Russell Feingold

Russell Dana Feingold was a senator from Wisconsin. He served as a Democratic member of the U.S. Senate from 1993 to 2011. He was one of four Minority Deputy Whips.

Iraq War
Feingold voted against the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq in Oct. 2002.

Opposition to President Bush's troop "surge" in Iraq
In early February of 2007, Feingold, as well as Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) threatened to oppose a newly drafted nonbinding resolution opposing George W. Bush's plans of troop escalation in Iraq, claiming that the language of the resolution was "weak." Both senators, however, supported an earlier draft, sponsored by Sen. Joe Biden (D-Del.). The newer draft was the result of bipartisan discussion and compromise in attempt to ensure that the resolution would pass.

Iraq War deadline bill
After President Bush threatened to veto the supplemental bill calling for a withdrawal from Iraq, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) promised to support a bill sponsored by Sen. Feingold which would impose a strict deadline for U.S. troop removal. Specifically, it requires the following: On May 16, 2007, the measure was defeated in the Senate, 29-67.
 * The president shall promptly transition the mission of United States forces in Iraq to the following limited purposes:
 * Conducting targeted operations, limited in duration and scope, against members of al Qaeda and other international terrorist organizations.
 * Providing security for United States infrastructure and personnel.
 * Training and equipping Iraqi security services.
 * The president shall commence the safe, phased redeployment of United States forces from Iraq in no more than 120 days after the date of the enactment of this act.
 * No funds appropriated or otherwise made available under any provision of law may be obligated or expended to continue the deployment in Iraq of members of the United States Armed Forces after March 31, 2008.

When leaders in both chambers announced their intention to introduce funding bills without timetables for troop withdrawal, Feingold immediately criticized the decision. He stated: "'Under the President’s Iraq policies, our military has been over-burdened, our national security has been jeopardized, and thousands of Americans have been killed or injured. Despite these realities, and the support of a majority of Americans for ending the President’s open-ended mission in Iraq, congressional leaders now propose a supplemental appropriations bill that does nothing to end this disastrous war. I cannot support a bill that contains nothing more than toothless benchmarks and that allows the President to continue what may be the greatest foreign policy blunder in our nation’s history. There has been a lot of tough talk from members of Congress about wanting to end this war, but it looks like the desire for political comfort won out over real action. Congress should have stood strong, acknowledged the will of the American people, and insisted on a bill requiring a real change of course in Iraq.'"

Environmental record
For more information on environmental legislation, see the Energy and Environment Policy Portal

Legislative Transparency and Accountability Act of 2007
When the Senate went to conference committee on the Legislative Transparency and Accountability Act of 2007 after the House passed similar lobbying and transparency legislation in several other bills, Sen. Feingold, who sought to extend the "revolving door" time period from one year to two years, asked to be on the conference committee to pursue those reforms. However, Senate Majority Leader ppHarry Reid]] (D-Nev.) denied Feingold's request. Senator Barack Obama (D-Ill.), another major champion of lobbying reform, may be included in the conference committee, but his presidential campaign schedule may affect his ability to do so effectively. Many lobbying reform advocacy groups, including Public Citizen, the U.S. Public Interest Research Group, Democracy 21, Common Cause, and the League of Women voters, aware that the make up of the conference committee would be crucial in determining the final outcome of the legislation, were disappointed over the announcement.

Patriot Act
Feingold was the only senator to vote against the Patriot Act, which, he said, infringed upon citizens' civil liberties. Many at the time predicted his political career was over, but a majority of Wisconsin residents had little problem with his vote. Later, as public opinion turned against certain portions of the Act, his vote became a major selling-point for his re-election campaign.

The Patriot Act was recently up for renewal. Feingold led a bipartisan coalition of Senators that includes Lisa Murkowski, Ken Salazar, Larry Craig, Dick Durbin, and John Sununu to remove some of the act's more controversial provisions. Feingold led a lonely filibuster against the act but several key Republicans, including Sununu and Craig, reached an agreement with the White House in early February 2006.

