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Tuesday, January 04, 2005

Feingold 2008?

Posted by Tim Tagaris

From Washington Whispers (thanks to Kos for finding it)

Keep a lookout for Sen. Russ Feingold, the second half of the McCain-Feingold campaign finance duo, who just won a third term from Wisconsin voters. He's on a nationwide mission to test out his progressive message that's liberal on some issues, like universal healthcare, and conservative on others, like the deficit. Fans think he can bridge the blue-state-red-state divide, making him not just a voice for a changing Democratic Party but a possible '08 presidential candidate.

Keep your eyes peeled for Draft Feingold sites, they should start going like hotcakes. In fact, I bought mine a few weeks ago (just wish I had it ready - if anyone wants to help Bob & I get it started?).

Some other links:

Feingold's Senate site
Great campaign comerrcial. Quicktime / Windows Media
Feingold speech on opposition to PATRIOT ACT (10/12/2001)
Feingold's 2004 campaign website.
Speech on Senate floor: Condaleeza Rice as the next Sec. of State.

The administration's record of the past four years suggests a foreign policy careening out of control, driven by ideologues who want to test their theories in the laboratory of the Middle East one minute, by domestic political considerations the next, and by spiteful attempts to punish those who disagree with their methods the next.

Where is this going? Who is in charge? Who knows? No one ever seems to be held accountable for the blunders, the failures, the wildly inaccurate presentations and projections or the painfully ineffective initiatives.

Congress cannot simply accept more of the same, keep our heads down and hope that somehow we will muddle through. The stakes are far too high. Our national security, the stability of the world that our children will inherit, our troops - even our country's honor - are on the line. Congress has an obligation not to oppose every administration effort, but to reassert our role in helping to steer the ship of state wisely rather than recklessly. I look at our foreign policy over the past four years, and I know that America is so much better than this.

I personally am a big fan. Although I know there is some dissent among those that blame him personally for allowing the confirmation of John Ashcroft. What are your thoughts? Could you get behind a Russ Feingold candidacy?

Posted at 04:45 PM in 2008 Election - President, 2008 President - Democrats | Technorati

Comments

Can you imagine debates between Dean and Feingold in the primaries if they were to both run? People would once again care about politics!

Posted by: Bob Brigham at January 4, 2005 07:33 PM | Permalink | Edit Comment | Delete Comment

No offense or anything but that was one of the worst campaign commercials I have seen in a while.

Posted by: David Trinh at January 4, 2005 08:44 PM | Permalink | Edit Comment | Delete Comment

David,

None taken. To each their own.

I enjoyed it simply because I appreciate something different in political commercials. I chuckle when I see him asking the bikers to move their rides.

Maybe my sense of humor is different than most.

Tim

Posted by: Tim T. at January 4, 2005 08:51 PM | Permalink | Edit Comment | Delete Comment

It just seemed a little cheesy to me and did not address any real issues that's all. But I do support any bid that he might make in 08 and I really do admire the guy, he reminds me a little of Paul Wellstone (the late senator from Minnesota).

Posted by: David Trinh at January 4, 2005 10:08 PM | Permalink | Edit Comment | Delete Comment

I think the commercial resonates with a community that knows him as a "maverick" or one "who asks the tough questions."

It was also one of the earlier spots run by his campaign, a time where candidates traditionally try to define themselves as people. You'll notice on his campaign site that most every one of the commercials after that (and there were many) are issues based.

Tim

Posted by: Tim T. at January 4, 2005 10:17 PM | Permalink | Edit Comment | Delete Comment

I thought the ad was kind of funny, maybe a bit corney, but whatever. I like Russ. He's a guy I respect, no matter the decision he makes. I know he is principled. He's a very plain-talking type of guy, as David Sirota says, that is why the rural culturally conservative voters of WI keep sending back an anti-war liberal. If not at the top, i would love him as a VP candidate. He's got gravitas and can be an attack dog I think. Although the Ashcroft thing and voting for the Clitnon Impeachment trial irk some Dems, he really is beloved in the base and could bring some Greens and Libertarians aboard.

