Earlier this year, I said some comments about Wes Clark and his chances in 2008. I got a lot of shit for it, and came to the conclusion that what I did was wrong. We're not going to build a stronger Democratic party by tearing each other apart years before the presidential primaries in 2008. Instead, I suggested that we try and stay positive, focusing on why are our preffered candidates are a good choice.
In response to another diary today, I'd like to re-introduce Senator Russ Feingold of Wisconsin.
If, you have any questions to ask of the Senator himself, you can head over here and leave them in the comments. As many as possible will be answered and posted next week.
So, without any further ado, the case for Russ Feingold.
Russ Feingold was first elected to the United States Senate in 1992 based on a series of promises he made to the people of Wisconsin. He promised not to accept any pay raises during his term, to hold a listening session in each county every year, and to spend the majority of his time in Wisconsin. Relected in 1998 and 2004, he has never broken any of these promises.
In his Senate career, Russ Feingold has led on reform issues and worked with John McCain to pass the McCain-Feingold Campaign Finance Reform legislation. He was also the ONLY Senator to vote against the USAPatriot Act because it took away civil liberties. Now, he is fighting to make sure the renewal of the act includes these protections. Senator Feingold opposed the war in Iraq and voted against it in OCtober 2002. But, he voted for the 87 billion dollars in equipment for our troops. This summer, Russ Feingold became the 1st Senator to call for a timetable for withdrawal from Iraq. He has called for a flexible withdrawal timeline ending around Dec 31, 2006. (Extensions are possible if extremely necessary).
Some other highlights:
100% Rating from the NAACP, NARAL, League of Coservation Voters, NAACP, and National Hispanic Leadership Agenda
The Senator is a "Deficit Hawk" according to the Concord Coalition and has pushed for balanced budgets. He is completely pro-choice and believes that there must be universal health care in this country - with every state having flexibility in its implementation.
As for electablity? I'll let this speak for itself.
Results from 2004 (Thanks to the Washington Post)
John F. Kerry (D) 1,488,935 50
George W. Bush * (R) 1,477,122 49
Russ D. Feingold * (D) 1,632,562 55
Tim Michels (R) 1,301,305 44
So head over to http://www.RussForPresident.com and join effort to draft the Senator in 2008, or at least ask him a question.
UPDATE
Just to clarify, RussForPresident.com will be having a Q and A session with Senator Feingold this week, so if you head over and submit a question, we'll get as many as possible asked of him