On March 2, 2006, the revised Patriot Act passed the Senate. There were only ten "no" votes which came from Jim Jeffords, Feingold, Robert Byrd, Daniel Akaka, Jeff Bingaman, Tom Harkin, Patrick Leahy, Carl Levin, Patty Murray and Ron Wyden. ("Patriot Act compromise passes Senate, awaits House vote," The Associated Press, March 2, 2006).

McCain-Feingold bill
Feingold is perhaps best known for his work alongside Republican Senator John McCain (R-Ariz.) on the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 (BCRA), better-known as the McCain-Feingold bill, which took the two almost seven years to pass. In 2001, Feingold sponsored BCRA with Sen. McCain in the Senate and Reps. Christopher Shays (R-Conn.) and Marty Meehan (D-Mass.) in the House. Also known as the McCain-Feingold bill in the Senate, the BCRA banned "soft money" from being contributed to federal or state candidates and national, state, and local political parties. BCRA also prohibited non-partisan "issue ads" funded by soft money from corporations and labor unions - those referring to candidates for federal election without expressly advocating their election or defeat -- in the 60 days prior to a general election, or 30 days prior to a primary election. It also required the disclosure of sources of finance for "electioneering communications" in excess of $10,000 per year, and raised the legal limits of hard money that could be raised.

On July 14, 2005, Feingold introduced a bill to the Senate that would ban lobbyists from giving gifts to senators and impose a $50,000 fine for violating the ban; force lawmakers to sign statements saying that lobbyists did not pay their travel expenses; forbid lawmakers from traveling on corporate jets; bar congressmen, staffers, and executive branch officials from serving as lobbyists for two years after leaving office; and require that lobbying reports be disclosed on a quarterly, rather than semi-annual, basis. The bill is the Senate version of a bill by Congressmen Marty Meehan (D-MA), who co-wrote the House version of McCain-Feingold, and Rahm Emanuel (D-IL). Neither version has yet come to a vote. The Feingold-McCain bill was initially waiting completion of McCain hearings on the issue, but the Jack Abramoff scandal has put it in the spotlight, along with several other more recent reform proposals.

Public financing of elections
On January 30, 2007, Feingold, along with Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) introduced the Presidential Funding Act of 2007 (S.436), an attempt to update public financing of election laws. Specifically, the bill would:


 * Raise spending limits for the presidential primary and general election.
 * Increase the amount of public matching funds available during the primary process.
 * Allow earlier access to public funds in the primary process.
 * Provide additional funds to publicly financed candidates who are significantly outspent by privately financed candidates.
 * Increase the check-off from $3 to $10 for individuals and $6 to $20 for couples.
 * Prohibit national parties from raising or spending soft money for party nominating conventions.

Senate Campaign Disclosure Parity Act
Sen. Feingold, along with Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) sponsored the Senate Campaign Disclosure Parity Act of 2007, which would require senators to file their campaign finance reports electronically to the Federal Election Commission. Currently reports are disseminated in paper form often long after they are initially filed, preventing voters from obtaining financial disclosure information in a timely fashion. On April 17, 2007, Sens. Feinstein and Feingold brought the bill to the floor for a unanimous consent motion. Upon asking for unanimous consent on this seemingly non-controversial bill, Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) objected to the bill for an anonymous senator from the Republican side. This anonymous objection amounted to a senator placing a “secret hold” on the bill, effectively stopping it. Despite efforts to determine who the anonymous hold was, when the Senators attempted again to bring the bill to the floor for unanimous consent, Sen. Jim Bunning (R-Ky.) registered another anonymous objection from the Republican side, blocking it again. As of yet, the bill has not been allowed to proceed.

Government spending
Feingold is also a well-known advocate for reductions in pork barrel spending and corporate welfare. | Citizens Against Government Waste, the | Concord Coalition, and | Taxpayers for Common Sense, three large, nonpartisan organizations dedicated to those causes, have repeatedly given him awards, words of praise, and endorsements for his actions.

