WWRE? (Who Would Russ Endorse?)

Russ Feingold, upon announcing that he had decided against a 2008 Presidential bid, warned his supporters against supporting anyone for the Presidency who had voted for the Iraq War, whether they later regretted it or not, saying his first choice for President in 2008 would be someone who had voted against the war, and his second choice would be someone who wasn't in Congress but who spoke out against the war, at the time.


Of the seven remaining candidates on the red and blue ballots...

Hillary Clinton (Blue) - Voted Yea (see below)

Mike Gravel (Blue) -- Would have voted Nay. Was one of the first current or former elected officials to publicly oppose the planned invasion of Iraq in 2002 and has been very public in his opposition to the war, from the beginning.

Mike Huckabee (Red) -- Would have voted Yea. In his biography of 2007, he said he believed invading Iraq was the right thing to do.

John McCain (Red)-- Voted Yea (see below)

Barack Obama (Blue)-- Would have voted Nay. Delivered famous speech, against the Iraq war in Chicago's Rockafeller Plaza in Oct. 2002. Has been very public in his opposition to the war, from the beginning.

Ron Paul (Red) -- Would have voted Nay. Has been very outspoken, in a very public way, against the war from the beginning.

Mitt Romney (Red) -- Would have voted Yea. Has not only supported the war from the beginning, but has displayed a stunning ignorance of the events leading up to the war by stating, during the June 5 Presidential debate, that there wouldn't have been an Iraq war if Saddam had allowed the IAEA into Iraq to inspect (he DID) and the IAEA had found that Saddam had no weapons of mass destruction (they DID find no "evidence of the continuation or resumption of programmes of weapons of mass destruction")

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Senate roll call on H.J.Res. 114 (Public Law 107–243), Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002:

Alphabetical by Senator Name:

Akaka (D-HI), Nay
Allard (R-CO), Yea
Allen (R-VA), Yea
Baucus (D-MT), Yea
Bayh (D-IN), Yea
Bennett (R-UT), Yea
Biden (D-DE), Yea
Bingaman (D-NM), Nay
Bond (R-MO), Yea
Boxer (D-CA), Nay
Breaux (D-LA), Yea
Brownback (R-KS), Yea
Bunning (R-KY), Yea
Burns (R-MT), Yea
Byrd (D-WV), Nay
Campbell (R-CO), Yea
Cantwell (D-WA), Yea
Carnahan (D-MO), Yea
Carper (D-DE), Yea
Chafee (R-RI), Nay
Cleland (D-GA), Yea
Clinton (D-NY), Yea
Cochran (R-MS), Yea
Collins (R-ME), Yea
Conrad (D-ND), Nay
Corzine (D-NJ), Nay
Craig (R-ID), Yea
Crapo (R-ID), Yea
Daschle (D-SD), Yea
Dayton (D-MN), Nay
DeWine (R-OH), Yea
Dodd (D-CT), Yea
Domenici (R-NM), Yea
Dorgan (D-ND), Yea
Durbin (D-IL), Nay
Edwards (D-NC), Yea
Ensign (R-NV), Yea
Enzi (R-WY), Yea
Feingold (D-WI), Nay
Feinstein (D-CA), Yea
Fitzgerald (R-IL), Yea
Frist (R-TN), Yea
Graham (D-FL), Nay
Gramm (R-TX), Yea
Grassley (R-IA), Yea
Gregg (R-NH), Yea
Hagel (R-NE), Yea
Harkin (D-IA), Yea
Hatch (R-UT), Yea
Helms (R-NC), Yea
Hollings (D-SC), Yea
Hutchinson (R-AR), Yea
Hutchison (R-TX), Yea
Inhofe (R-OK), Yea
Inouye (D-HI), Nay
Jeffords (I-VT), Nay
Johnson (D-SD), Yea
Kennedy (D-MA), Nay
Kerry (D-MA), Yea
Kohl (D-WI), Yea
Kyl (R-AZ), Yea
Landrieu (D-LA), Yea
Leahy (D-VT), Nay
Levin (D-MI), Nay
Lieberman (D-CT), Yea
Lincoln (D-AR), Yea
Lott (R-MS), Yea
Lugar (R-IN), Yea
McCain (R-AZ), Yea
McConnell (R-KY), Yea
Mikulski (D-MD), Nay
Miller (D-GA), Yea
Murkowski (R-AK), Yea
Murray (D-WA), Nay
Nelson (D-FL), Yea
Nelson (D-NE), Yea
Nickles (R-OK), Yea
Reed (D-RI), Nay
Reid (D-NV), Yea
Roberts (R-KS), Yea
Rockefeller (D-WV), Yea
Santorum (R-PA), Yea
Sarbanes (D-MD), Nay
Schumer (D-NY), Yea
Sessions (R-AL), Yea
Shelby (R-AL), Yea
Smith (R-NH), Yea
Smith (R-OR), Yea
Snowe (R-ME), Yea
Specter (R-PA), Yea
Stabenow (D-MI), Nay
Stevens (R-AK), Yea
Thomas (R-WY), Yea
Thompson (R-TN), Yea
Thurmond (R-SC), Yea
Torricelli (D-NJ), Yea
Voinovich (R-OH), Yea
Warner (R-VA), Yea
Wellstone (D-MN), Nay
Wyden (D-OR), Nay

