Update [2006-3-12 12:19:10 by Steven D]: Please show your support for Senator Feingold by emailing him using this online form, or by contacting one of his offices by phone or fax:
Washington, DC
(202) 224-5323
TDD (202) 224-1280
Fax (202) 224-2725
Middleton
(608) 828-1200
TDD (608) 828-1215
Fax (608) 828-1203
Milwaukee
(414) 276-7282
Fax (414) 276-7284
La Crosse
(608) 782-5585
Wausau
(715) 848-5660
Green Bay
(920) 465-7508
************************
“Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI), speaking on ABC’s “This Week,” said he will introduce a censure motion over the President’s warrantless wiretapping program
tomorrow,” Feingold spokesman Trevor Miller told RAW STORY Sunday. Asked by George Stephanopoulos why he wasn’t proposing impeachment, Feingold said he wanted to do “what’s best for the country.” Feingold says Congress needs to stand up to the President. He declared that martial law wasn’t declared on Sept. 11, 2001.
RAW STORY will post the transcript when it moves later today.” ABC News reports this quote from Feingold: “This conduct is right in the strike zone of the concept of high crimes and misdemeanors.”
Will the media and the political pundits “hear this” now?
Laying another paper trail.
That’s a good thing, right?
howie, I don’t know you that well, so I have to ask if you are being sarcastic or asking a serious question that you want me to answer? Help me out here. Thanks.
serious. some might think another paper trail is just so much……..more paper. we’ve got a mountain on this guy already.
Yes, but the need to continue to lay a paper trail is for impeachment purposes. After the election and the dems are in the majority in Congress, John Conyers will be the head of the Judiciary Committee. (And I know that you already know that, so I do not mean to talk down to you, sorry if I am.)
But, Conyers and others who are for impeachment will have to persuade the others/repubs to support their position. And, the only way that it can be done is with more than a mountain of paper. The repubs have bought gwb’s bs, hook, line, and sinker, as have a few DINO’s. Also, some of the offenses have been “overlooked”. With an increasingly growing paper trail, some/more of the moderates will able to really think about all the bs that gwb has done. Then, impeachment will become closer to a reality. Especially if the dems pick up seats due to all of the scandals/culture of corruption and the health car situtation today.
There has already been that article/cover of Harpers. It will happen, the question is when. IMO, Feingold is smart, as even if the censure fails, there is more that will demonstrate questionable/impeachable offenses. (There will be a cloud of suspicion…people will recognize it for what it is.)
See, the repubs pay more attention to procedural bullshit as opposed to results. And the dems are doing some major CYAing to make sure that ALL the bases are covered, so nothing gets screwed up because all the I’s were not dotted and the T’s were not crossed. See what I mean?
Yes. The problem has never been digging up enough evidence. The problem has always been to put the massive record of crime and treachery together in a picture that everybody can see in its entirety. So far we have one outrage after another, which finally just numbs us and makes us not want to hear any more.
The way out of the bind is to make Bush’s presidency itself the issue, the focus, supported by history and fact. That’s how prosecutors build a case. That’s what Feingold is trying to do. He’ll be subject to personal and political attacks that may eclipse anything we’ve seen up to now. He’ll need our total support. Let’s put the nuances away for a while and just do everything we can for this genuine political hero.
The way out of the bind is to make Bush’s presidency itself the issue, the focus, supported by history and fact…That’s what Feingold is trying to do.
And, if you have official documentation, that makes it much easier, as gwb cannot whine that it is just the big, bad liberal democrats going after him. Then you have the proof right in front of you. And then, the court of public opinion can have a lot of influence on undecideds.
I did case management for a bit (after my tbi–burned out fast, and had some problems working too. This was pre-ADA.) Well, I was actually called a case co-ordinator, as I did not have the credential–and my supervisor had to sign off to bill, but it was the same thing.
I’m convinced already. It’s the some of the rest of the folks whose support Feingold could use.
Makes two of us. Have a feeling that support for this will build, start off very slowly…the waiting in the meantime is the hard part, IMO.
Also demonstrates a pattern.
Russ continues to do the right thing. I will watch him on in 15 minutes here on the West coast.