2006 censure effort
Feingold favors censure for President George W. Bush in what Feingold terms "warrantless wiretapping of Americans on U.S. soil." In his statement before the Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing On the Call To Censure the President on March 31, 2006, he stated:
 * "We can fight terrorism without breaking the law. The rule of law is central to who we are as a people, and the President must return to the law. He must acknowledge and be held accountable for his illegal actions and for misleading the American people, both before and after the program was revealed. If we in the Congress don't stand up for ourselves and for the American people, we become complicit in his law breaking. A resolution of censure is the appropriate response – even a modest approach.",

Feingold has little support from his Senate colleagues. "Most Democrats are nervous, if not dismayed, by Feingold's election-year proposal," the San Francisco Gate reported.

2007 move to censure Bush and Cheney
In July, 2007, Feingold once again moved to censure President Bush, this time also moving to censure Vice President Cheney and others. Feingold argued that censure would:
 * [Signal] that a co-equal branch of government stood up and held to account those who violated the principles on which this nation was founded.

Feingold also argued that:
 * Censure is about holding the administration accountable. Congress needs to formally condemn the President and members of the administration for misconduct before and during the Iraq war, and for undermining the rule of law at home.

Feingold planned to introduce two measures, one addressing the administration's conduct leading up to the Iraq war, and the other focusing on domestic issues like wiretapping.

Gun issues
Feingold has a mixed record on gun rights and gun control issues, sometimes voting in favor of gun control legislation, while at other times voting to expand gun rights. In 2004, he was one of only six Democrats in the Senate to vote against reauthorizing the federal assault weapons ban. In 2002, he voted in favor of allowing airline pilots to carry firearms in cockpits. He has spoken out in support of the interpretation that the Second Amendment pertains to an individual right to own firearms, and in opposition to proposals for handgun bans and mandatory firearms registration. On the other hand, he has consistently voted in favor of bills to require background checks for firearms purchases at gun shows, and to require that handguns be sold with trigger locks. In March 2004, he explained his position in a speech on the Senate floor:


 * "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 &mdash; 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."

Reparations for Japanese Latin Americans
Feingold cosponsored The Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Latin Americans of Japanese Descent Act in the 110th Congress which would establish a commission that would determine the facts and circumstances involving the relocation, internment and deportation of Japanese Latin Americans.

Background
Feingold was born March 2, 1953,in Janesville, Wisconsin. He attended the University of Wisconsin–Madison and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree with honors in 1975, a member of the Phi Beta Kappa honor society. He went to Magdalen College at the University of Oxford on a Rhodes Scholarship in 1977, where he earned another Bachelor of Arts, and upon returning to the U.S. attended Harvard Law School, graduating with a law degree with honors in 1979.

He was a Practicing Attorney in Madison, Wisconsin, from 1979 to 1985 at Foley & Lardner and La Follette & Sinykin. In 1982 he was elected to the Wisconsin State Senate where he served until his election to the United States Senate. In 1987, he joined the "Bowtie Brigade," a coalition of grassroots activists and local-level politicians who backed the presidential candidacy of Senator Paul Simon of Illinois, who would later become a mentor to Feingold during the early days of his senate career.

Senate Elections
Feingold's senatorial career began in 1992 with a surprising victory over incumbent Republican Senator Bob Kasten. Feingold, who had little name recognition in the state and was campaigning in a primary against a pair of millionaire opponents, adopted several proposals to gain the electorate's attention. The most memorable of these was a series of five promises written on Feingold's garage door in the form of a contract.

During the primary campaign, Feingold unveiled an 82-point plan to eliminate the deficit by the end of his first term. The plan, which called for, among other things, a raise in taxes and cuts in the defense budget, was derided as "extremist" by Republicans and "too liberal" by his Democratic opponents. Feingold also announced his support for strict campaign finance reform and a national health care system and voiced his opposition to term limits and new tax cuts.

