Essential Estrogen

There's always a bit of jostling when a member of a political party decides to enter into a primary contest against an incumbent, but the race in Iowa's 3rd District only began a few weeks ago and candidates are already exchanging blows.

On Tuesday, challenger Ed Fallon pledged to support the winning 3rd District candidate following the Democratic primary. He also went one step further by issuing a press release and challenging incumbent Leonard Boswell to make a similar pledge.

"Fallon believes it's crucial to have a strong united Democratic Party behind the June 3 nominee," read the press release. The release also indicated that Fallon has "a long history of commitment to working hard for Democrats and will continue his efforts to build a Democratic Party more in sync with its historic populist tradition." Highlighted in the notice to the press were Fallon's support of Sen. John Kerry and Congressman Dennis Kucinich during the 2004 presidential campaign, his support of Gov. Chet Culver following his own unsuccessful gubernatorial bid in 2006, and his work in 2007 on behalf of numerous Democratic candidates.

Notably absent were Fallon's well-known actions during the 2000 presidential contest, a sin of omission quickly highlighted by the Boswell's campaign.

"Leonard Boswell has always had a solid history of supporting Democrats and does not believe his history and record within the party is the one in question," said JoDee Winterhof, senior adviser to the Boswell for Congress campaign. "Ed Fallon publicly supported Ralph Nader and we know who our president has been for the last seven years in part because of Ralph Nader."

In October of 2000, Fallon, a Democratic member of the Iowa Legislature at the time, was quoted by the New York Times as saying the presidential choice offered by the two major political parties was "between George W. Bush and a Democrat who is to the right of Bill Clinton."

As a result of his support for Nader, Fallon was ousted from his seat on the Polk County Democratic Central Committee. Later, in 2002, Fallon refused to sign a pledge stating he would support Democrats who won primaries in the county. He went on record, comparing the Polk County Democratic Party's loyalty pledge -- a document quite similar to the one he asked Boswell to sign -- to those used by the Nazi Party, the Soviets and the British during the American Revolution.

"I'm looking forward to a spirited race during the next few months," Fallon wrote in his letter that urged Boswell to sign the loyalty pledge.