Vote Feingold

I find it hard to care very much about any of the other races next week, but Feingold is one of the few people in the Senate with a shred of respectability. On civil liberties, getting big money out of the political process, and the environment he has been leagues above most of the rest of them.

There are precious few national politicians worth supporting, and Feingold is, in my opinion, one of those few.

If undecided, or even just curious, I urge you to visit his website and look up his statements on things you feel important. More than most likely you will probably like what you read. He has a consistent track record of voting with his convictions even when unpopular.

His HCR vote has put off some people, but 1)I think if you actually look at what is in the bill you would like it more than you think and 2)It would be a shame if this one vote overrode his 18 years of protecting your civil liberties and standing up for core constitutional principles

Vote Feingold next Tuesday!

Feingold

Watch last nights debate between Russ Feingold and Ron Johnson.

Time to amend the Constition?

Constitutional Amendments have had a bad name after the Gay Marriage and Flag Burning debacles. However a good one has came along and it also came from Wisconsin's own Russ Feingold: He has introduced one to require elections when Senate seats are vacant, instead of replacements being appointed by Governors as they currently are. What better time to do it than with Exhibit A, B, and C in recent memory? The NYT even came out in support of it.

Cabinets

Lots of people have been complaining about Obama's picks for his cabinet. That he is letting down his supporters on the left with Clinton and Gates. So far it seems to me he is putting together a pretty promising entourage.
The team of rivals hype is pretty annoying for me another example of how the urge to be a part of greatness by comparison to an historic figure is everywhere. Bush thought he was Churchill and now Obama is being heralded as Lincoln and FDR in one.

For secdef it was smart to have Gates stay on as someone intimately familiar with the current wars, plus he will mollify the Republicans, you might hope, from trying to pin gwot's problems on the new pres. He has also walked the line quite well of disagreeing with Bush's more morally dubious ideas while still professing the inability to change them quite yet.

HRC et al could be quite good at sweet talking the foreigners and doing some token or possibly even meaningful humanitarian things.

Gen. Shinseki for the VA is encouraging, so is Steven Chu for Energy Sec is too- and he has won a nobel for research. Sounds a bit elitist to me though. I bet he eats Arugula too. Who will the next nobel laureate appointed? Al Gore for internets and powerpoint affairs? Paul Krugman for treasury?

Holder for the AG has potential he seems sincere and it will remain to be seen if he has the balls to do anything on the torture issue. Another plus for him is that his Marc Rich pardon involvement will cancel out with Gates' Iran-Contra involvement making for a scandal neutral cabinet.

Wisconsin's Russ Feingold talked about cabinet picks and other things in an interview here.

Left of what?

In this article, the washington post had a strange caption under Feingold's picture:



"In this photograph provided by "Meet the Press", Sen. Russell Feingold, D-Wisc., left, speaks as he is interviewed by moderator Tim Russert during a taping of "Meet the Press" at the NBC studios Sunday, July 22, 2007 in Washington. Feingold said Sunday he wants Congress to censure President Bush for his management of the Iraq war and his "assault" against the Constitution. (AP Photo/Meet the Press, Alex Wong) (Alex Wong - AP)"

Since he is the only one in the picture, why the left qualifier?