On primary day, Feingold, whose support had shown in the single digits throughout much of the campaign, stunned observers by surging to victory with 70% of the vote. With only seven weeks before the election, the momentum created by this upset win, along with support from people who came out to vote for presidential candidates Bill Clinton and Ross Perot, allowed Feingold to beat Kasten by 6% on election day.

During his 1998 re-election campaign, Feingold once again eschewed big-money campaigning, despite the fact that the National Republican Senatorial Committee had targeted him for defeat. Feingold placed a cap on his own fundraising, refusing to raise or spend more than $3.8 million (one dollar for every citizen of Wisconsin) during the campaign. In addition, he placed the same limits on his fundraising that he would have faced under the McCain-Feingold bill. He refused to allow his party to raise any soft money to air ads favoring him and he requested that several special interest groups, including the AFL-CIO and the League of Conservation Voters, refrain from airing pro-Feingold "issue ads." His Republican opponent, Congressman Mark Neumann, also limited himself to $3.8 million in spending, but allowed soft money to be used in his favor by a variety of pro-Republican groups. On election day, an extraordinarily strong showing in the Democratic strongholds of Milwaukee and Madison allowed Feingold to win by less than one percent of the vote.

In the 2004 Senate election, Feingold defeated the Republican candidate, construction magnate Tim Michels, by 12% (56%-44%), earning a third term. During the campaign, Feingold refrained from imposing spending caps on himself as he had in the past, and raised and spent almost $11 million. Although Republicans attempted to use that fact to paint him as a hypocrite, Feingold's records showed that more than 90% of the money came from individuals, that the average contribution was only $60, and that, once again, a majority of it was raised from Wisconsin residents. Feingold's victory was seen by many pundits as a vindication of the many controversial stances that he had taken during his second term, as it was by far his largest electoral victory thus far. Feingold even won many counties which also supported the re-election of Republican President George W. Bush.

Senate Career
Feingold regularly holds what he refers to as "listening sessions" in all 72 Wisconsin counties to listen to his constituents' concerns, and has held more than 900 since he was elected to office.

In late December 2004, Feingold was appointed to be one of four deputy whips for the Senate Democrats. Feingold has pledged that the new role would not sway his maverick stance within the party or the chamber.

On August 17, 2005, Feingold became the first U.S. senator of either party to suggest a firm date for American withdrawal from the Iraq war, saying that he favored a complete withdrawal by no later than December 31, 2006.

On September 22, 2005, during the hearing on Judge John Roberts's nomination for Chief Justice of the United States, Feingold became one of three Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee to vote in favor of sending Roberts' nomination to the floor for a full vote. He also announced that he would vote to confirm Roberts. However, Feingold voted against Samuel Alito in committee and on the Senate floor, the first time in his career that he did not support a president's nominee.

Feingold's primary legislative focus has been on campaign finance reform, fair trade policies, health care reform, environmental protection, a multilateral foreign policy, Social Security, abolishing the death penalty, and eliminating wasteful spending. Senator Feingold was the only Democratic senator to vote against a motion to dismiss Congress' 1998-1999 impeachment case of President Bill Clinton. In a statement, Feingold said House prosecutors must have "every reasonable opportunity" to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Clinton should be removed from office on charges of perjury and obstruction of justice. Feingold ultimately voted against conviction on all charges. In 2001 Feingold voted for the confirmation of Attorney General John Ashcroft. This decision was not popular with his party, but Feingold claims that he voted based on respect for the right for a President to choose his Cabinet, not because of his own personal opinions on Ashcroft. Feingold has also been an opponent of NAFTA and other free trade agreements, an unpopular position among some Democrats, but one lauded by others.

Feingold is a recipient of the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award. His name has been mentioned as a possible candidate in the 2008 presidential election, and several grassroots websites have been started to convince him to run.

