Russ Feingold on the new FISA legislation

I'm so proud he is from my state. He is right on every issue. Especially these important ones...

Video...

LINK: Russ Feingold on the New FISA Legislation

-Mr. Joseph

WI Gov. Tommy Thompson Drops Out

I guess I was right. The '08 field is starting to thin out a bit.

The New York Times reports...

After a sixth-place finish in Saturday’s Iowa Straw Poll, Tommy Thompson, the four-term governor of Wisconsin and former secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, said he was ending his presidential bid.

Mr. Thompson’s campaign issued a statement tonight confirming his decision to drop out of the race:

“I want to thank the people of Iowa who were welcoming and supportive as well as my volunteers and contributors from around the country,” Mr. Thompson said in the statement. “I have no regrets about running. I felt my record as Governor of Wisconsin and Secretary of Health and Human Services gave me the experience I needed to serve as President, but I respect the decision of the voters. I am leaving the campaign trail today, but I will not leave the challenges of improving health care and welfare in America.”

Mr. Thompson focused his campaign on building support in Iowa, visiting all of the state’s 99 counties. But he had been saying for weeks that without a strong showing in the straw poll, he was likely to bow out.

Yesterday, he won about 7 percent of the vote, putting him behind five of his rivals, including former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, who won the straw poll handily with 32 percent of the vote, and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, the runner-up.

Mr. Thompson indicated in the statement that he would return to work in the private and nonprofit sectors after “a brief time off.”

“I have very much enjoyed my years in public service and I am comforted by the fact that I think I made a difference for people during that time,” he said. “I hope to continue working to serve others over the next few years.”

LINK: Tommy Thompson Bows Out of Race

For what it is worth, Romney won the straw poll and Huckabee (my second favorite GOP candidate) came in 2nd.

So now it is even. Eight Republicans and eight Democrats...

-Mr. Joseph

Please note that I am glad he dropped out. I don't want Tommy Thompson to be the first President from Wisconsin -- that needs to be Senator Russ Feingold.

Feingold and Reid Up the Ante

Crooks and Liars...

Have I said recently how much I loves me some Feingold? This morning, Sen. Russ Feingold, along with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid have issued a statement that lets George Bush know in unmistakable terms that the days of the blank check are OVER:

U.S. Senator Russ Feingold (D-WI) and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) announced today that they are introducing legislation that will effectively end the current military mission in Iraq and begin the redeployment of U.S. forces. The bill requires the President to begin safely redeploying U.S. troops from Iraq 120 days from enactment, as required by the emergency supplemental spending bill the Senate passed last week. The bill ends funding for the war, with three narrow exceptions, effective March 31, 2008.

"I am pleased to cosponsor Senator Feingold's important legislation," Reid said. "I believe it is consistent with the language included in the supplemental appropriations bill passed by a bipartisan majority of the Senate. If the President vetoes the supplemental appropriations bill and continues to resist changing course in Iraq, I will work to ensure this legislation receives a vote in the Senate in the next work period."

That's right, George. You veto the funding bill, you get an even tougher bill. Bob Geiger has more…

At Salon (watch short ad for day pass), Russ Feingold tells the minority party to stop obfuscating behind the talking point of "supporting the troops," especially when their rhetoric was the exact opposite for the mission in Somalia in the '90s:

The debate about the Iraq war is the most important, and the most difficult, issue we face as a country. Any American, including any member of Congress, is entitled to support or oppose Congress' using its constitutional power to end our involvement in this disastrous war. But, in contrast to the 1993 debate about Somalia, today some wrongly suggest that ending funding for the Iraq war is tantamount to ending funding for the troops. That misleading argument makes it harder to have the thoughtful, responsible debate about the war that Congress and the American people so badly need.

Now is no time for phony arguments against ending funding for the Iraq war. There may be big differences between the military missions in Somalia and Iraq, but Congress' constitutional power to end a military mission hasn't changed, and neither has the fact that this power can be used without jeopardizing the safety of U.S. troops. As Congress debates Iraq — and considers the new Feingold-Reid legislation — we should remember Somalia, put false arguments aside, and have an open, honest debate about a war that drags on with no end in sight.

LINK: Feingold, Reid Ups The Ante

It's good to see this Congress finally standing up to the Bush Administration...
-Mr. Joseph

Four Years in Iraq Today...

In light of the anniversary today, I have three items to post...

TP:

Robert Greenwald’s Brave New Foundation has launched an online war memorial that honors members of the U.S. armed forces who lost their lives serving in Iraq. The Memorial is a collection of video memories from family, friends, and military colleagues of those who have fallen.

Monday marks the four year anniversary of the invasion of Iraq. See our timeline HERE.

VIDEO / LINK: A video memorial to the fallen.

Think Progress's Mailing List, the Progress Report put this together...

