Subject: FW: Feingold for President? Date: Sat, 18 Dec 2004 18:36:43 -0600 Message-ID: <B14120EE5C432443B21102F7925DAD020142024E@COKE.uwec.edu> From: "Grossman, Zoltan C." <GROSSMZC@uwec.edu>
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Subject: Feingold for President?
Feingold for President?
12/15/2004
by John Nichols
The Nation
<http://www.thenation.com/thebeat/index.mhtml?bid=1&pid=2071>
The crowd at the Democratic Party's annual dinner in
western Wisconsin's Vernon County was large, loud and
longing for a little partisan passion.
Far from feeling beat down by the November presidential
election result, the more than 100 rural Democrats who
gathered in small city of Viroqua this week were ready
to fight against the war in Iraq, against economic
policies that favor big business over working people and
family farmers and against the warping of the public
discourse by a media that is more concerned about Scott
Peterson's conviction than the future of Social
Security.
Unfortunately, they couldn't find many reflections of
their grassroots passion in the current leadership of
the Democratic Party. The sense that the time had come
for a fresh face was palpable.
When I met with the Vernon County activists - most of
whom were Democrats but some of whom were interested
Greens and independents - their response to my
suggestion that the county needs a real opposition party
was immediate and enthusiastic.
These rural Democrats even had a suggestion for the who
should lead that opposition. And it wasn't Hillary
Clinton or John Edwards. When I was describing what a
serious opposition party would stand for at this moment
in history--starting with an absolute rejection of the
war in Iraq and empire building and going on to a
passionate defense of civil liberties and a willingness
to stand up to multinational corporations--a bearded
fellow in the crowd shouted, "We've got someone who can
do it--the only senator who voted against the Patriot
Act: Russ Feingold."
The crowd cheered.
And they aren't alone. While it might be predictable
that Wisconsin Democrats would be excited by the
prospect of their just-reelected senator seeking the
presidency, the buzz about a possible Feingold for
President campaign in 2008 is growing nationally.
Hotline, the online bible of inside-the-beltway
political junkies, just featured a commentary in which
the editors suggested that Wisconsin's junior senator -
who has been outspoken in his criticism not just of the
Patriot Act but of the war in Iraq and the corporate
free-trade agenda -- could be a serious contender for
the Democratic presidential nomination. Noting that,
against serious opposition, Feingold ran more than
140,000 votes ahead of Democratic presidential candidate
John Kerry in Wisconsin, a source told Hotline, "He just
accomplished an impressive victory in a heartland swing
state in a year that wasn't so kind to (Democrats)." The
source went on to suggest that Feingold "will be looked
at as a new voice for the party as it moves forward."
Over at www.mydd.com, a popular Democratic website,
political writer Chris Bowers observes, "Feingold is in
an odd position. Even though he has won three terms in
the US Senate, he actually is still known as a
"reformer" and an "outsider," due in no small part to
the constant repetition of the "McCain-Feingold"
legislation in the national media. Because of this
reputation, among all Democratic Senators, except
perhaps (newly-elected Illinois Sen. Barack) Obama, I
think he would be the best bet to capture the non-
ideological reformers that I believe are a key to future
Democratic success."
The interest in a Feingold candidacy has even sparked
the development of a "Russ Feingold for President"
Internet forum.
So will Feingold run? The man is not without ambition.
He thought about seeking the presidency in 2004, but
backed off before the contest really got started.
As the jockeying begins for 2008--and, make no mistake,
the jockeying has begun--it is a safe bet that Feingold
will again ponder a run. And with the unsolicited
support that he's getting from his home state and
elsewhere, he might well be inspired this time to do
more than just explore a candidacy.
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