Committees and Affiliations

 * Senate Special Committee on Aging
 * Senate Committee on the Budget
 * Senate Committee on Foreign Relations
 * Subcommittee on African Affairs - Ranking Minority Member
 * Subcommittee on East Asian and Pacific Affairs
 * Subcommittee on European Affairs
 * Senate Select Committee on Intelligence
 * Senate Committee on the Judiciary
 * Subcommittee on Administrative Oversight and the Courts
 * Subcommittee on Antitrust Competition Policy and Consumer Rights
 * Subcommittee on the Constitution Civil Rights and Property Rights - Ranking Minority Member
 * Subcommittee on Corrections and Rehabilitations
 * Subcommittee on Crime and Drugs
 * Subcommittee on Immigration Border Security and Citizenship
 * Subcommittee on Technology Terrorism and Homeland Security

External resources

 * Official website.
 * Campaign website.
 * "Russell D. Feingold" Profile, YourCongress.com.
 * Progressive Patriots Fund website; a political action committee (PAC) founded by Feingold in 2005.
 * OnTheIssues.org Analysis of Russ Feingold.
 * Interview with Jon Stewart, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, March 22, 2006. (Other Daily Show interviews with members of Congress.)
 * Segment on Feingold’s proposed censure of President Bush, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. (Other Daily Show segments on members of Congress.)
 * See how you compare to Russ Feingold

Local blogs and discussion sites

 * DraftRuss.com, draft Russell Feingold for President website (unofficial).
 * Russ Feingold for President Blogspot (unofficial).
 * RussForPresident.com, Feingold for President website (unofficial).
 * The McCain-Feingold Insurrection Blogspot.