IRAQ
Four Years of Chaos On March 19, 2003, President Bush spoke to the nation from the Oval Office and announced that the United States was invading Iraq. "Our nation enters this conflict reluctantly -- yet, our purpose is sure. ... [O]ur forces will be coming home as soon as their work is done." Four years later, the American public is no longer sure what the President's "purpose" was for invading Iraq, nor do we know when our troops will be coming home. Instead of "reluctantly" going to war, "the president and his administration exaggerated, cherry-picked and simplified" intelligence that it then used to tell the American public, wrongly, that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction. As a result, approximately 3,200 American troops have died, the military is overextended, and the world is less safe. Violence in Iraq continues to skyrocket, and Bush's escalation seems to be driving the United States into "a much deeper and longer-term role in policing Iraq than since the earliest days of the U.S. occupation." The White House has indicated that Bush's plans for today include "going about business as usual," including "playing host to the 2006 NCAA football champions, the University of Florida 'Gators.'" The Progress Report has put together a timeline looking back over the past 48 months HERE.

IRAQIS ARE LESS SECURE: On March 17, 2003, Bush declared to Iraqis, "The day of your liberation is near." Yet at least 150,000 Iraqi civilians have been killed in violence since the beginning of the war. Car bombings reached an all-time high in January and February, and for the first time, the Pentagon last week acknowledged that "some of the violence in Iraq can be described as a civil war." It was the Pentagon's "bleakest assessment of the war to date." The report also found that two-thirds of the Iraqi people "believe that conditions are worsening, and as many as 9,000 are fleeing the country each month." A new BBC/ABC News poll finds that fewer than 40 percent of Iraqis "said things were good in their lives," compared to 71 percent two years ago. One Jan. 10, Bush announced his plan to send 21,500 more combat troops to Baghdad, promising it would "help the Iraqis carry out their campaign to put down sectarian violence and bring security to the people of Baghdad." On March 6, Bush declared his plan to be working. "Yet even at this early hour, there are some encouraging signs," he stated. But as the Washington Post reported, "Sectarian attacks in Baghdad are down at the moment, but the deaths of Iraqi civilians and U.S. troops have increased outside the capital." Bush also claimed that "Iraqi and U.S. forces have rounded up more than 700 people affiliated with Shia extremists." But according to a military official, Bush's numbers appear "to have little to do with the new strategy. The number is ' based on captures...since July 2006.' ... Bush first reported the same roundup -- citing 600 captures -- last fall." Iraqi officials are also falling behind on the benchmarks of progress it promised to meet. Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has announced that will miss his "self-imposed deadline for reshuffling the Cabinet," and just two Iraqi brigades and one battalion of a third have arrived in Baghdad, despite the Iraqi government's promise to employ three brigades.

TROOPS ARE LESS PREPARED: In 2000, Bush stated, "To point out that our military has been overextended, taken for granted and neglected, that's no criticism of the military. That is criticism of a president and vice president and their record of neglect." Yet now, as all signs point to a military that is overextended, the Bush administration is trying to deflect criticism and claim that the military's readiness is "unprecedented." In reality, the U.S. Army's preparedness for war "has eroded to levels not witnessed by our country in decades." Virtually all of the U.S.-based Army combat brigades are "rated as unready to deploy," Army officials say, and a recent Pentagon survey found that troops in Iraq and Afghanistan suffer from chronic shortages of armored vehicles, heavy weapons, and communications equipment. Army and Marine Corps officials say it will take years for their forces to recover from a "death spiral," in which rapid war rotations have "consumed 40 percent of their total gear, wearied troops, and left no time to train to fight anything other than the insurgencies now at hand." "We have a strategy right now that is outstripping the means to execute it," Army chief of staff Gen. Peter Schoomaker recently told the Senate Armed Services Committee. Similarly, troops coming back from war -- with unprecedented levels of mental health disorders -- are facing a bureaucracy unprepared to deal with them, as the Walter Reed scandal highlighted. Seventy-six percent of Americans, including a majority of Republicans, believe the Bush administration hasn't "done enough to care for [Iraq war] veterans." Bush plans to "cut funding for veterans' health care two years from now," even though "the cost of providing medical care to veterans has been growing rapidly -- by more than 10 percent in many years."

WORLD IS LESS SAFE: The Center for American Progress and Foreign Policy magazine recently released their second "Terrorism Index," a bipartisan survey of America's top national security experts. The consensus: the world is growing more dangerous, and America is losing the war on terror. Eighty-one percent of Terrorism Index respondents "see a world that is growing more dangerous for the American people, while 75 percent say the United States is losing the war on terror." Among the 81 percent of experts who believe the world is becoming "more dangerous" to the United States, a large plurality identified the Iraq war as the primary cause. These results are supported by the findings of the National Intelligence Estimate released last fall, which stated that "the Iraq jihad is shaping a new generation of terrorist leaders and operatives," and that Iraq "has become the "cause celebre" for jihadists." Nearly six in 10 experts of all political stripes say the Bush administration is doing the "worst possible job" in Iraq and fully 88 percent of the experts believe the war in Iraq is undermining U.S. national security.

