Contributors

Monday, May 01, 2006

Profiles In Courage (Part Two: The Man Who Can Bring The Cheese)

Most of you who know me are aware of the fact that I think baseball is one of the most beautiful things to grace our world. I look forward to every season on pins and needles with bated breath. In April, I watch the season unfold in all it's glory and hang on every pitch...every hit that my beloved Cardinals make. Throughout the season, I thoroughly and completely enjoy the ONLY sport that one can say is truly part of God's magnificent creation.

In baseball, one of the prerequisites a pitcher must have is the ability to throw a fastball. Obviously, the faster he can throw, the more outs he gets. When a pitcher throws the ball really fast, they say that he can bring the cheese.

On Oct 25, 2001, the US Senate voted on the Patriot Act and it passed 98-1. One Senator, Mary Landrieu from Louisiana did not vote. Another Senator, from Wisconsin, cast the lone dissenting vote.

His name was Russ Feingold. And being from the land of neverending dairy, my homeboy can bring the cheese.





Russell Dana Feingold was born on March 2, 1953 in Janesville, WI. As a child his three heroes were John F Kennedy, Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King (funny, those three gentlemen sit in poster form above my desk and look down upon me every week as I write....). He went to the University of Wisconsin, Madison, Oxford, and then earned a law degree from Harvard.

He began his career as a Wisconsin State Senator and in 1992, was elected to the US Senate with a surprising victory over Republican incumbent Bob Kasten. One of the main reasons he got elected was an "underdog, grass roots campaign" that symbolized the everyman running against big government. He went so far as to put five promises on his garage door which read:

1. I will rely on the Wisconsin citizens for most of my contributions.
2. I will live in Middleton, Wisconsin. My children will go to school here and I will spend most of my time here in Wisconsin.
3. I will accept no pay raise during my six-year term in office.
4. I will hold a "Listening Session" in each of Wisconsin's 72 counties each year of my six-year term in office.
5. I will hire the majority of my Senate staff from individuals who are from Wisconsin or have Wisconsin backgrounds

Upon his election, Feingold promised: balancing the budget by raising taxes, cutting unnecessary military spending, campaigning finance reform (the McCain-Feingold bill), and a national health care system. Members of Congress on both sides of the aisle attacked him for being too liberal...too out of touch....a quirk election....obviously a one term Senator.

In 1998, he ran again for Senate. During that campaign he refused soft money from lobbyists and prohibited them from running ads in his favor. Groups such as the AFL-CIO scratched their heads and said, "Oh well, he can't possibly win."

He won the Senate again in 1998.

In 2001, less than two months after 9-11, Senator Feingold was the only dissenting vote against the Patriot Act. He believed that too many provisions infringed upon the civil liberties of US citizens. He was one of the few members in Congress that actually read the bill. At this point, all talk of Senator Feingold centered around two words: "political suicide"

In 2004, he ran again. He won by his biggest margin yet, 56 to 44 percent, and even carried many of the counties where George Bush defeated John Kerry. I guess this proves that, even though people in Wisconsin suck ass because of all their Packer bullshit, they actually know a good, decent man when they see him.

His "maverick" attitude is continuing to this day. At one of his famous listening sessions, Feingold gave his opinion about gay marriage.

"Gay and lesbian couples should be able to marry and have access to the same rights, privileges and benefits that straight couples currently enjoy," said Feingold. "The proposed ban on civil unions and marriage is a mean-spirited attempt to divide Wisconsin and I think that it should be defeated."

He is an outspoken critic on War in Iraq. He voted against the use of force in Iraq. He has called repeatedly for an exit strategy and has said that not having one plays into our enemies hands. His position on gun control is as follows:

"I have never accepted the proposition that the gun debate is a black and white issue, a matter of 'you're with us, or you're against us.' Instead, I have followed what I believe is a moderate course, faithful to the Constitution and to the realities of modern society. I believe that the Second Amendment was not an afterthought, that it has meaning today and must be respected. I support the right to bear arms for lawful purposes — for hunting and sport and for self-protection. Millions of Americans own firearms legally and we should not take action that tells them that they are second-class citizens or that their constitutional rights are under attack. At the same time, there are actions we can and should take to protect public safety that do not infringe on constitutional rights."

On March 13, 2006, the Man who can bring the Cheese "committed political suicide" again by calling for the censure of President Bush because he did not follow the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (FISA) which mandates use of a surveillance court for approval of wiretaps on Americans. In its history, the court has understood the request for intelligence and in only rare instances has turned down a request. Feingold made a 25 minute speech on the Senate Floor declaring that Congress must "hold the president accountable for his actions".

Hmm...sound like Mr. Feingold might have something here. Be honest...follow your heart....follow your conscience....do what you know to be right and just, whether or not it is popular....ignore loud, blowhards (ie neocondouchbags) because, in the end, they will get what's coming to them....and people will notice that you took a stand.

Well, Senator Feingold, I have noticed. And as a result, I think you would make an excellent choice forpresidentt of the United States in 2008. Imagine our country under a Feingold presidency:

1. The War on Terror...actually fighting and policing those who are trying to attack us.
2. Universal Health Care...similar to Massachusetts (Republican governor btw)
3. Improved Education system
4. Sensible gun laws
5. Campaign finance reform for REAL.
6. Equal Rights for all (sorry ncds, gay people will be married. I know it frightens you to think about what gay people are doing in the privacy of their own homes but, TOO FUCKING BAD, bitch!)

Since these things all make sense, are just and honest, and for the general good of all, I guess it is time to hear the NCD spin about how this is all impossible, evil, and anti-patriotic....change being a word that most people on the right seem to not have in their vocabulary.

My only hope is that the completely inept Democratic leadership does not look passed Mr. Feingold in the their myopic quest for a Hillary Clinton presidency. He has obviously defied the odds and is extremely popular, with seemingly unpopular views, in a state that by all rights should be located somewhere between Mississippi and Alabama....politically speaking.

Harry Reid,Howard Dean, and Chuck Schumer take note.....do you really want to win?

Russ is your man.

4 comments:

Phil from Minnetonka said...

But isn't Russ Feingold Jewish? Joe Lieberman couldn't overcome it. Imagine the smear campaign the Republicans would run against him - they'd play the fear and terrorism card in a heartbeat.

BTW - I'd vote for Feingold in a heartbeat.

A Feingold vs. McCain election in 2008 may have been interesting until John McCain started fellating Falwell to prove his commitment to radical Christianity.

Nice choice, Mark.

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