External articles

 * Justin Raimondo, "Feingold: A Rising Star?" Antiwar.com Blog, August 29, 2005.
 * Robert Kuttner, "Feingold leads way on Iraq war," Boston Globe, October 8, 2005.
 * Michael Scherer, "Why the U.S. must leave Iraq. Sen. Russ Feingold says it's time to admit the war was a disaster -- and accuses his fellow Democrats of going along with Bush out of fear," Salon, October 10, 2005.
 * Anis Memon, "The Curious Case of Russ Feingold. The Devil is in the Repackaging," CounterPunch, October 13, 2005.
 * John Nichols, "Feingold Beats Bush In Patriot Act Fight," The Online Beat/The Nation Blogs, December 16, 2005.
 * "Senator Says Bush Is Acting Like 'King George'," ABC News, December 18, 2005.
 * "Amidst flurry of Bush attacks, Feingold hits Congress wiretaps: 'Congress has lost its way'," The Raw Story, February 7, 2006.
 * Matthew Rothschild, "Feingold Tells It Like It Is," The Progressive, February 8, 2006.
 * "Feingold Again Tries to Block Patriot Act," Associated Press (truthout), February 15, 2006.
 * Dotty Lynch, "Will Russ Feingold Stand Alone Again? Senator Takes Heat For Resolution To Censure Bush," CBS News, March 13, 2006.
 * Don Hazen, "The heroism of Russ Feingold ... and how the Democratic Party isn't stepping up," The Mix/AlterNet Blogs, March 13, 2006.
 * "Feingold Accuses Senate Democrats of 'Cowering' To Bush," Think Progress, March 14, 2006.
 * Terence P. Jeffrey, "Censure Feingold," Human Events Online, March 15, 2006.
 * georgia10, "Feingold on Truthiness," Daily Kos, March 16, 2006.
 * "Hannity falsely claimed Feingold was a 'flip-flopper' on Iraq invasion," Media Matters for America, March 16, 2006.
 * "RNC Mischaracterizes Feingold's Censure Resolution. A GOP radio ad falsely characterizes Sen. Feingold's censure resolution as reprimanding the President for pursuing Al Qaeda," FactCheck.org, March 21, 2006.
 * Russ Baker, "Ganging Up On Feingold," TomPaine.com, March 24, 2006.
 * "McCain, Feingold pressure Iraq’s leaders. Key senators tell officials that American patience is growing thin," Associated Press (MSNBC), March 25, 2006.
 * "Feingold's Standing Boosted Among Voters," Associated Press (truthout), March 26, 2006.
 * Dan Balz, "Feingold Backs Legalizing Same-Sex Marriages," Washington Post, April 5, 2006.
 * "Feingold Goes for Broke," Rolling Stone, April 5, 2006.
 * "Is This A Joke? Sen. Russ Feingold's Leadership PAC suggests the White House wants to wiretap political opponents," FactCheck.org, April 25, 2006.
 * "Sen. Feingold 'Absolutely Convinced' NSA Spying Program Is Illegal," Electronic Frontier Foundation, June 14, 2006.
 * Isaiah J. Poole, "Feingold is Gold," TomPaine.com, June 14, 2006.
 * Taylor Marsh, "Russ Feingold on the Attack -- updated," TaylorMarsh.com, June 14, 2006.
 * News Release: "John Kerry and Russ Feingold to Offer Amendment with Deadline to Redeploy U.S. Combat Troops From Iraq," Common Dreams, June 19, 2006.
 * "Kerry, Feingold counter other Democrats, demand pullout by July 2007," The Raw Story, June 19, 2006.
 * Faiz Shakir, "VIDEO: Feingold Argues Emergence of Al Qaeda Leader Shows 'Insanity' Of Misplaced Priorities," Think Progress, June 25, 2006.
 * News Release: "RNC Response to Sen. Russ Feingold's Appearance on NBC's Meet The Press," U.S. Newswire, June 25, 2006.
 * Sher Zieve, "Feingold Says Democrat Senators Intimidated," The Conservative Voice, June 26, 2006.
 * Frederic J. Frommer, "Kerry and Feingold Form Alliance on Iraq. Sens. Kerry and Feingold form alliance on Iraq, insist politics have nothing to do with it," Associated Press (CBS News), June 27, 2006.
 * Trevor Potter, "McCain-Feingold is a good start," Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, July 2, 2006.
 * Jeffrey Mazzella, Editorial/Op-Ed: "Feingold's free-speech folly," Washington Times, July 4, 2006.
 * "Feingold Is One Of Many Presidential Hopefuls. McCain, Clinton Among Frontrunners," Channel3000 WISCTV.com, July 5, 2006.
 * John Nichols, "Feingold, Obey and good values," The Capital Times (Madison, WI), July 10, 2006.
 * "Feingold bolsters anti-war Democrats in Iowa," DesMoinesRegister.com, July 15, 2006.
 * Mike Glover, "Feingold Addresses Voter Unrest Over Iraq," Associated Press (Washington Post); Guardian Unlimited (UK)), July 15, 2006.
 * Ed Tibbetts, "Feingold visits Q-C, denounces president," Quad-City Times, July 17, 2006. Feingold: "Republicans are most afraid of Democrats when they stand their ground ..."
 * Shailagh Murray and Jonathan Weisman, "Four Clear Voices Rise Above the Din on Iraq," Washington Post, April 23, 2007.

By Senator Russ Feingold

 * Statement Of U.S. Senator Russ Feingold On The Anti-Terrorism Bill, From The Senate Floor, October 25, 2001. Posted by Electronic Privacy Information Center.
 * "Time to Put Curbs on Lobbying," Star-Tribune (Minneapolis, MN) (Common Dreams), July 26, 2005.
 * "Setting a timeframe has everything to do with improving national security," Boston Review, January/February 2006.
 * "A Raw Deal on the Patriot Act. The Worst Parts Remain Unchanged," CounterPunch, February 10, 2006.
 * "Patriot Act games. If Democrats won't stand up to an executive who doesn't worry about trampling the rights of innocent Americans, what do we stand for?" Salon, February 15, 2006. Preview or subscription required.
 * Letter to the Editor: "In Defense of McCain-Feingold," Washington Post, July 7, 2006.