TV ad, nuclear test spark exchange between Braley and Whalen

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By Ed Tibbetts | Tuesday, October 10, 2006 1:44 AM CDT | () comments

Congressional rivals Bruce Braley and Mike Whalen traded charges Monday over a new television ad and the controversy over North Korea’s nuclear test.

Braley’s campaign complained about a new television ad by a group called Americans for Honesty on Issues, saying the group is run by a former Enron lobbyist.

Meanwhile, Whalen’s campaign said North Korea’s claim that it tested a nuclear weapon is the latest reminder of the “dire consequences” that would result from Braley’s defense beliefs.

The two men are competing for Iowa’s 1st Congressional District seat, and the flareup over national security is but the latest reminder of the issue’s importance in the contest.

Americans for Honesty on Issues, which is based in Virginia, recently began airing a new TV ad in the eastern Iowa district that says Braley, a Democrat from Waterloo, would cut off funding for U.S. troops in Iraq.

The group, organized under the Internal Revenue Code, is not required to file a disclosure report stating who funds it until next month. However, its president, according to an IRS filing, is Sue Walden.

Citing Texas newspaper reports, Braley’s campaign says Walden was a major fundraiser for President Bush as well as for Enron. She could not be reached for comment Monday.

“This ... group is about as ‘honest’ as Enron’s accounting,” Braley spokesman Jeff Giertz said, charging that the group must believe Whalen, an entrepreneur from Bettendorf, represents a vote for “big oil and profits over people.”

Russ Perisho, Whalen’s campaign manager, dismissed the criticism and said he had not seen the ad. Nor was he familiar with the group, Perisho said.

Whalen’s campaign levied its own charge against Braley on Monday, saying the Democrat “seeks to eliminate defense spending on maintaining a nuclear arsenal.”

With North Korea saying it detonated a nuclear device, setting off an international uproar Monday, Perisho said the incident raises questions about Braley’s “irresponsible positions.”

The Whalen campaign cited a newspaper article published during March in which Braley was paraphrased as saying he would “eliminate” spending on — in his words — “maintaining a nuclear arsenal that is no longer needed.”

Perisho said Braley’s position would “worsen our defense posture at a time when global tensions and threats have never been greater.”

Giertz said he had never heard Braley say he would eliminate spending on the nation’s nuclear programs.

Ed Tibbetts can be contacted at (563) 383-2327 or etibbetts@qctimes.com.