Feingold for President?
Wisconsin Senator Russell D Feingold, who spent the weekend in New Hampshire, is considering seeking the 2008 Democratic nomination for President. Would he be a strong candidate? More important, would he be a good President?
Russ Feingold was born into a Jewish family in Janesville, Wisconsin on March 2, 1953. After graduating UW-Madison in 1975, he became a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University in England, and went on to earn a law degree with honors at Harvard University in 1979.
After practicing law in Madison for the next ten years, he defeated a Republican incumbent to win a seat in the Wisconsin State Senate in 1982. His most notable effort in the Wisconsin Senate was opposition to the use of Bovine Growth Hormone (BGH) by cattle breeders.
In 1992, Republican US Senator Robert W Kasten was up for re-election. Kasten, perhaps the best friend Israel ever had in the US Senate, was otherwise a typical Republican Senator. He supported many amendments to the US Constitution, including measures to balance the federal budget, allow prayer in public school, and ban abortion. Kasten was arrested for driving while intoxicated in Washington, DC in 1985.
Russ Feingold entered the primary contest for the Democratic nomination to oppose Kasten against US Rep. Jim Moody of Milwaukee and wealthy businessman Joe Checota. Moody and Checota spent millions of dollars running negative commercials against each other, while Feingold ran a low-budget, but positive campaign. After Moody ran one mildly negative ad against Feingold, Checota declared on TV that he knew he could not win the nomination, but urged voters to support Feingold to defeat Moody. Feingold won the nomination with over 70 percent of the vote.
Kasten won his Senate seat in 1980 on the coattails of Ronald Reagan; he lost it to Feingold in 1992 on those of a far less popular Republican named George HW Bush.
Senator Russ Feingold became best known in the nation for his co-sponsorship of the McCain-Feingold Campaign Finance Act, which limits use of corporate and special-interest political donations. The US Supreme Court has upheld most of the provisions of the law.
After the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, the Bush Administration pushed for immediate passage of a bill granting vastly expanded powers to the Executive Branch entitled "The USA Patriot" Bill. Congress reacted to September 11 as German parliamentarians did to the Reichstag Fire (1) in 1933: by granting the executive drastic new powers. Except for Feingold, every Senator voted for passage of the bill, even those who had previously opposed "Big Government" intrusion into private activities. Feingold may have been the only Senator to actually read the whole bill before voting on it; subsequently the Act was amended to remove some of the most intrusive provisions.
Russ Feingold has political courage in spades. Not only did he cast the only negative vote on the USA Patriot Act, but also opposed amending the US Constitution to allow Congress to prohibit flag desecration (2). Since flag-burners are neither a considerable voting bloc nor the source of big-time political contributions, this vote must have been cast for the sake of principle, an uncommon motivation in today's Washington.
Senator Feingold voted against the Iraq War, despite Administration claims that Sadam was developing atomic weapons. He now calls for withdrawal of American forces at the end of 2006. As the war drags on and casualties mount, his position is sure to gain adherents, including conservatives.
Those who try to label Russ Feingold an extreme liberal must have been surprised that he voted to confirm John G Roberts as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, both in the Judiciary Committee and in the Senate. Although Feingold is ardently "pro-choice", he considers Roberts a fair-minded judge who will rule according to the law. Twenty-two other Democratic Senators voted to reject the nomination.
Can Feingold win the 2008 Democratic nomination?
At this point, the most obvious obstacle is Senator Hillary Clinton of New York, who is far more well-known, well-financed, and is the solid favorite of feminists. If she wins re-election with a big margin in 2006, she would be a formidable candidate in the 2008 Democratic primaries. The trouble is that she has high "negatives" in connection with the Whitewater case, her investments and her record in the Clinton White House.
John Edwards, handsome, rich, and well-known, is also a serious contender. John Kerry, on the other hand, probably blew any chance for the Presidency with his confused performance as the nominee in 2004. If Al Gore still wants to be President, he would also be a major candidate for another nomination.
Can a Jew be elected President?
