Russ Feingold

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Template:Infobox Senator Russell Dana Feingold (born March 2, 1953) is an American politician from the U.S. state of Wisconsin. He has served as a Democratic member of the U.S. Senate since 1993. Feingold is best known for his maverick voting and co-sponsorship of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act ("McCain-Feingold Bill"), a major piece of campaign finance reform legislation. He 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.

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Early life and education

Feingold was born in Janesville, Wisconsin, to a Jewish family that had settled in the area in 1917. His father Leon Feingold was an attorney and his mother Sylvia Feingold was a worker at a title company.

As a child, Feingold greatly admired John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Robert F. Kennedy. He volunteered for the 1972 presidential campaign of New York City mayor John Lindsay at the age of 18. Later on, he would support the presidential campaigns of Mo Udall and Ted Kennedy.

After graduating from Joseph A. Craig High School, Feingold 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.

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Career

He worked as an attorney at private law firms from 1979 until 1985. 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.

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Family life

He has been married twice, to Sue Levine and Mary Speerschneider. Russ and Sue Feingold married in 1977 and had two children, Jessica and Ellen, before divorcing nine years later. Russ married Mary Speerschneider (also previously divorced) on January 20, 1991. Mary (née Erpenbach) had previously been married to Timm Speerschneider, a Madison attorney, with whom she had two children: Sam and Ted. On April 11, 2005, Russ and Mary Feingold jointly announced that they would be seeking a divorce. [1]

When not in Washington, Feingold resides in Middleton, Wisconsin.

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Campaigns

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Senate

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. These were:

  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.

Also much-noted was Feingold's advertising campaign, which was widely compared to that used by progressive candidate Paul Wellstone in his victorious Senate campaign in Minnesota. Shot in the form of home movies, the ads attempted to portray Feingold, who always referred to himself as "the underdog running for U.S. senate," as a down-to-earth, Capra-esque figure, taking the audience on a guided tour of the candidate's heavily-mortgaged home and introducing them to his children, all of whom were enrolled in public school.

The ads also contained a significant amount of humor. One featured Feingold meeting with a faux Elvis Presley, who offered Feingold his endorsement. (Bob Kasten responded to the Elvis endorsement with an advertisement featuring an Elvis impersonator attacking Feingold's record.) Another showed Feingold, standing next to a pair of half-sized cardboard cut-outs of his opponents, refusing to "stoop to their level" as the two were shown literally slinging mud at one another. In still another, Feingold was shown conclusively demonstrating that there were no skeletons in any of his closets.

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 [2]. 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.

Senator 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 850 since he was elected to office.

Perhaps as a result of his success in the 2004 elections, 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.

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Possible Presidential run

There is talk of Feingold seeking the Democratic Party's Presidential or Vice-Presidential nomination in 2008. In December 2004, a website urging Feingold to run for president was created, followed by others. [3] [4]In addition to these sites, there are numerous state blogs appearing at an encouraging pace, such as California for Feingold '08, for example. In late January 2005, Feingold told the Tiger Bay Club of Volusia County, Florida that he intended to travel around the country before deciding whether or not to run in 2008. [5] In March 2005, his senate campaign registered the domain www.russfeingold.com, as well as the .org and .net versions; Feingold will not face reelection to the Senate until the 2010 election. [6] On June 1, Feingold launched a political action committee, the Progressive Patriots Fund. Launching a PAC is seen as an important step in running for President.

His recent announcement of divorce is believed by some, such as political scientist Larry Sabato, to mark the end of his Presidential ambitions, as being twice-divorced is a perceived liability among socially conservative voters. [7] Others, such as blogger Markos Moulitsas Zúniga (better known as "Kos"), have disagreed, pointing to successful Republican political figures with multiple divorces. As of 2006, the only president to have been divorced and remarried before taking office is conservative icon Ronald Reagan.

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 [8]. The announcement was widely seen by both Feingold's supporters and detractors as a de facto announcement of his intention to run for president, although Feingold himself continues to remain silent on his alleged plans.

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. Many members of the Democratic blogosphere have predicted that this vote will have a negative impact on his presidential aspirations, although Feingold's supporters point out that this is not the first time that he has voted in favor of President Bush's judicial nominees. However, Feingold voted against Samuel Alito in both committee and on the Senate floor.

Although Feingold usually receives support in the single digits in opinion polls featuring various potential Democratic presidential candidates, he remains highly popular among Democratic grassroots activists. In a recent nonscientific poll by influential liberal blog, Daily Kos, Feingold took first with 48 percent of the vote [9]. Many of Feingold's supporters blame his low results in scientific polling on poor name recognition and point to the success of Senator Gary Hart, who, during the 1984 presidential election, managed to campaign his way from 1% in the polls to twenty-six primary victories.

Despite possible name recognition issues, Feingold has consistently polled ahead of other potential Democratic presidential candidates who haven't run a national race before, suggesting that his name recognition is already on the rise. However, according to a Quinnipiac University poll taken from February 21-28, 2006, Feingold ranked 9th among a group of politicians for 'how people felt about them'. [10].

