Posted on 07/30/2007 4:44:13 PM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin
REESEVILLE, WI -- Sen. Russ Feingold began holding listening sessions in every Wisconsin county 14 years ago in order to ensure that he was responsive to the needs of his constituents.
The more time the Democratic U.S. senator spends in Washington, the more he appreciates another fringe benefit of his visits home.
"I come home every weekend and I do these meetings, and I talk to people and I go to the store, to the health club, and I get the feeling that I'm NOT completely crazy," Feingold said. "Unless we ALL are.
"And I don't think we are."
Rebuked by some pundits in Washington over his planned censure resolutions of President Bush, Vice President Cheney and other administration members, Feingold found unanimous support, and occasional applause, whenever the issue was discussed during Saturday's Dodge County listening session in Reeseville.
The topics of censure, the war in Iraq and the state of health care dominated the hour-long session, and the favorable response only strengthened Feingold's resolve.
"These pundits in Washington go to dinner parties with members of the Bush administration, and it's a social club out there and they protect each other," Feingold said before the session. "People out here are genuinely angry that this administration has lied to them repeatedly, and they know it, whether theyre Republicans or Democrats. I find Republicans are embarrassed by this administration.
"People across America really are quite offended by what's been done to them."
That sentiment was echoed by the 44 people in attendance. Many thanked Feingold for attempting to hold the Bush administration responsible for what Feingold has described as "some of the worst misconduct and the worst abuses of the law in American history."
Feingold is crafting a pair of resolutions. The first will condemn President Bush for misleading the nation into the Iraq war and other related abuses. The second confronts what Feingold says is an attack on the rule of law in the United States, including illegal, warrantless NSA wiretapping and extreme policies on torture.
A few in attendance felt that Feingold should go further and press for impeachment.
But the senator believes that impeachment would put too many crucial issues on the back burner, and that a censure resolution is the appropriate measure.
"This administration has done shocking things to this country," Feingold said. "I don't think we can just leave the history books blank without saying something about it. Censure is a way that we can do it simply, relatively quickly, and I've gotten quite a few feelers from other offices showing interest in this.
"I think people realize that something has to be said in these waning months of the Bush administration about these abuses."
The war was clearly unpopular with those in attendance, with many bemoaning how the country was led into the war. Citizens also decried its costs and cited wasted dollars and lives.
Even when the topic shifted to education, the war was drawn back into the conversation.
"I wish we treated education the way the Bush administration treats the war," Vivian Levensohn said. "Every time we fail we throw more money at it."
Regarding the No Child Left Behind program, Feingold called it a "crazy" system and said he would be introducing legislation to improve the bill when it comes up for reauthorization.
"It is a very heavy-handed bureaucratic system," Feingold said, noting he was one of 10 senators to vote against it.
Health care was a hot topic, and Feingold implored citizens to pressure presidential candidates to explain how they will address health care, and senior care in particular.
Feingold said he, along with South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, is authoring a bill that would take $40 billion and offer a few pilot states the chance to offer health care coverage for all its citizens. Ideally, this could be a precursor to a national health care system.
"Everybody believes that their vision of how to do it will work," Feingold said. "But nobody's ever seen it done. We would have several different programs competing, so we can see what works best and get universal coverage.
"The Feingold-Graham bill would start a process that would make that much more likely to happen."
What they lack in intelligence, they make up in numbers, no that can’t be right ... what they lack in intelligence they make up with their numbers. No matter how you write it it comes out the same ^_^
“I wish we treated education the way the Bush administration treats the war,” Vivian Levensohn said. “Every time we fail we throw more money at it.”
I thought we did that. Maybe we should condemn public schools and ask for a withdrawal.
First of all they take 90% of the milk and mess with it. It gets hard. It lets off carbon dioxide. The cheese is cut with band saws. It's left to cure.
Finally, it's all shipped out of state.
I can't begin to explain how this Feingold puke got elected, but fur shur he's been in there sniffing the limburger.
Yes you are all insane. And did I mention treasonous?
Well, those few in attendance (and probably quite a bit more) are ignorant of the constitutional role of the Senate. The Senate can't impeach anybody. Only the House of Representatives impeaches and the Senate convicts or acquits. The Senate can "impeach" it's own members and remove them but that's as far as its "impeachment" powers extend.
“I can’t begin to explain how this Feingold puke got elected, but fur shur he’s been in there sniffing the limburger.”
‘Cuz the WI GOP sucks. He runs unopposed each election cycle! He can, and does, win with those 44 Moonbat votes.
Yeah, I spent some time at a park in Beaver Dam yesterday. A group of 20 somethings kept demonstrating how much they benefitted from our education tax dollars. The six of them seemed to know only one adjective, and were not aware that it could only apply to males, not doors, cars, women, etc.
Well, Senator, they DID vote for you...
Feingold, like most dimocraps, hears voices no one else hears.
I think Congress should be censured.
Who the heck would go to a Feingold “listening session” except a leftist twit?
Does Grahamnesty have some kind of a death wish?
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
Gee, I sure am proud. (snort) Of all the nutty, leftist Senators in Washington, we have the nuttiest leftist of them all: Feingold.
“I think Congress should be censured.”
I agree. Where do I sign up? ;)
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