TIME TO REDEPLOY: "For the first time since the Iraq war began, less than half of Americans believe the United States can win in Iraq, a CNN poll said Tuesday. Just 46 percent think the United States will win." Fifty-eight percent of Americans "want to see U.S. troops leave Iraq either immediately or within a year." Forty-nine countries joined Bush's Coalition of the Willing at the start of the Iraq war. By mid-2007, just 20 countries will remain after Britain, Denmark, and South Korea reduce their forces. Even National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley recently acknowledged that some Iraqis want the U.S. military presence to be, "over." The Center for American Progress has a plan called "Strategic Redeployment" that calls for a gradual drawdown of American troops coupled with increased engagement with Iraq's political leaders. The plan goes beyond the debate between "cutting and running" and "staying the course" to show how we can more effectively achieve success in Iraq. The House Appropriations Committee also recently approved legislation to calling for troops to "leave Iraq before Sept. 2008, and possibly sooner if the Iraqi government does not meet certain benchmarks."

Get the Progress Report HERE...(Enter your email address on the right)

And finally, my local Senator, Russ Feingold sent this letter out in his mailing list...

Dear Joseph,

Four years ago today, President Bush embarked on what has become the greatest foreign policy mistake in the history of our nation. The reckless and coercive drive to war, the botched handling of the reconstruction and occupation, and the recent escalation of our presence in Iraq has cost our country billions of dollars, eroded our military's readiness to respond to significant national security challenges, wounded tens of thousands of our brave service members and ended the lives of over 3,200 of our courageous men and women in uniform.

Co-Sponsor My Amendment

I've been working tirelessly to convince my colleagues that it's long past time for Congress to act responsibly and end this war. I was the first Senator, over 18 months ago, to propose a timetable for withdrawal. I also offered a second version of my flexible timetable, calling for complete withdrawal from Iraq by July of this year. Following the Democratic gains in last November's elections, I called on Congress to use its main power, the 'power of the purse', to stop George Bush's war.

Co-Sponsor My Amendment

It has become increasingly clear that the only way we are going to be able to end the President's failed policies in Iraq is by setting a date after which funding for the war will end. Those who argue that we should somehow defer to the President are wrong. The President has sent our country down a failed path and because he has abdicated his responsibility to correct the course for far too long, it's now up to Congress to provide much needed leadership.

Congress has the power and the responsibility to bring the situation in Iraq to an end. I plan to continue to press the issue by offering an amendment to the upcoming supplemental funding bill that would use the 'power of the purse' to safely redeploy our troops out of Iraq.

Co-Sponsor My Amendment

I'm looking to you, on this sad anniversary, to stand with me in our efforts to put this chapter of American foreign policy to bed and to continue moving forward with our focus on fighting the real war on terror and repairing our nation's stature in the world. Thank you for your continued support.

Sincerely,

Russ Feingold
United States Senator
Honorary Chair, Progressive Patriots Fund

LINK: Progressive Patriots

Had to believe it has been four years...

-Mr. Joseph

Feingold Pushes Plan to Cut Off War Funds

United States Senator Russ Feingold continues his efforts to bring the troops home...

From The Politico

Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., has scheduled a hearing next Tuesday in his Judiciary Committee subcommittee to explore whether Congress has the authority to cut off funding for the U.S. military campaign in Iraq. The move comes as Congress prepares to vote on a congressional resolution opposing President Bush's escalation of the war.

Feingold, a fierce war critic, will force Democrats to consider an option many consider politically suicidal: cutting off funds for the military campaign in Iraq. Democratic leaders have privately called on members to restrain from seeking any funding restrictions and focus instead on congressional resolutions condemning the Bush policy. The resolutions are nonbinding and therefore symbolic.

Republicans "would like this debate to be as whether or not we are going to be cutting off money for the troops," Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid recently told The Politico. "The logical conclusion is that a lot of things can happen. But right now, the most important thing is to tell the president that what he has done with the escalation is wrong. And that's what we are doing, bi-partisanly."

Feingold, who chairs the Subcommittee on the Constitution, will question several witnesses, including a Library of Congress official and legal experts from Harvard, Duke, and the University of Virginia, on the issue. Senior Bush administration officials have publicly argued that Congress has no such right, but Feingold plans to introduce legislation to force President Bush to pull American forces out of the troubled country.

"Congress holds the power of the purse and if the president continues to advance his failed Iraq policy, we have the responsibility to use that power to safely redeploy our troops from Iraq," Feingold said in a statement released by his office on Thursday. "I will soon be introducing legislation to use the power of the purse to end what is clearly one of the greatest mistakes in the history of the nation's foreign policy."