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Bills and policy positions

Feingold's primary legislative focus has been on campaign finance reform, fair trade policies, health care reform, conservation and 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. However, it was speculated at the time that his vote for Ashcroft was a concession made in order to gain approval of his campaign finance agenda, which passed soon thereafter. Feingold has also been an opponent of NAFTA and other free trade agreements, a popular position among many Democrats, with the exception of those aligned with the Democratic Leadership Council.

On December 21 2004, Feingold wrote an article for popular webzine Salon.com regarding his golfing trip to Greenville, Alabama. After noting how friendly the people were, and that Wisconsin had many similar places, he expressed his sorrow that such a poverty-stricken area was "the reddest spot on the whole map", in spite of Republican policies that Feingold considered incredibly destructive to the lives of the poor and middle class. Alabama's Governor Bob Riley and Greenville mayor Dexter McLendon, both Republicans, were perturbed at Feingold's description of "check-cashing stores and abject trailer parks, and some of the hardest-used cars for sale on a very rundown lot." McLendon invited Feingold back for a more complete tour of the city, and Feingold agreed. He visited the city on March 28, 2005, making amends and increasing speculation about his presidential plans for 2008.[11]

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Campaign finance reform

Feingold is perhaps best known for his work alongside Senator John McCain on the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002, better-known as the McCain-Feingold bill, which took the two almost seven years to pass.

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.

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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.

Feingold, who was elected to Congress on a promise not to accept pay raises while in office, has so far returned over $50,000 in such raises to the U.S. Treasury. In addition, he is notoriously frugal in his office's spending and sends back the money that he does not use. In one six-month period in 1999, for example, his office received $1.787 million in appropriations and returned $145,000, a higher percentage than any other senator.

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PATRIOT Act

Feingold was the only senator to vote against the USA PATRIOT Act when first voted on in 2001. At the time, Feingold stated that provisions in the act 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.

In late December, 2005, when the bill was up for renewal, Feingold led a bipartisan coalition of Senators that included Lisa Murkowski, Ken Salazar, Larry Craig, Dick Durbin, and John Sununu to remove some of the act's more controversial provisions. He led a successful filibuster against renewal of the act, that ultimately led to a compromise on some of its provisions. This compromise bill passed the Senate on March 2, 2006 by 89-10. Feingold was among the 10 Senators who voted nay, feeling that the bill still lacked necessary protections for some civil liberties.

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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 — 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."[12]
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Ideological rankings

Americans For Democratic Action, a liberal advocacy group which rates members of Congress on a scale of 0 to 100, with zero being totally conservative and 100 being completely progressive, gave Senator Feingold a lifetime average rating of 96. With the death of Minnesota's Senator Paul Wellstone in 2002, this leaves Feingold tied with California's Senator Barbara Boxer for the title of the "most progressive person" in the Senate, according to ADA. The American Conservative Union, which also ranks from 0 to 100 but sets 0 as the most liberal and 100 as completely conservative, ranked him a 12. At the same time, the Concord Coalition, a nonpartisan advocacy group that pushes for fiscal responsibility, has placed him on its "Senate Honor Roll" every year since 1997, and he has ranked in the top two every year since 1998, making their suggestion that Senator Feingold is also one of the top budget hawks in Congress. The Democratic Freedom Caucus, a group of libertarian-leaning Democrats, has endorsed him during his last two senate campaigns. On April 4, 2006, he endorsed full marriage equality for same-sex couples.

In 2004, the National Rifle Association gave him a grade of D (with F being the lowest grade and A the highest). [13] On environmental issues, he was given scores of 100% from the League of Conservation Voters [14], and 73% from CUSP [15]. The American Civil Liberties Union gave him a score of 89%. [16]

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Call for a vote of censure

Template:Main On March 13, 2006, Senator Feingold introduced a resolution in the U.S. Senate for a censure of President George W. Bush. This was a result of allegations of illegal wiretapping, as reported in the New York Times, that the President 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". The U.S. Senate has not yet voted on the resolution, as it first needs to be considered by the Senate Judiciary Committee, chaired by Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA). Then, it may or may not be sent to the floor of the U.S. Senate for a vote. It has received outspoken support from Senators Tom Harkin and Barbara Boxer, although most Democratic Senators have avoided expressing a firm opinion on it.

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Same-sex marriage

On April 4, 2006, Feingold told constituents at a listening session in Kenosha, Wisconsin, that he supported the legalization of same-sex marriage. Though Feingold had previously voted against passage of the Defense of Marriage Act, this was the first time that he publicly announced his support for marriage rights for homosexuals. Feingold's comments were in response to a question about whether or not he supported an ballot initiative that Wisconsinites will vote on in November, which would incorporate a ban on same-sex marriage and civil unions into the state constitution. He joined Republican Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island and Democrats Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts and Ron Wyden of Oregon as one of only four Senators to publicly announce their support for same-sex 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 indicated that it should be defeated," he added in a later interview. [17]

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Committee assignments

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Electoral history

  • 2004 Race for U.S. Senate
  • 1998 Race for U.S. Senate
  • 1992 Race for U.S. Senate
    • Russ Feingold (D), 52%
    • Bob Kasten (R) (inc.), 46%
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Trivia

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External links

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Official U.S. Government links

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Political action committees

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Profiles

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Interviews and articles

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Feingold for President unofficial sites

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Speeches

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