Sen. Russ Feingold

Party: Democrat
State: Wisconsin
What you need to know: Feingold was one of only 23 Senators to vote against authorizing President George W. Bush to attack Iraq.

Democrat - Incumbent
Endorsed for U.S. Senate by Council for a Livable World Candidate Fund

Wisconsin Senator Russ Feingold is a profile in courage who defied the political consensus when the Bush Administration rushed to war in Iraq. Feingold was the only United States Senator to vote against the USA Patriot Act immediately after the September 11 attacks because he believed that many of the provisions threatened our constitutional civil liberties.

Feingold was one of only 23 Senators to vote against authorizing President George W. Bush to attack Iraq. He was the sole Senator to launch a lawsuit to block President Bush’s withdrawal from the key Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty. He is an authentic progressive hero.

Feingold is intensely concerned about the proliferation of nuclear weapons, calling upon “the U.S. to be vigilant and work with the international community” to prevent the spread.

Feingold is worried about the military budget: “The fight against terrorism and the conflict in Iraq should not be used as an excuse to drastically increase spending, particularly without efforts to cut the wasteful spending that already exists in the defense budget.”

Feingold praised President Barack Obama’s decision to issue executive orders to end abusive interrogation tactics, close the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay and end the Bush Administration program of CIA detentions.

Feingold is well-versed on technical aspects of nuclear weapons. On June 3, 2009, he wrote to the Department of Defense: “I write to request that while conducting the Nuclear Posture Review you consider the need to consolidate and reduce the size of our domestic nuclear complex in order to minimize the risk of nuclear terrorism . . . the danger that terrorists could steal nuclear materials or information or attack a nuclear weapons facility in the United States presents a grave danger to the United States.”

Russ Feingold was born and raised in Wisconsin. After graduating from the University of Wisconsin, he was selected as a Rhodes Scholar and studied at England’s Oxford University. In 1979, Feingold earned a law degree with honors from Harvard Law School. In 1982, at the age of 29, he won elective office to the Wisconsin State Senate defeating a Republican State Senator by 31 votes. Ten years later, Feingold ran for the U.S. Senate in a tough three-way primary dominated by a wealthy businessman and a prominent Congressman who destroyed each other with harsh negative advertising. In the meantime, Feingold was running clever, humorous TV spots interspersed with issue positions. Outsider Feingold swept to victory in the primary with a remarkable 70 percent of the vote and then defeated an entrenched Republican incumbent 53%–46%.

Feingold’s re-election in 1998 was very close. Senator Mitch McConnell, the head of the National Republican Senatorial Committee and chief opponent of campaign finance reform, poured millions of dollars into anti-Feingold ads, as did many other outside organizations. Feingold stayed true to his principles by rejecting soft money ads from national Democratic committees. Although heavily outspent, he eked out a 50%–48% victory.

In his 2004 reelection campaign, having been outspent yet again, Feingold beat millionaire businessman Tim Michels. While the political outlook for Feingold in his 2010 reelection campaign is excellent, it’s still very early. So far his first announced opponent has come out of the gate with a personal attack saying that Russ Feingold “like[s] nothing more than when our proud nation is humbled.” Feingold is such a progressive asset, such an important Senator, that we urge early contributions to his campaign to help ensure that he has the resources necessary to fight back against these types of negative attacks.

Feingold has fought for a more open and honest government. Working with Arizona Senator John McCain, he achieved the first significant campaign finance reform legislation in years. Feingold called the old campaign finance system “legalized bribery and influence peddling.” He has campaigned for and succeeded in enacting strong ethics legislation barring gift-giving by lobbyists to lawmakers and he regularly refuses free meals from lobbyists for himself or his staff.

The reelection of Senator Russ Feingold is extremely important to preserve his leadership in the Senate, particularly now when important treaties reducing nuclear arsenals and the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty will be considered for ratification. The nation needs him for the remarkable honesty and courage he has always demonstrated.

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