Until John Kennedy won in 1960, the conventional wisdom was that a Catholic could not win. Since then several Catholics have run (3) and it has not been an issue. When Joe Lieberman was slated for Vice President in 2000, the Democratic Party drew a higher percentage of the popular vote than the all-Christian Bush-Cheney ticket in 2000 and the Kerry-Edwards ticket in 2004. I believe America will accept a Jewish President.
Some Jews are against the very idea of having a Jewish President, mainly for fear of fostering anti-Semitism. I am not among them. Many countries have had Jews as prime minister, and more anti-Semitism did not ensue (4). Sure the skinheads, Klansmen, and Arab-Americans will be "mad as hell" if a Jew wins the Presidency, but I do not believe that most Americans will transfer their attitudes about the President to his co-religionists.
Would Feingold ( or any other Jewish President) "bend-over backwards to avoid appearing too pro-Israel?" Feingold's record shows that he makes political decisions based upon principle, not the popularity of the decision; since he has been solidly pro-Israel in the Senate, I believe he will be so as President.
I believe that Russ Feingold would be an intelligent and involved President, and one with the political courage to put his conclusions into action.
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(1) In 1933 arsonists destroyed the Reichstag (Parliament) Building in Berlin. After the fire, the Reichstag quickly approved a bill to give the Chancellor (Adolf Hitler) drastic emergency powers to deal with the threat to the Government.
(2)See the June 19 Glazerbeam for details.
(3) Robert Kennedy and Eugene McCarthy in 1968 and John Kerry in 2004. Edmund Muskie and Sargent Shriver were nominated by the Democrats for Vice President in 1968 and 1972 respectively. Muskie probably helped the ticket by drawing Catholic votes. Shriver took the place of Senator Tom Eagleton, also Catholic, but had no discernable impact on the outcome.
(4) France had two Jewish premiers: Leon Blum and Pierre Mendes-France. Benjamin D'Israeli, a baptized Jew, was among the greatest Prime Ministers of Britain. Roy Wilensky and Bruno Kreisky served as Prime Ministers of Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) and Austria, respectively.
Russ Feingold was born into a Jewish family in Janesville, Wisconsin on March 2, 1953. After graduating UW-Madison in 1975, he became a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University in England, and went on to earn a law degree with honors at Harvard University in 1979.
After practicing law in Madison for the next ten years, he defeated a Republican incumbent to win a seat in the Wisconsin State Senate in 1982. His most notable effort in the Wisconsin Senate was opposition to the use of Bovine Growth Hormone (BGH) by cattle breeders.
In 1992, Republican US Senator Robert W Kasten was up for re-election. Kasten, perhaps the best friend Israel ever had in the US Senate, was otherwise a typical Republican Senator. He supported many amendments to the US Constitution, including measures to balance the federal budget, allow prayer in public school, and ban abortion. Kasten was arrested for driving while intoxicated in Washington, DC in 1985.
Russ Feingold entered the primary contest for the Democratic nomination to oppose Kasten against US Rep. Jim Moody of Milwaukee and wealthy businessman Joe Checota. Moody and Checota spent millions of dollars running negative commercials against each other, while Feingold ran a low-budget, but positive campaign. After Moody ran one mildly negative ad against Feingold, Checota declared on TV that he knew he could not win the nomination, but urged voters to support Feingold to defeat Moody. Feingold won the nomination with over 70 percent of the vote.
Kasten won his Senate seat in 1980 on the coattails of Ronald Reagan; he lost it to Feingold in 1992 on those of a far less popular Republican named George HW Bush.
Senator Russ Feingold became best known in the nation for his co-sponsorship of the McCain-Feingold Campaign Finance Act, which limits use of corporate and special-interest political donations. The US Supreme Court has upheld most of the provisions of the law.