The more I read about Russ Feingold, the more I like him.
me too…He is getting the most attention from me, anyhow. I think he has a head on his shoulders and knows what best to do about many issues. I am definately keeping an eye on him as my candidate, for sure.
He supports a single-payer health care system and that is my top priority in a candidate.
It’s called smart leadership. A man of courage.
Did you catch Frist meowing a reply?
Russ is giving aid and comfort to the enemy…”out attacking the commander in chief doesn’t make sense. Russ is flat wrong. He is dead wrong. He is wrong…. we should be supporting the Commander-in-chief, who is out there fighting al-Qaeda and the Taliban and Osama bin Laden.
Senator, is that all the meow you can muster?
Last time I looked the commander-in-chief was playing a guitar, eating cake and Osama has long bin forgotten. And not a lick of sense on what to do about the Iraq civil war.
(hat tip: Thinkprogress)
Just found this !
Go Russ!!
I get tired of hearing(even from myself) Russ will never get elected as President because he has been divorced twice, is Jewish, is this is that. Russ, for me, is a breath of fresh air and hope. It amazes me he is not being fully embraced. He has been everything we have been asking from the dems for years now yet gets so little attention. I am hoping that that will change. I am not counting on it from the “party folks” though.
Being divorced is not an issue. ray-gun and Jane Wyman divorced. And I don’t even concern myself w/the fact that he is Jewish. My doctor explained the prejudice toward people who are Jewish once, and I still don’t get it. Don’t people have more important things to worry about? (Not you aloha, but, that one just really gets to me.)
Agreed. I have to wonder if some of this stupid handwringing is being generated by more prominent Dem candidate-wannabes trying to shoot him down early by resorting to the tried-and-true “electability” bullshit. I’m not usually known as an optimistic type, but this time it seems like there’s a building demand for somebody that has something real to say. Feingold is almost the only pol who has openly spoken of the consequences of Iraq and the rest of the Bushie treason. I think that scares the hell out of the Dem go along to get along crowd, both pols and self-anointed “strategists”.
And I must point out again, to the point of tedium, that when a Republican like McCain does his little dog-and-pony “straight talk” act the Dems fall over in a faint of worshipfulness. Feingold has the real goods, but even “liberal” Dems feel compelled to snipe instead of supporting. Strange world. Strange politics.
Now I am wondering if Feingold is making the DINO’s (and some of the other dems we thought we could count on) nervous?
No shit. Reagan was divorced, Newt Gingrich abandoned his wife stricken with cancer for a new version, but we know these assholes have no notion of their own hypocrisy when they talk about family values.
Let’s see if Feingold can get elected, and that would be, let’s see, a Democrat with actual Democratic values, a Democrat we haven’t had since Harry Truman.
Real family values like universal health insurance for all families, not just rich ones or ones with the right jobs, a living wage so families can be families and not have parents holding two or three jobs to survive, well, we all know the values on this site.
Go Russ Go!!!
Censure does not preclude Impeachment. An old Marketing adage is to get people saying YES, regardless of the subject. After some YES, YES, YES, and YES, then it is much easier to get them to say YES to where you really want them to go.
Exactly. There are already leftie types calling the censure motion a bandaid, or too little. Seems to me they could learn from your understanding of strategy. Here’s hoping the strategic side will win over the posers.
Russ should wear one of Suskind’s t-shirts.
I want one too!
George asked him at the end of the interview if he is closer to running for President in ’08. Russ’ response: (paraphrasing) If I could get the president to apologise and quit breaking the law and/or making his own laws regarding the NSA spying, he would gladly not run for President. To me, he puts country before party and political future. What more could we ask for? Again, Russ Rocks!
At least the momentum for returning to reality is building. Some Dems are doing things right. I hope it’s not too premature but I got to say Congrats to you guys. Keep pushing and, hang in there.
You write:
Q: ‘Will the media and the political pundits ‘hear this’ now?”
A: No.
I mean…they’ll HEAR it alright. And immediately begin to take countermeasures. Serious countermeasures.
He will be relegated to the same little corner of the media universe to which John Conyers has been sentenced for 6 years.
The “It’ s bad for business plus he’s just a dissatisfied left wing (insert name of minority here).” That little corat least LOOKS like he might be Aryan…but there it is, folks.
Left-wing divorced Jew.