LINK: Feingold Pushes Plan to Cut Off War Funds

- Mr. Joseph

Feingold Cuts Through The ISG Hype on Countdown

From Crooks and Liars...

Keith Olbermann had Russ Feingold on to give his assessment of the now very famous Iraq Study Group report.

Feingold said what I have felt all day. This report does not give us a clear path in Iraq and leaves the future of the war up in the air. Even worse is the fact that we have lost 10 more soldiers today and the administration needs more time to figure out what to do. Iraq sure doesn't need more time to slip into anarchy - it gets worse by the day.

Silent Patriot: "The Senator drills home the point that the panel was composed primarily of politicians — not Mideast experts — and doesn't fully address the most important aspects of the overall War on Terror but instead views it through the "prism of Iraq" and "misses the point."

LINK: Feingold Cuts Through The ISG Hype on Countdown

-Mr. Joseph

Feingold Argues Emergence of Al Qaeda Leader Shows ‘Insanity’ Of Misplaced Priorities

From Think Progress...

On NBC’s Meet the Press, Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI) argued that the broader al Qaeda network is gaining strength as a result of the Iraq war. Feingold cited Somalia, where an individual listed by the U.S. State Department as a suspected al Qaeda collaborator was yesterday named as the new leader of a militia that has seized control of Somalia’s capital...

Full transcript:

FEINGOLD: Our number one moral responsibility is to protect the American people — to focus on those who attacked us on 9/11, to not be distracted into a situation where even the administration did not have Iraq as one of the 45 countries that was connected with al Qaeda.

Our number one responsibility is to protect the American people from being killed by terrorists. Iraq has very little to do with that at this point. Iraq is obviously a place where they’re training people, but the idea of standing up and keeping a military involvement forever in Iraq will actually weaken the American people’s ability to go after terrorists who, frankly, look like they’re taking over Somalia right now.

You know, Tim, today it was announced that a guy named Hassan Dahir Aweys is now the head of the government that has taken over in Mogadishu in Somalia. He is on the State Department’s terrorist list. He is known as an al Qaeda operative, or somebody that is connected with al Qaeda. While we were asleep at the switch, while we were bogged down in Iraq, while we were all focused on Iraq as the be all and end all of our American foreign policy, we are losing the battle to al Qaeda because we’re not paying attention.

I asked [Coordinator for Counter Terrorism in the State Department] Ambassador Crumpton at a hearing the other day, how many people in our federal government are working full time on the problem in Somalia? He said one full time person. We’ve spent $2 million in Somalia in the last year while we’re spending $2 billion a week in Iraq. This is insanity if you think about what the priorities are of those who have attacked us and those who are likely to attack us in the future.

VIDEO / LINK: VIDEO: Feingold Argues Emergence of Al Qaeda Leader Shows ‘Insanity’ Of Misplaced Priorities

St. Paul Pioneer Press has more...

Feingold faults Bush on Somalia policy

Returning from a recent trip to Africa, Sen. Russ Feingold faulted the Bush administration for what he called a failure to develop a policy on Somalia, even as he praised U.S. efforts to combat AIDS on the continent.

Feingold, a Wisconsin Democrat who will lead the Senate Foreign Relations African Affairs subcommittee next year, visited Ethiopia and Kenya, two countries that neighbor Somalia, during a weeklong trip. An Islamic militia has taken over much of Somalia, including the capital, and the country's prime minister said this week his troops were bracing for war.

"The stakes are very high for us," Feingold said in a telephone interview.

Sen. Norm Coleman, R-Minn., agreed the African nation needs more attention from the U.S.

Coleman said "that a major problem with U.S. policy on Somalia in recent history has been its absence."

"A failed state in this part of the world would be a security threat to our nation, and we need a robust strategy to ensure that this does not happen," Coleman said.

Feingold warned that the militants could have an impact not just in Somalia but in the entire region. The U.S. has said the Islamic movement has links to al-Qaida, which Islamic leaders deny.

"So this is just the kind of situation that we should be paying real attention to, instead of only obsessing about Iraq," Feingold said. "Our failure to have a policy in this area is a threat to the American people, and our government has a very serious responsibility to turn this around."

The State Department responded by referring to remarks made last week by Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Jendayi Frazer, who said the U.S. is working with all sides to prevent Somalia from becoming a safe haven for terrorists.

Feingold won passage in October of a defense bill amendment, co-sponsored by Coleman, requiring the U.S. government to coordinate a comprehensive strategy for Somalia and the region.

Feingold said Tuesday that U.S. policy should be to try to get negotiations going between the current secular government, known as the transitional federal government, and the Union of Islamic Courts, the umbrella group behind the militia, to create a coalition government in Somalia. The U.S. has supported such a dialogue, but Feingold argued it hasn't done enough to start one.