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My Next Prez...

From Russ Feingold:

Today we are launching the "My President Will Be…" online campaign. As you will see, we put a different – and some might say slightly humorous – spin on an old Bob Dylan video, aimed at engaging the progressive community in a conversation about the qualities we want our next President to have. So take a look, forward to your friends, and upload your photos at www.ProgressivePatriotsFund.com today. Thanks so much for continuing to help move our country in a better direction.

Sincerely,

U.S. Senator Russ Feingold
Honorary Chair
Progressive Patriots Fund

Here are my wishful thoughts... what are yours?


My next President will be...

on OUR side.

weilding OUR voices.

working around the clock to undo the damage that has been done.

above calling my love of country into question to draw attention away from his misdeeds.

honest and ethical.

the first to admit when (s)he's made a mistake.

actively and agressively putting Americans first.

rebuilding our gulf coast, instead of rebuilding Iraq.

bringing our troops home from Iraq.

making sure we repay the debt we owe our veterans and the loved ones our fallen veterans have left behind.

deeply respectful of the sacrifice our troops have volunteered to make for us.

bringing jobs back to the U.S.

well informed, intelligent and thoughtful.

aware that he is our peer representative and that he represents all of us, not just those who voted or who voted for him or who come from a specific state or make a certain amount of money, etc.

a man (or woman) who counts the phrases "We the People...," "Of, by and for the People..." and "E Pluribus Unum" among his/her most cherished pieces of the foundation of this country -- and who fully comprehends, embraces and incorporates into his/her job, the meaning behind those phrases.

well spoken.

adaptive.

honored to have been granted the rare privelege to represent us.

a Democrat with a spine... and a mouth... like me, like Senator Russ Feingold... like most of us.

From Russ Feingold

From Russ Feingold:

A Republican Senator is trying to derail my campaign finance disclosure bill, and I need your help to figure out who it is.
http://ga1.org/ct/r1euNo71yjWP/

My legislation, the Senate Campaign Disclosure Parity Act (S. 223), requires Senate campaigns to submit campaign finance reports electronically. Sounds simple enough doesn't it? House campaigns, political parties, Presidential campaigns, and even 527's already file their reports online - but that's not the case in the Senate.

The Senate has exempted themselves from this requirement and is only required to file paper reports. The public's ability to review these reports in a timely manner is substantially curtailed by these antiquated paper filings. Not only that, it costs taxpayers over $250,000 per year to have these reports scanned and made available online at a much later date.

When Senator Feinstein and I sought to pass this legislation by unanimous consent, an objection was voiced on the floor "on behalf of a Republican senator." Senators are within their rights to object to a bill coming to the floor of the Senate, but the objecting senator has not been named, and no one has spoken to me about any objection they may have to this legislation.

The use of these so-called "secret holds" has rightly come under attack in recent years, and I need your help to try and determine who may be delaying this common sense reform measure.

If you are represented by a Republican senator, please contact them and ask if they're holding up my Senate Campaign Disclosure Parity Act. You can get contact info for your senators here: http://ga1.org/ct/r1euNo71yjWP/

If you live in a state with two Democratic senators, consider forwarding this email to your friends in states that aren't so lucky.

If you learn of anything that may be useful in helping me identify the "Secret Hold Senator," email me at russ@progressivepatriotsfund.com.

I have no intention of dropping this issue and I appreciate your help in keeping the pressure on to try and identify this anonymous objector.

Sincerely,



Russ Feingold
United States Senator
Honorary Chair, Progressive Patriots Fund