Posted by: T at January 5, 2005 12:41 AM | Permalink | Edit Comment | Delete Comment

Cheesy and corney go over well in these parts. In case the foam cheese-wedge hats worn by sports fans didn't clue you in, people around here don't tend to take themselves very seriously -- for better or worse. And, as Tim T pointed out, other ads were a bit more substantive. One of my favorites featured his daughter calling him "cheap." It was about his record as a deficit hawk.

I was a volunteer for his campaign. It was a no-brainer. I don't agree with his decision on Ashcroft either, but on other issue after issue, I have found him to be reasoned, well thought out, and right on the money. And, above all, he has integrity which gives him a lot of strength.

I don't know how he would play to a national audience or what sort of president he would be. I do know I'm very glad he's in the senate.

Posted by: WisVoter at January 5, 2005 10:34 AM | Permalink | Edit Comment | Delete Comment

*laughs* Oh, to see THIS, HERE! I actually got here from a link on DKos, because '06 is going to be a biiiig year in Minnesota. And lo and behold, I find this post. Wow. I see stuff like this everywhere I go. Is there really that much enthusiasm for Feingold (as the latest myDD poll apparently suggests), or am I just a member of the same circles and running into the same people over and over again (I'm not good with names)? It's *impressive*. The Draft Feingold '08 Yahoo! group is nearly as big as it's Clark '08 counterpart - and considering the internet support for Clark and the fact that he's already ran, well, it's an achievement on the part of the Draft Feingold people, I do so believe.

The Ashcroft vote absolutely baffles me - not the vote itself, but the reaction to it. In hindsight, we can looks back and ask, "What the hell was he thinking?" But honestly, who thought Ashcroft could do such harm? Who knew the Patriot Act was coming when they confirmed him? People can say, "But what else could you expect from this administration?" And it doesn't make sense, because the Bush cabinet we saw shaping up in 2001 didn't seem like the neo-fascist one that had seemed to take hold before the election. I understand the reasoning for the vote, too. Why it's such a big deal, I don't understand, but you've gotta deal with whatever comes up, I guess (I learned that all too well with the Kerry campaign).



This is getting long, but I just wanted to drop in and comment on this. I do rather like him (er, as evidenced by my membership at both the Yahoo! group and the draftruss.com forum...). I'll definitely be visiting here more often.

Posted by: Anne-Marit Selvik at January 5, 2005 05:16 PM | Permalink | Edit Comment | Delete Comment

I really think Feingold's a maverick. That works in the senate, but he's not the kind of guy I could imagine as Pres. He likes to follow his own path, which, while admirable, doesn't make for effective leadership.

Posted by: Wisconsinite at January 5, 2005 11:03 PM | Permalink | Edit Comment | Delete Comment

He'll have my support if he runs. A lot of people will say "too liberal" but I don't care. Dems have been triangulating themselves to death. Kerry was supposed to be a "safe" pick.

Russ is able to articulate a liberal viewpoint without sounding shrill. We need that badly. He gets my vote, and my check (I've given some $$ to his Senate campaign even though I'm not from Wisconsin).

Posted by: Joshua at January 11, 2005 03:14 PM | Permalink | Edit Comment | Delete Comment

Tim
I'm not sure I can get behind a Russ run or not yet, but I agree he can have a big impact on the race. I just posted a thread on my new blog this morning saying that Russ could do very, very well among former Dean supporters if Dean gets elected chair of the DNC and has to remain neutral in the '08 race. There will be a vacuum, and Russ Feingold could easily fill it.

http://www.demdaily.com/demdaily/2005/01/does_russ_feing.html

Posted by: Eric Carbone at January 26, 2005 01:52 PM | Permalink | Edit Comment | Delete Comment

I like Feingold. I would support him but I think that it would be better if he became governor first and then went for a presidential bid. I say this for 2 reasons: I prefer some executive experience before going to the big 'show' and it's too easy to twist around a Senate voting career (for example the Ashcroft vote). So I say, get some executive experience and come back in a couple of years and I'll definitely get behind this guy 100%.

For '08, I will back someone with clear success in command (Clark) or executive experiences.

Posted by: Steven at January 27, 2005 08:47 AM | Permalink | Edit Comment | Delete Comment