Feingold out in front on Iraq, Patriot Act
By Frederic J. Frommer
Associated Press
WASHINGTON - For the better part of a decade, Sen. Russ Feingold was best known as the second half of the McCain-Feingold campaign finance crusade. But by challenging President Bush on Iraq and the Patriot Act, Feingold, a potential presidential candidate, has tapped areas that are likely to resonate more with Democratic voters.
Feingold, D-Wis., was out front on both issues last year. His early call for a troop withdrawal timetable was soon emulated by other potential Democratic candidates. And Feingold, the only senator to vote against the Patriot Act in 2001, successfully blocked its permanent extension last month with the help of more than 40 senators who shared his concern about the law's impact on civil liberties.
Joe Trippi, who ran Democrat Howard Dean's anti-war presidential candidacy in 2004, said Feingold has helped to separate himself from other potential rivals.
"He and Mark Warner are the only two people who have cut a more stark profile that people are paying attention to - Feingold on the left and Warner in the middle," Trippi said, referring to the Virginia governor.
"This season is all about clearing a lane for yourself," Trippi added. "The problem is, if (New York Sen.) Hillary Clinton runs, she's already cleared a multilane highway for herself. Feingold is doing a great job of claiming the progressive lane."
Ken Mayer, a political science professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said Iraq and the Patriot Act give Feingold more heft on the national stage than campaign finance reform.
"These are issues that give him some national visibility," said Mayer, who served as an adviser to Feingold's 1992 and 1998 Senate campaigns. "They do give him some depth. No one's going to be elected president on a good-government reform platform. You need more than that."
Feingold said he's focused on security issues since 2001, but took it up a notch last year because he felt there was a lack of opposition to the war on Iraq.
"There was a timidity on the part of Democrats to lay it on the line, and say, 'Look, this is not going the way it was intended, and we have to have the courage to stand up and do our jobs,'" he said. "I decided to take a couple of strong steps in that direction, because I felt that overall people were being way too timid about it."
Feingold said there's been a shift in how people think of him.
"Although people used to say, 'Best known for his work on McCain-Feingold,' which I'm very proud of, I don't think that's true anymore," he said. "I've been very involved the last four years with a lot of issues concerning national security and our individual rights, our freedoms."
Feingold toyed with running for president in 2004, but said all along the odds were only 1 in 100. Now, he puts the percentage "somewhat higher," without elaborating.
While Feingold insists he isn't thinking about a presidential race, his actions have stoked speculation he will run. On Saturday, he visited New Hampshire, his second visit to the nation's leadoff primary in the past five months. He's also elevating his profile among activists by writing for liberal blogs.
And in November, he told ABC News' George Stephanopoulos, "this country is overdue for a cheesehead president."
But in addition to being a cheesehead, Feingold is Jewish and twice-divorced, two factors that could work against him.
Rick Graber, chairman of the Wisconsin Republican Party, called Feingold a "very, very long-shot."
"I find it difficult to believe that he'll be able to appeal to more than the fringe element of his party, or raise the resources that are necessary to be the nominee," he said. "But it's not my party. So, whatever."
As of Sept. 30, the last financial report available, Feingold had $665,014 in his Senate campaign account.
Terry McAuliffe, former chairman of the Democratic National Committee, said Feingold can build a campaign by tapping the anti-war movement.
"Where he's been on these issues clearly would help in the Democratic primary," McAuliffe said. "There is a candidate out there that's going to want to run on the banner of the left, and I think he's trying to fill that niche and do that. If he decides to run, he'll try to energize the left of our party and use that for his base."
Feingold, 52, said he won't seriously consider running until after this year's congressional elections. He said he'd have to answer yes to three questions before running: Is he up to the job, can he win, and is he willing to make the personal sacrifice a run entails?
madison.com |
