Dan Balz reports:

Sen. Russell Feingold (D-Wis.), a prospective 2008 presidential candidate, said yesterday that he thinks bans on same-sex marriages have no place in the nation’s laws.

Russ took his stand after he was asked about a proposed amendment to the Wisconsin constitution in a town hall meeting.

Feingold called the amendment “a mean-spirited attempt” to single out gay men and lesbians for discrimination and said he would vote against it. But he went further, announcing that he favors legalizing same-sex marriages.

That puts him at odds with many prominent Democratic politicians who support gay rights but not same-sex marriage. Should Feingold decide to run for the party’s presidential nomination in 2008, his position would put him to the left of many likely rivals.

“Obviously, it’s a very difficult issue and evokes a lot of emotions,” Feingold said in a telephone interview yesterday. “I think it’s something ultimately that people throughout the country will accept, but it’s not an easy issue.” He accused the Bush White House and the Republican Party of using same-sex marriage as a wedge issue “to hurt Democrats who are against discrimination.”

By taking this stand, Feingold has thrown down a marker. If he runs for President, he is not going to by mealy-mouth about gay rights. He is going to take the issue straight at the voters without apology. If he wins, the issue of gay marriage won’t scare the piss out of Democrats anymore.

You can add this to the list. He voted against the war, he voted against the Patriot Act, he has been utterly unafraid to question the Domestic Surveillance Program of the National Security Agency. He has been at the forefront of campaign finance reform.

We have all been calling on Democrats to differentiate themselves from Republicans and to stand up for what they believe. The theory is that the American people are attracted to people of principle that will fight for what they believe in.

Bush has been successful in pushing policies and an agenda that don’t poll very well. He has done it by pushing forward on all fronts like a bulldozer and never expressing doubt. I don’t understand why so many Democrats think we can’t win if we support Roe v. Wade, oppose flag-burning amendments, oppose illegal surveillance, oppose the imperial ambitions of CheneyCo. and so on. If holding unpopular positions was disqualifying, Bush would never have been reelected. People respond to strength and confidence. They do not respond to flip-flopping and prevaricating.

The Democrats have been afraid to question the President as he pushed forward with an anti-woman, anti-gay, anti-Muslim, anti-Hispanic agenda. Feingold isn’t afraid. Next to Russ, the rest of the Democratic field looks like midgets. And they are midgets.

Feingold is a leader at a time when Democrats are crying out for leadership.