In Minnesota's Somali community, the largest in the United States, American policy is a huge concern, said Omar Jamal, executive director of the St. Paul-based Somali Justice Advocacy Center.

"Somalis feel that the administration hasn't done anything on the Somali issue," Jamal said. "The administration's main focus was the war on terror, and right in front of our eyes, Somalia is run over by Taliban-style extremists. The administration hasn't done squat."

Meanwhile, Feingold praised the impact that President Bush's AIDS initiative has had on the countries he visited. The initiative, announced in 2003, targets 15 countries that have about half of the world's 39 million people who are HIV-positive.

"It's hard to ever describe this issue as good news, but I am proud of the effect that the president's program is having," Feingold said. "We received profuse thanks for the very significant funding increases that are going into it.

"It appears that in both Ethiopia and Kenya, the government is fully behind the efforts and sees the American bilateral aid as being one of the most important things."

Feingold said that while more must be done, the progress has been striking. He said he visited a slum in Kenya in 2002, where he witnessed a "pitiful" program to help people with AIDS.

"There was absolutely no money whatsoever for treatment," he said. "Now there is significant funding — not enough — but at least significant funding to treat people who already have AIDS."

LINK: Feingold faults Bush on Somalia policy

Make a note, Russ will be on Countdown tonight with Keith Olberman to discuss what the Iraq Study Group had to say...

-Mr. Joseph

Feingold Contemplates VP Run in '08

From Crooks and Liars...

U.S. Sen. Russ Feingold admitted Monday he'd have to seriously think about it if asked to be a presidential running mate.

But Feingold's flirtation with the White House has given way to renewed enthusiasm for life in the Senate, now that there's a Democratic majority.

At a listening session in Onalaska City Hall, Feingold talked enthusiastically about chairing the Senate Judiciary Committee's Constitution Subcommittee - and getting to hold hearings about the loss of habeas corpus. Read on…

LINK: Feingold Wants to Focus on Habeas Corpus, Contemplates VP in ‘08

Well, this is definitely some good news!

-Mr. Joseph

Feingold rules out run for president in 2008

This kills me...

From the AP...

U.S. Sen. Russ Feingold has decided against seeking the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination, saying he wanted to focus on his work in the Senate.

In a letter posted on his political action committee's Web site, Feingold said he was excited that Tuesday's elections gave Democrats control of both chambers of Congress, giving them the chance to "undo much of the damage that one-party rule has done to America."

"We can actually advance progressive solutions to such major issues as guaranteed health care, dependence on oil and our unbalanced trade policies," he wrote.

Feingold, 53, told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel he realized he would be a long-shot candidate in a bid for the presidency.

He said running as an underdog appealed to him, but not the way it would "dismantle" his work in the Senate and his personal life.

An outspoken opponent of the Iraq war, the Patriot Act and other Bush administration policies, Feingold had formed his PAC, the Progressive Patriots Fund, and visited key presidential primary states such as Iowa and New Hampshire.

Still, he said he started the process more predisposed against a run than for it.

"I began with the feeling I didn't really want to do this but was open to the possibility that getting around the country would make me want to do it. That never happened," he told the newspaper in a story posted on its Web site late Saturday.

Feingold leaves a crowded field of possible Democratic candidates, including Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack, who announced his candidacy last week.

U.S. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York is widely considered the front-runner for the nomination. Others considering or positioning themselves for a run include U.S. Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts, the 2004 Democratic nominee; former U.S. Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina, the vice presidential nominee two years ago; U.S. Sens. Evan Bayh of Indiana, Joe Biden of Delaware and Christopher Dodd of Connecticut; and New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson.

Former Virginia Gov. Mark Warner announced last month that he was bowing out of the race.

Feingold said he had come closer to making his decision in the past few weeks, and the final factor came when Democrats won both chambers of Congress because it provided added appeal to focus on work in the Senate.

Feingold spokesman Zach Lowe did not immediately return a telephone message from The Associated Press early Sunday seeking comment.

LINK: Feingold rules out run for president

AND From the Daily Kos:

While many of you have probably already seen my statement, here it is again:

Dear Friends and Supporters,

On Sunday, November 12th in Racine, I will hold my 1000th Listening Session with the people of Wisconsin. Before reaching that milestone, I want you to know that I've decided to continue my role as Wisconsin's Junior Senator in the U.S. Senate and not to seek the Democratic nomination for President in 2008.

Like many Americans, I am excited by the results of the November 7th election. My fourteen years in the Senate have been the greatest privilege of my life and I am extremely pleased with what we have accomplished. During so much of that time, however, we Democrats have not only been in the minority but have often been so deeply mired there that my role has often been to block bad ideas or to simply dissent. That is a very important role but I relish the thought that in this new Congress we can start, not only to undo much of the damage that one-party rule has done to America, we can actually advance progressive solutions to such major issues as guaranteed healthcare, dependence on oil, and our unbalanced trade policies. The Senate of the 110th Congress could also well be a place of greater bi-partisan opportunities for change; something I am very proud to have been effective at in both Republican and Democratic Senates.

