I was lucky enough to attend Senator Feingold's listening session this morning in my home state of NH. He was here yesterday and today, taking part in press conferences, radio shows, meetings with state Democratic leaders, speaking at the Rockingham County Democratic dinner, and putting on a listening session at Darmouth College up in Hanover. Hopefully this means that he is in for 2008.
I will preface by saying that I am a huge supporter of Senator Feingold and am very familiar with his career and his stances on various issues. I have seen him on TV many times but never in person. He did not need to convince me about anything. Barring unforeseen circumstances, I will be supporting him in 2008 if he runs. I want a candidate who can inspire and I think Senator Feingold leads the other candidates in that regard.
Some interesting comments he made:
- He defended his vote for John Roberts by saying he interviewed people who knew him at Harvard Law and some of his past business associates. All of them said that he is not an idealogue. His private conversations with Judge Roberts also confirmed this belief. Russ said that he thinks Roberts may end up being similar to NH's own David Souter!
- He once again reiterated his support for universal health-care and said it's the top domestic issue he hears about in his listening sessions in Wisconsin. He talked about the late Paul Wellstone's idea of universal health care while giving the states some flexibility to decide how to do it (but mandating a minimum amount of coverage). He also said he has always supported single-payer health insurance.
- He gave his explanation about the call for Iraq withdrawal by the end of 2006. He said that the American occupation is helping the recruiting for the insurgents. As long as they see a never-ending American occupation of an Islamic country, the insurgents will stay motivated and recruiting will be high.
- He said that 2006 has the potential to be a big year for the Democrats and that we needed to win back at least one of the congressional houses. He said that currently the Democrats can't call any hearings and bring more attention to issues such as the Downing Street Memo.
- He said that the corruption of the Republican party and the recent incidents involving Bill Frist and Tom Delay will help him push his lobbying reform bill. He said that McCain-Feingold did what it was supposed to do, but further reform in the areas of 527s and lobbyist gifts were needed. He gave support to the court's decision that limited campaign contributions were not protected under the 1st Amendment. He said that decision could be in jeopardy in some future case he mentioned (don't remember the name).
- He talked about the record deficit and how the Democrats could no longer be labeled as "tax and spenders". He said that he ran his first campaign on his promise to cut the deficit and would work to do so in the future. He said that the Bush administration has failed in handling taxpayer money and that he was very happy that people were beginning to discuss this issue again. He said the Bush administration got a pass on spending for the 3+ years after 9/11.
- Reiterated suport for a female president of female VP. Said that "it's time". I don't know whether he was referring to Hillary Clinton or whether he was just saying in general. I can't imagine him endorsing Senator Clinton.
Anyway, I was very impressed with Senator Feingold in person. I heard two older men (who asked a question in support of gun control) say that "he was extremely honest and answered every question" and other women say that he was "very persuasive". I've always felt that Russ oozed integrity and anyone who witnessed him speak could see that for themselves.
I urge everyone to watch his speech to the Rockingham County Democrats on "Road to the White House" on C-Span Sunday night. He looks and sounds like presidential material. His straight-shooting approach on issues that affect every one of us will win over a lot of voters.
And oh yeah, Russ is short. He's only about 5'7.