Moines now support a timeline for withdrawing troops, although Boswell has come to the position within the last year, while Fallon was an early opponent of the war.

Boswell has said he decided to begin supporting a withdrawal after a December 2005 meeting with President Bush and his war council, but he didn't begin voting for withdrawal until spring of 2007.

"I rethought the whole situation, and I think it's time for us to come out of there," Boswell told The Des Moines Register, adding, "I don't know, I guess history will tell" whether he had backed the president too long.

"I have a hard time understanding why any Democrat would continue to vote for the war for four-plus years, even two years after we had solid evidence there were no weapons of mass destruction," Fallon told the Register.

Boswell, a member of the centrist House Blue Dog Democrats, and the self-styled progressive Fallon generally align on key areas, such as taxes, health care and education.

However, they disagree on some kitchen table issues.

Fallon supports a cap on credit card interest rates at 14 percent, while Boswell said a cap will not curb out-of-control credit card debt.

Boswell's position is in line with his support for a 2005 bankruptcy measure that some Democratic activists said was a boon to the credit card companies, but which Boswell described as helping debtors improve their credit.

Fallon supports a temporary cap on the price of gasoline, while Boswell said the Federal Trade Commission should have broad authority to punish price gougers.

The winner of the Tuesday primary will face Clive Republican Kim Schmett, who is a lawyer, former state administrator and onetime chief of staff to former U.S. Rep. Greg Ganske.