I hope all of you know how much I have appreciated the incredible response you have given me and the efforts of our Progressive Patriots Fund since January, 2005. In addition to all of our work in Wisconsin and D.C., I have traveled to seventeen states trying to promote the election of progressive Democrats in all states. At every stop from Birmingham, Alabama to Burlington, Vermont, to Ft. Dodge, Iowa, to Las Vegas, Nevada, people have agreed with my view that we need to stand up for a strong, principled Democratic party that is willing to replace timidity with taking the risks of promoting a platform of bold solutions to our nation's problems. Unfailingly, people responded well to my positions: opposition to the Iraq war; calling for a timeline to redeploy our troops from Iraq so we can focus on those who attacked us on September 11th, 2001; my opposition to the flawed provisions of the USA Patriot Act that threaten the freedoms of law-abiding Americans; my call for accountability for the Administration's arrogant disregard for the law especially with regard to illegal wiretapping; fighting for fiscal responsibility including tough common sense budget rules that will help end the reckless policies that have heaped a mountain of debt on our children and grandchildren; as well as my strong belief in guaranteed healthcare for all Americans and substantial investment in alternative energy sources and technologies.

Yet, while I've certainly enjoyed the repeated comments or buttons saying, "Run Russ Run", or "Russ in '08", I often felt that if a piece of Wisconsin swiss cheese had taken the same positions I've taken, it would have elicited the same standing ovations. This is because the hunger for progressive change we feel is obviously not about me but about the desire for a genuinely different Democratic Party that is ready to begin to reverse the 25 years of growing extremism we have endured.

I'm sure a campaign for President would have been a great adventure and helpful in advancing a progressive agenda. At this time, however, I believe I can best advance that progressive agenda as a Senator with significant seniority in the new Senate serving on the Foreign Relations, Intelligence, Judiciary and Budget Committees. Although I have given it a lot of thought, I cannot muster the same enthusiasm for a race for President while I am trying simultaneously to advance our agenda in the Senate. In other words, if I really wanted to run for President, regardless of the odds or other possible candidates, I would do so. However, to put my family and all of my friends and supporters through such a process without having a very strong desire to run, seems inappropriate to me. And, yes, while I would strongly prefer that our nominee in 2008 be someone who had the judgment to oppose the Iraq war from the beginning, I am prepared to work as hard as I can through the Progressive Patriots Fund, and consistent with my duties in the Senate, to maintain or increase our gains from November 7 in the Congress and, of course, to elect a Democrat as President in 2008.

Most important, I want to continue my work as a Senator from this wonderful State of Wisconsin. Our fourteen year ongoing conversation that has taken place in hundreds of communities in Wisconsin in the form of open Listening Sessions is the principal reason I have been perceived as "ahead of the curve" on many key issues. Simply listening to the reasoning and passions of Wisconsinites remains the best source of good ideas and common sense I've ever encountered.

I love this country very much and am so lucky to be able to serve it in the United States Senate. My heartfelt thanks to all of you for your support and encouragement.

Sincerely,

Russ Feingold
Middleton, Wisconsin

LINK: 2008 by Senator Russ Feingold

Savage smears Feingold, Democrats, and Media Matters

Savage needs to get his assed kicked for saying this about Feingold.

From Media Matters...

SUMMARY:
On the October 5 edition of his nationally syndicated radio show, after playing a clip of Sen. Russell Feingold (D-WI) speaking out against a House proposal to require voters to show photo identification to receive a ballot, Michael Savage stated: "To me, Russ Feingold's filthy statement just now is far worse than anything [former Rep. Mark] Foley [R-FL] ever did," later saying that "[a]s far as I'm concerned, the filthy Democrats are worse than what Foley did." Savage also called Feingold "perhaps the stupidest man in the history of the U.S. House of Representatives"; Feingold has in fact never served in the House. He also claimed that Feingold "is basically saying to those who died to defend the freedoms of this country: You died for nothing."

In addition, Savage continued to blame the underage former pages to whom Foley allegedly sent sexually explicit instant messages. He stated, "[I]f they're 16, they're equal to an average 30-year-old," and "[t]his kid was playing him along ... like a top." Savage also made clear that "[s]o far as we know, Foley did not touch these kids. ... [T]herefore, he's not a pedophile." He also claimed that "[e]very white male in America is targeted as a molester, today, in this country. I've never seen anything like this witch hunt." Additionally, Savage asserted that "the clever edifice that has been stuccoed over the homosexual death-style over the last two decades has finally come apart," adding, "America is finally seeing what is beyond the edifice."