He’s OUTTA here!!!
Bet on it.
You are all correct…he IS the best Democratic candidate. (Strike two.) But unless he is some kind of flat-out political genius, the media will tear him a new asshole faster than they did Howard Dean. After all,…it took the powers-that-be many months to realize that Dean and his grassroots appeal WERE a serious threat to their two-party scam. (Whadda buncha maroons!!! We knew it right up front. So…If we’re so smart and they’re so dumb…how come were losing? Just a little NEWSTRIKE!!! side question. Hint, hint…)
It’s not ABOUT the “reality” of the situation.
Just like it wasn’t about Ronnie Baby and Jane Wyman.
Any more than it was “about” Bill Cllinton and Monica’s mouth.
It IS about…does the PermaGov want him and if they don’t, how can they sell his undesirability to the American public.
That’s all.
And unless they can come up with something better…real sexual kinks, theft, corruption (all of which are REALLY dangerous to them because they accurately describe most of the members of the PermaGov as well), then the immoral, revolutionary Jew myth will have to do.
It’ll sell in Topeka…believe it.
The anti-Jew thing is a CLASSIC.
I mean…it’s better than anti-black.
Most of the shitheels who go for this kind of line have more contact with black people than they do with Jews, number one. And number two…most of that contact is in a master/slave role. Hired help. Servants. Menial labor.
Jews, on the other hand…”Why, them’re some SMART motherfuckers!!! An’ RICH, too. Why…don’t they rule the world or something? As PRESIDENT OF THESE HERE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA!!!??? I don’t THINK so!!!”
Watch.
The anti-Russ campaign should start any day now.
Aaaaany day now…
AG
You should keep an eye on Russ. He has something of the teflon about him. I see the same vulnerabilities as you on paper, but I NEVER see them from him in action, in person.
He has something of The Natural in him.
Bet on it.
I can always count on you Arthur to be the dark tunnel at the end of the light. Hope that despite the opposition to Feingold from some quarters he will achieve some success.
Good for Russ!
Let’s hope the Dems ALL get behind this!
Thank you, Howie, for posting this so quickly. I had read this earlier today, but only now just stopped in here at BT to see what’s going on. And thanks for posting the link to the form for feedback. I just wrote my letter, and am including the full text below. Hope that’s ok with you guys.
“Dear Senator Feingold,
I write to thank you for, among the many progressive ideas that you have championed over the years, introducing a motion to Censure George W. Bush. You alone have stood up to this sham administration from the beginning, and I, and others, cannot begin to thank you enough.
I applaud your courage for the many stands you have taken in support of our failing democracy, and most of all, for defending that most precious of documents (NOT “just a X8@9! piece of paper” as Bush thinks), the Constitution of The United States of America.
I obviously fully support and laud your the motion you intend to introduce this week, and hope that many other senators, not just of our party, will rise in support of your motion.
Though you haven’t represented me for many years (I was a constituent way back when I went to Grad School in Madison), I have always held you in the highest esteem and have followed your career not only with interest, but also admiration for your courage to stand up for principles over all other considerations. We need MANY more Senators/Representatives like you in our government, if we are to be able to save ourselves from the totalitatian abyss toward which we are currently spiraling. Your “voice in the wilderness” does not go unnoticed by many of us in the “blogosphere” and in the public at large. Please continue to take the courageous stances that have comprised your history and, I am sure, your bright future.
I hope that my Senator, Tom Harkin, will join you in supporting this motion. I am going to write to him tonight and plead for his support of your motion to Censure. After having been disappointed so deeply over the past 6 years by most politicians of the Democratic Party (and yes, I am, and have always been, a registered “D”), I have come so close to despair numerous times, and then you, among all others, will rise to the occasion and bring a much needed ray of hope to the current political climate in which we suffer.
Thank you again for introducing this motion, and I pray for you to receive abundant support in the measure. Our very country depends upon it.
And finally, should you choose to run for President in 2008, you should know, well in advance, that you will have my full support, and I will do my utmost to make such a campaign a resounding success. “Whatever it takes,” a sage once said, and if that’s what it comes to, I will be there for you, and you continue to be there for the American People, regardless of their political affiliations.”
“signature”
Here’s what I sent his office through email.