Blouin Advertisement Only Half Truthful

On April 26, the Des Moines Register reported that Democratic candidate Mike Blouin in a television advertisement recently released in Des Moines and Cedar Rapids is misleading to voters. The campaign advertisement leads voters to believe that Blouin has been given an official endorsement by the retiring Governor. In a statement made by the Governor's representative, Gov. Vilsack was not notified or had given Blouin the consent to use his image or name. The ad also portrays Blouin as Gov. Vilsack's "protege" according to Des Moines Register Staff Writer Thomas Beaumont. It is true that Blouin was the Economic Development Director for a period of two years under the Vilsack administration, so they did work together, just not as closely as Blouin's touts. In defense, Blouin's campaign manager, Matt Paul said, "It's a public image that the producer paid the photographer for, and it's factually correct. Mike Blouin worked for Governor Vilsack." The photograph used in the Blouin ad shows Blouin and Gov. Vilsack.

My response to this I would have to say, is that Mike Blouin is trying to get his name and image out there for the public to see as much as he can, whether it be good or bad publicity. With this I feel that Blouin is scrambling to try and beat out his toughest competitor, Chet Culver, with any means necessary. If Blouin is telling half-truths now, how many has there been, and how many more will there be? Is he the best man for the job? It's up to the voters to give their final say and the June primary is coming up very soon.

Let the Investigation Begin

The Iowa Democratic Party formally lodged a complaint against the only Republican Gubernatorial candidate, Jim Nussle, last week with the Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board according to an article published by the Des Moines Register. Nussle is being accused of using funds from his federal campaign fund to pay for expenses incurred by his Gubernatorial campaign and not properly disclosing the transactions according to Iowa law. As stated in Iowa law, these types of transactions must be noted "as-kind" by the candidate in their disclosure report.

I am surprised that with only two months until the primary that the hard accusations towards either party are just getting under way. There was some talk earlier in March regarding Lt. Governor candidate Andrea McGuire in previous races ran as a Republican. McGuires response to these allegations was that sometimes candidates change their political affiliation and that she is not the first candidate to do so. We'll see what happens with the investigation hopefully before the primary.