As Media Matters for America documented, Savage accused the recipient of the alleged emails of "gay-baiting" Foley and stated that "[m]aybe he's a Democrat." On the October 6 edition of The Savage Nation, after reading portions of the Media Matters item documenting his words, Savage stated: "He was clearly gay-baiting him. What do you mean I accused him of that? What is wrong with these people?" He later said: "[D]on't these people have a sense of humor? No. The answer is: Super libs have no sense of humor. I have a sense of humor. They don't get it."
Savage has also previously claimed that there is an "obsession with child molestation" in "the American media," which is engaging in a "new witch hunt" against child molesters, as Media Matters has also noted.

TRANSCRIPTS:

From the October 5 edition of Talk Radio Network's The Savage Nation:

SAVAGE: Then you have this sorry, sad sack, Russ Feingold -- perhaps the stupidest man in the history of the U.S. House of Representatives -- saying that it's "mean-spirited" to require any ID to vote in America. Listen to Russ Feingold.

FEINGOLD [audio clip]: We also have to stop this mean-spirited attempt to prevent people from voting by requiring a photo ID to vote. We should be encouraging people to vote in this country.

SAVAGE: Go to hell. Get him off my show. Send him back to -- to -- to wherever he came from. Can you imagine there's a man, a -- what is he? A senator? I've no idea what he does -- Feingold, who calls it "mean-spirited" to require a photo ID to vote in the United States of America. He wants illegal aliens to vote. He wants the dead to vote. He wants criminals to vote. He wants felons to vote. This is -- this is shocking. To me, Russ Feingold's filthy statement just now is far worse than anything Foley ever did. Russ Feingold is basically saying it's OK to cheat when you vote in America; it doesn't matter if you're a citizen. He is basically saying to those who died to defend the freedoms of this country: You died for nothing. As far as I'm concerned, the filthy Democrats are worse than what Foley did.

[...]

SAVAGE: Question number two on The Savage Nation: Has the Foley filth changed your views on homosexuality, and how? Straight-up question: Has it changed your views on homosexuality, and how? So, straight-up question. You can say yes, you can say no; you can say yes and why, you can say no and why. But I think the clever edifice that has been stuccoed over the homosexual death-style over the last two decades has finally come apart. I believe that the edifice is cracking, and I think that beneath the stuccoed over edifice of this death-style is finally facing America -- America is finally seeing what is beyond the edifice.

[...]

SAVAGE: This guy [Foley] is some dirtball. You know Foley is a -- this is sickening. Foley would say he was sitting in his boxers and ask what I was wearing. Oh, I don't want to read this anymore. I don't even, you know, I don't even think it's funny. Guys like this have always turned my stomach. I've hated men like this -- I think they're sick, which is why the FBI and the CIA never hired them up until 1975. They knew they were sick. They knew that they were easily -- that they were weak and easily blackmailed. But that's the old FBI, the old CIA. That's the old Homeland Security-type of mentality.

Today, if you're gay, you're hired to go right to the top. Today, they want to make America as diverse as possible. But who warned you that diversity is perversity? Who was warning you years ago that diversity is a label that was created by the homosexual radical movement using blacks, using Asians, using Mexicans, using anybody they could get their hands on in order to promote the homosexual agenda? Why, yours truly, the little old winemaker: me, Michael Savage. That's correct. Diversity in fact is perversity, and you know it.

[...]

SAVAGE: Their -- if they're 16, they're equal to an average 30-year-old from the -- from the hinterland in terms of sophistication and knowing what's going on. This kid was playing him along like a -- like a -- like a top. He played him like a yo-yo. So, who was playing who, I'd like to know. He doesn't look like Mr. Innocent to me, and I'm asking you why he had to hire a lawyer, Mr. Innocent Page. Stop with the innocent child -- 16, 17, 18. You know, innocent, my eye.
And secondly, Foley didn't even touch him. And I'm not excusing his behavior. Don't put me in that position. The emails were disgusting. If, God forbid, it was my son, I wouldn't, certainly, take it lightly, and I can understand the disgust of any listening to this show; and I've said that to you 5,000 times, but I have to repeat it over and over again, so I'm not misquoted. But let's not mistake and let's not confuse text messages [sic] with physical touching.

So far as we know, Foley did not touch these kids. So, therefore, he's not a pedophile, so far as we know. Let's be clear. Let's not hang the man. And secondly, in America today, there's a gigantic witch hunt going on under the rubric of molestation. You know, if you watch these television shows, everybody is a molester. Every white male in America is targeted as a molester, today, in this country. I've never seen anything like this witch hunt.

