What is So Great about Feingold?

[JackD76]

I am not saying that in a mean way, I don't know a lot about him, and am unsure why so many people want him to be president. So, who wants to fill me in?

[bobthedrummer]

1. His ethics, for one.

[LdyGuique]

2. Russ Feingold is an anomaly in the world of politics.

He found his own inner voice long ago and hasn't deviated from it to play power politics. He was reelected in 2004 in a state with a substantial conservative coalition for a 3rd term. Remember that Wisconsin has that crowd up Appleton way that brought us Joe McCarthy and where the John Birch Society is headquartered. While Madison WI is a bastion of liberalism, it's not enough to carry the state. Good ole Tommy Thompson is also from WI.

Does this mean that he's a conservative Demo? No. But, he avoids inflammatory language and doesn't chest thump or posture. He's a genuinely nice guy with a good political sense of populism. Populism still plays well in the Midwest.

His Voting record from 1996 through today.

Vote against the Patriot Act to protect our civil liberties
Returns his pay raise to the Treasury every year
Votes against unfair trade agreements (NAFTA, GATT, etc...)
Demands the citizens of the US have the same quality healthcare as he does
Has held open listening sessions in every county in Wisconsin for 12 years
He has a broad appeal and has received many votes from both parties
He has one of the best environmental records in the Senate
A strong commitment to our Veterans with a record to prove it
Works to cut wasteful spending and has received many endorsements to show it
He supports a woman's right to choose
He demands fairness in campaigning and fights to block 'corporate bribes'
He has consistently worked to end the death penalty
Works to helps Police Departments and was honored by the Nation Association of Police Organizations as the Senator of the year.
He opposed the 'No Child Left Behind' bill
Senator Feingold has worked tirelessly to raise Pell Grants

On The Issues overview of all of his positions

[JackD76]

3. He sounds good but

I always have doubts about the electablality of senators. Only two have been directly elected from the senate(Lincoln and JFK)because it is easy to distort their record. Was he ever a governor or Mayor of a large city, because that might help. If not, I would have reservations about supporting him in the 2008 primaries.

[LdyGuique]

7. To be honest, his biggest handicap will be

the fact that he's Jewish. The U.S. has never elected a Jew to the WH -- and there is a lot of prejudice that simmers just under the surface. While the White Supremicist movement has been the loudest voice of anti-Semitism, I still run into the language throughout the various RW Christian sites that I visit to keep track of "the enemy."

However, there has been a steady disaffection amongst the Jewish voters with the Democratic party and a distinct movement to the right over the past 10 years -- this could bring them back.

He has a clean and consistent record on his voting and support of issues. These issues frequently are in opposition to the RW -- but he can't be labelled a "waffler."

When I first started coming into DU a couple of months ago and every third topic seemed to be about "which" candidate for 2008, and Russ Feingold was not appearing as a choice on any of the polls, I broached his name and was soundly put-down.

While Wesley Clark is still a popular candidate, he has no political base nor constituency nor track record. I could see a Feingold/Clark ticket; although, I still think that Clark isn't a viable national candidate overall.

[safi0]

8. I don't know

If the Jewish thing will be that much of handicap because of the fact that I don't think hes that religous. Or if he is he doesn't wear his religion on his sleeve.

[in_cog_ni_to]

4. There was a GREAT article yesterday in the Chicago Trib. I found it online

Have a read.

Edwards? Clinton? Nah, 2008 could be Russ Feingold's year

Sanford D. Horwitt
Published March 20, 2005


The race for the 2008 Democratic Party presidential nomination is already being handicapped and, according to one offshore gaming Web site, the front-runners are former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards at 3-2 and New York Sen. Hillary Clinton at 5-2.

But if I were a betting man, I'd consider putting some dough on a 16-1 shot, Wisconsin Sen. Russ Feingold.

Largely overlooked by national political pundits in the aftermath of the November election was the impressive re-election victory by the John McCain of the Democratic Party. As usual, Feingold campaigned as a straight-talking, risk-taking reformer, and his convincing victory should make him highly appealing to Democrats longing for somebody who not only has a winning track record, but who unabashedly stands for progressive Democratic Party values. This is no wimpy liberal who trims his message to fit supposedly conservative times.

In Wisconsin, while John Kerry barely eked out a win in one of the most hotly contested battleground states, voters were giving Feingold a near-landslide victory, electing him to a third term with 55 percent of the vote. Unlike Kerry, who tried to play it safe from start to finish, Feingold won big after voting against the Iraq war and Bush's tax cuts, and having cast the lone vote in the Senate against the Patriot Act.

Feingold carried a mix of rural and small-town counties in the northern deer-hunting country, old Mississippi River communities on the western border and the urban centers of Milwaukee and Madison<snip>

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/perspective/chi-0503200192mar20,1,1947683.story

[latteromden]

5. I think the problem with senators is that they tend to be inconsistent and

use "Senate-speak," which, if you're not a senator or a C-SPAN junkie (I personally fall into the latter group), is pretty much nonsense to most voters.

We saw Kerry run into this problem, terribly, last year ("I actually voted for the $87 billion before I voted against it"? Yeah.). Feingold's Senate record is not only totally consistent (and on the side of the people), but he talks to people in ways they understand (I love Kerry, but he even lost me a couple times during the campaign).

[proud patriot]

6. He voted against the patriot act which is a plus for me

:hi:

[stray cat]

9. He was the only one who actually read the patriot act.

Its one of many reasons I like Feingold - he is responsible enough to make sure he has the information before he legislates. He is also able to work with others in a nonpartisan way but he also is willing to stand completely alone as he did in the patriot act.

[cheezus]

10. He can win in the midwest / heartland

he's not a northeastern liberal elistest, but rather a midwestern average-man populist.

I also like Gov. Whatshisname from Montana