After the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, the Bush Administration pushed for immediate passage of a bill granting vastly expanded powers to the Executive Branch entitled "The USA Patriot" Bill. Congress reacted to September 11 as German parliamentarians did to the Reichstag Fire (1) in 1933: by granting the executive drastic new powers. Except for Feingold, every Senator voted for passage of the bill, even those who had previously opposed "Big Government" intrusion into private activities. Feingold may have been the only Senator to actually read the whole bill before voting on it; subsequently the Act was amended to remove some of the most intrusive provisions.
Russ Feingold has political courage in spades. Not only did he cast the only negative vote on the USA Patriot Act, but also opposed amending the US Constitution to allow Congress to prohibit flag desecration (2). Since flag-burners are neither a considerable voting bloc nor the source of big-time political contributions, this vote must have been cast for the sake of principle, an uncommon motivation in today's Washington.
Senator Feingold voted against the Iraq War, despite Administration claims that Sadam was developing atomic weapons. He now calls for withdrawal of American forces at the end of 2006. As the war drags on and casualties mount, his position is sure to gain adherents, including conservatives.
Those who try to label Russ Feingold an extreme liberal must have been surprised that he voted to confirm John G Roberts as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, both in the Judiciary Committee and in the Senate. Although Feingold is ardently "pro-choice", he considers Roberts a fair-minded judge who will rule according to the law. Twenty-two other Democratic Senators voted to reject the nomination.
Can Feingold win the 2008 Democratic nomination?
At this point, the most obvious obstacle is Senator Hillary Clinton of New York, who is far more well-known, well-financed, and is the solid favorite of feminists. If she wins re-election with a big margin in 2006, she would be a formidable candidate in the 2008 Democratic primaries. The trouble is that she has high "negatives" in connection with the Whitewater case, her investments and her record in the Clinton White House.
John Edwards, handsome, rich, and well-known, is also a serious contender. John Kerry, on the other hand, probably blew any chance for the Presidency with his confused performance as the nominee in 2004. If Al Gore still wants to be President, he would also be a major candidate for another nomination.
Can a Jew be elected President?
Until John Kennedy won in 1960, the conventional wisdom was that a Catholic could not win. Since then several Catholics have run (3) and it has not been an issue. When Joe Lieberman was slated for Vice President in 2000, the Democratic Party drew a higher percentage of the popular vote than the all-Christian Bush-Cheney ticket in 2000 and the Kerry-Edwards ticket in 2004. I believe America will accept a Jewish President.
Some Jews are against the very idea of having a Jewish President, mainly for fear of fostering anti-Semitism. I am not among them. Many countries have had Jews as prime minister, and more anti-Semitism did not ensue (4). Sure the skinheads, Klansmen, and Arab-Americans will be "mad as hell" if a Jew wins the Presidency, but I do not believe that most Americans will transfer their attitudes about the President to his co-religionists.
Would Feingold ( or any other Jewish President) "bend-over backwards to avoid appearing too pro-Israel?" Feingold's record shows that he makes political decisions based upon principle, not the popularity of the decision; since he has been solidly pro-Israel in the Senate, I believe he will be so as President.
I believe that Russ Feingold would be an intelligent and involved President, and one with the political courage to put his conclusions into action.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(1) In 1933 arsonists destroyed the Reichstag (Parliament) Building in Berlin. After the fire, the Reichstag quickly approved a bill to give the Chancellor (Adolf Hitler) drastic emergency powers to deal with the threat to the Government.
(2)See the June 19 Glazerbeam for details.
(3) Robert Kennedy and Eugene McCarthy in 1968 and John Kerry in 2004. Edmund Muskie and Sargent Shriver were nominated by the Democrats for Vice President in 1968 and 1972 respectively. Muskie probably helped the ticket by drawing Catholic votes. Shriver took the place of Senator Tom Eagleton, also Catholic, but had no discernable impact on the outcome.
(4) France had two Jewish premiers: Leon Blum and Pierre Mendes-France. Benjamin D'Israeli, a baptized Jew, was among the greatest Prime Ministers of Britain. Roy Wilensky and Bruno Kreisky served as Prime Ministers of Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) and Austria, respectively.
posted by Gerald S Glazer at 9:24 AM
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