From the October 6 edition of Talk Radio Network's The Savage Nation:
SAVAGE: From an organization now called Media Matters. I don't know who they are. I think it's run by an L-bent bozo. I don't know who they -- is that run by L-bent bozo, Baywolf, Media Matters? Is this --yes? No, this is not run by a L-bent bozo. Anyway, there's a group called Media Matters. I don't know who they are, but it says, "Savage accused former page of 'gay-baiting' " -- sorry, "Savage accused former page of 'gay-baiting' Foley and added: 'Maybe he's a Democrat.' " My answer is: what do you mean, former page of gay-baiting? He was gay-baiting. What do you mean I accused him of gay-baiting? He was clearly gay-baiting him. What do you mean I accused him of that? What is wrong with these people?

Then he goes on and tries to smear me and says, "Savage has previously referred to the 'homosexual mafia,' as Media Matters for America has documented. On the September 27 edition of his radio show, he lauded a Washington Times employee who allegedly solicited a 13-year-old girl for sex as," quote, " 'a normal pervert' who," quote, "should get a reward that it wasn't a boy," closed quote, as Media Matters -- don't these people have a sense of humor? No. The answer is: Super libs have no sense of humor. I have a sense of humor. They don't get it.
So, at least we can take this story and throw it out. I'm recycling paper now on my fax machines and my print machines. It's a pleasure. I've gone back to my early hippie days. I'm recycling paper in printers. Media Matters is run by ex-conservatives. How can you be an ex-conservative? What is an ex-conservative? It's somebody who never was a conservative who just went which way the wind was blowing. What do you mean ex-conservative? Ex-conservative -- shmertive.

AUDIO / LINK: Savage on Feingold's opposition to voter ID bill: "[F]ilthy Democrats are worse than what Foley did"

As far as I'm concerned, Savage can go to Hell.

-Mr. Joseph

Russ Feingold on FOX News

Feingold is all over the news and I love it. Here's an article from Crooks and Liars...

Russ stepped into the belly of the beast Sunday and joined Chris Wallace to discuss his censure proposal.

"The Republican strategy on Feingold's censure effort is to keep calling it absurd without engaging it on the merits. But, on the merits, Feingold's case is much stronger. As former Reagan-era Deputy Attorney General Bruce Fein has put it, Bush's actions are "more dangerous than Clinton's lying under oath, because it [Bush's claim of nearly unlimited executive authority] jeopardizes our democratic dispensation and civil liberties for the ages." If Republicans want to keep suggesting that censure (let alone impeachment) is a singularly extreme act to be taken only when our constitutional system is in peril, then they need to apologize for what happened in 1999. I'm not holding my breath.

So there's a value for Democrats in having Russ Feingold inject censure into the political debate. (In fact, a Newsweek poll found that 42 percent of Americans support the idea--more than backed the president's Social Security plan.) With censure as the extreme position, a full, tough investigation of the surveillance program now looks sober and reasonable, whereas, not long ago, that too might have seemed beyond the pale.

The challenge for Democrats, as The Washington Post's E. J. Dionne has pointed out, is to let some people push the bounds of acceptable opinion while others use the specter of radicalism to make modest, incremental progress. The press fetishizes party unity, but, in a way, what the Democrats need is creative disunity: different kinds of politicians who pursue different tactics but agree on a broader goal. Washington Democrats may not like Russ Feingold very much these days, but they--and the country--need him all the same."

LINK: Feingold on FOX News

That's it...

-Mr. Joseph

GOP "Censure or Else" Ad

This is most recent attack on Russ Feingold and the Democrats...

Video: GOP Attack on Feingold

-Mr. Joseph

Russ Feingold on the Daily Show in regards to the Censure

Russ Feingold is so cool. He is the Senator from my home state of Wisconsin and he is kicking ass right now in his bid for a censure on the President.

Here is a video clip of him on the Daily Show w/ Jon Stewart.

LINK: Russ Feingold on the Daily Show

From Crooks and Liars...

Jon Stewart had on Russ Feingold tonight and let's just say that he rocked. He rocked because he spoke truth to power. He made his case simply and to the point.

Feingold: I was taught that the congress makes the laws and the president is supposed to sign them and enforce them. He's not supposed to make them up.---How many times are we going to let George Bush and Dick Cheney say you guys don't support the troops, you're not patriotic and let them push us around?

He stood up with conviction and said we're not going to take it any longer. He gave a clear and precise answer to James " less tainted" Boehner, (who had his hands dirty with tobacco money) and said the President needs to be responsible for his actions and has to follow the law. Something that this administration fails to recognize and something many of the "consultant-led" Dems need to learn from.

Feingold did an end-run around the party bosses. The audience at the Daily Show was effusive; you could hear the the ardor he inspired. Feingold was funny without being glib and he came across as self-effacing, principled, and just awkward enough with the format to be thoroughly charming. And his message set the crowd to cheering...

Keep at it, Russ!
-Mr. Joseph

Progressive Patriots Fund

I received an email from Russ Feingold and he sent this link... please check it out and take a look.

LINK: Progressive Patriots Fund

Thanks,
-Mr. Joseph