Like most Americans, I hadn’t given much thought to Wisconsin Senator Russ Feingold. After he was first out of the gate to censure the president, he caught my attention—not because that was such a bold move, but because so few Democratic leaders joined his effort. I can’t fathom voting for a presidential candidate that wouldn’t support censuring Bush for ordering illegal wiretaps. Then on April 4, he came out in favor of marriage equality for gay and lesbian couples.Who is this guy? A Democrat with conviction and the guts? That sounds like just what we’ve been looking for. A Democrat who doesn’t have the albatross of supporting the Iraq war before he opposed it hanging around his neck. A Democrat who didn’t have to write an op-ed piece to say that he was wrong to support the war on Iraq, because he wasn’t wrong. Hillary Clinton, Joe Lieberman, Tom Daschle, John Kerry and John Edwards were wrong, but Feingold was right all along. We ought to reward that kind of wisdom and discernment.
John Kerry must cry himself to sleep that he wasn’t the one who spoke these words in October 2002:
We are about to make one of the weightiest decisions of our time within a context of confused justifications and vague proposals. We are urged, Mr. President, to get on board and bring the American people with us, but we don't know where the ship is sailing.
Feingold spends a lot of time listening to Wisconsinites on the issues. He’s held nearly 1,000 “listening sessions.” With all that listening, he may be more in tune with Americans than all those Democratic senators who let him hang out to dry on the censure resolution would have us believe.
Here are some other reasons to like this guy:
- After we got into the mess in Iraq, Feingold was the first Senator to call for a flexible timetable to get our military out of Iraq, a notion that has been building steam.
- He’s long supported the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, which will finally prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. Believe it or not, it’s still legal to discriminate against gays and lesbians in employment in 34 states.
- My man Feingold helped balance the budget in the 90’s and now fights for a return to a budget discipline.
- Feingold has fought for increased funding to combat AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria around the world.
- What little the U.S. has done to address the genocide in Sudan has been largely due to Senator Feingold’s initiative.
- Feingold cast the Senate's lone vote against the USA Patriot Act. Many of the concerns he had about infringing on precious liberties are now widely shared. Again, the man had the guts to go against the tide, standing on principle, even when it was unpopular at the time. He’s consistently ahead of the curve.
- Good hair
- Good teeth
- Doesn’t scream at rallies
Reasons our sorry electorate won’t elect Senator Russ Feingold in 2008:
- He opposed the USA Patriot ACT.
- He’s a Rhodes Scholar and Harvard-educated lawyer.
- He opposes the death penalty.
- He’s been divorced—twice.
- He’s not Christian.
6 comments:
I guess he has no chance at all, Mart. I suppose he champions "choice", too. Well, I hope he runs anyway, and that he brings all of these positions right out into the light for all to see. If no politician ever has the courage to proudly defend these values, we might as well pack up our stuff and find a country that gives a rat's ass. Do you suppose there is such a place, or is the whole planet doomed? Love, Pop
Het is tijd beginnen het Nederlands te leren.
(It's time to start learning Dutch.)
Misschien spreken de meeste Nederlandse mensen het Engels
Perhaps most of Dutch the people speak English indeed.
his tie leaves something to be said with respect to his fashion judgment. otherwise, 2 big toes and 2 thumbs up for russ.
on another matter entirely, marty hasn't mused since mid-april. what gives? hey, that's probably not unlike many of our so-called leaders... new role models post-November, please.
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