By Ray Barrington
News-Chronicle
U.S. Sen. Russ Feingold emphasized his votes against budget deficits and a proposal to force a congressional vote on health care Monday as he announced his candidacy for a third term in Green Bay.
Feingold, making a two-day tour around the state, also defended his voting on the war in Iraq and the USA PATRIOT Act which have been targets for the four Republicans seeking to run against him in November. About 100 people huddled in a chilly, open shelter at Bay Beach Park to hear the senator.
Feingold emphasized his record of service to Wisconsin residents in his speech, emphasizing his annual listening sessions in each Wisconsin county and his fighting for Wisconsin desires on key issues.
"My work as a senator has been driven by what I've heard from you," he said.
He refrained for most of the first half of his comments from going after either his opponents or President Bush, saying he agreed with the initial attacks on terrorism in Afghanistan, but broke with the administration over Iraq, voting against that action. His statement of that fact drew the loudest cheers from the audience.
"I felt it would detract from the fight against terrorism and it has," he said. He also drew cheers for his vote against the Patriot Act.
"You know what helped me out on that? I read the bill," he said. "And I found out that (conservative columnist) Bob Novak was right. This bill is a wish list of (what the government wanted) for many years that was not carefully tailored for the new terrorist threat.
"My opponents wrap themselves in the flag and ignore the damage that parts of the hastily-passed Patriot Act present to the freedom and privacy of Americans who have done absolutely nothing wrong."
Feingold's opponents have focused on his vote against the Patriot Act, the only one in the Senate, and have accused him of ignoring state concerns to gain the national spotlight with his support of campaign reform legislation. Feingold, however, said that in his listening sessions, campaign financing was a continuing concern.
After his speech, the two-term senator said he did not think he would have to change his campaign aims from his two previous victories, both coming during times when Democrats were riding high in Washington and at the polls.
"This administration has made so many mistakes in failing to address health care and job loss that I really believe we have a message of change," he said.
"I'm going to run my campaigns the way I always do. I've always run a positive campaign." Feingold emphasized several issues:
The deficit - Feingold called himself "one of the few undisputed deficit hawks" in Congress. "We worked in the 1990s on a bipartisan basis and got rid of the deficit completely by the year 2000," he said. "Unfortunately, the Bush administration doesn't get it."
He said he was pushing for a bill that put "a Wisconsin principle" back into place - a "pay as you go" rule that specified funding sources for spending measures.
Campaign finance reform - Probably Feingold's best-known initiative in Washington - "A lot of people think my first name is McCain," he said, referring to his co-sponsor, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz. - is still a key issue, even among those who say they don't vote for him. "Every time I'd shake hands at Lambeau, or down at the Brewers' park, or at Camp Randall, there'd be two or three Republicans who'd say 'I don't vote for you, I don't agree with a lot of what you do, but keep working for campaign finance reform,'" Feingold said.
He said large campaign contributions were leading to bad policy, including dependence on foreign oil, a lack of health care legislation, and trade agreements that had led to jobs going outside the country.
Trade and jobs - Feingold emphasized his votes against the NAFTA and GATT trade agreements and "most favored nation" status for China saying the votes were "pro-farmer" and "pro-Wisconsin jobs." And Feingold blamed campaign money for the agreements.
"When both parties are on the take, receiving unlimited huge 'soft-money' contributions from corporations, and then we go and vote on trade agreements, that's going to happen every time," Feingold said.
He compared that with a Republican candidate, state Sen. Robert Welch, saying in the past he was for NAFTA.
Health care - Feingold called this the major concern from his listening sessions. He said he was hearing new comments from businessmen who had previously wanted government to keep its hands off health care.
"They don't walk in now and say 'please put the government into health care.' That doesn't trip off the tongue of a business person. But they know what I do, they know why they're there and they're asking me to do something," he said.
His proposal is a bill to require states to achieve universal coverage, to be decided by each state, with the federal government providing financial help and oversight. The health care would have to be the equivalent of the program for federal employees.
He also said he plans to introduce a bill requiring House and Senate leaders to introduce a health care plan in the first 30 days of the new Congress, with movement to a vote within 60 days. He said it only required action, not a specific action.
He called President Bush "hopelessly out of touch" on health care and added that the Republican candidates for Senate are endorsing Bush's view that changes aren't needed. "They all offer a timid adherence to the Bush White House even when it's making serious mistakes," he said.
Feingold did not mention current high gasoline prices in his speech, but told reporters afterward the government should cut back the number of required gasoline formulas to save manufacturing expenses and pass "a real energy bill" that would cut dependence on foreign oil
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