Russ Feingold: How does he get elected?

Im currently attending Wisconsin-Madison and am in my Sophomore year. I love everything Russ Feingold stands for because he represents my values. But I am just really surprised that this guy could get elected. Madison may be extremely liberal, but this state is very evenly split with a lot of very conservative people. I do not understand how such a staunch liberal could ever be elected in a state like this. I could understand if he was a moderate democrat, but one of the most liberal senators in the nation??? I dont get it. Not complaining though btw.

That he visits every county in Wisconsin and is very personable. I would also imagine that people like his independence.

Wisconsin is my homestate, and I've been to one of his listening sessions in my hometown.

You won't understand Wisconsin politics unless you do.

It's the same way liberals like Bob Kerrey got elected in Nebraska. He is able to frame controversial liberal stances in ways that people can easily relate to and agree with. The Democratic Party as a whole should take notes from Feingolds campaign book. We could pick up even more seats and do so as liberals if we followed his lesson.

'Burned-over,' as historians call it. It was mostly settled by very liberal migrants coming from Burned-Over (upstate) NY. I don't know how it is now, though. I knew a guy from Wisconsin in high school and he was a Freeper of the worst kind. He was an asshole. But I seem to recall that Feingold delivers for his constituents, so he's very popular.

From what I have seen, it is like night and day in Wisconsin from Madison and Milwaukee to the rest of the state.

Read "Don't Think of an Elephant" or "Thinking Points" by George Lakoff. He makes a strong case that Progressive values are the best of American values, and that we win when ever we stand up for those values. In particular, go here and read Chapter 2, on "Biconceptualism":

http://www.rockridgeinstitute.org/thinkingpoints

NGU.

I didn't say it's a magic bean. But when we're constantly toning down our beliefs or pretending we're something we're not, we're playing right into the Radical RW's trap.

By the way, please read the book instead of making knee-jerk comments. It's really very helpful.

NGU.

Feingold would get his ass handed to him if he ran for office in Nebraska. Different areas are going to be attracted to different kinds of Democrats. Nelson is just as popular amongst Democrats in NE as Feingold is amongst Democrats in WI. Go look at surveyusa.com

And who is "pretending we're something we're not?" Democrats who are more conservative than you? Do you think there is a chance that politicians like Bayh or Lieberman genuinely believe in some of their conservative votes? Do you think there is a chance that politicians like Feingold or Conyers aren't sincere about some of their progressive votes?

Just because someone has a voting record I don't like doesn't mean they are "pretending" to be something.

NGU.

If in every primary we nominated the most progressive candidate, without any consideration to the region s/he is running in, his or her personality, his or her background, etc, I don't think we would win very much.

I liked Lamont, but if his persona was a bit more like Tester or Webb, I think he would have eeked out a win.

ive candidate is a plus, no matter what region you are in simply because you are running against a Republican. You win that issue simply because you can show how you are different from your opponent. That is absolutely necessary, especially when going after incumbents.

Which somehow consisted of the entire Connecticut Republican Party despite the fact that Joe isn't technically a Republican.

on social issues. They may be very liberal on economic issues, and so is Feingold.

In addition, I hear that, like many successful politicians from the left side of the Democratic Party (Peter DeFazio, Dennis Kucinich, and Paul Wellstone come to mind), he is extremely unpretentious, approachable, and genuine. What you see is what you get.

For example, there were a couple of occasions in Oregon where I spotted Peter DeFazio at an event and just walked right up to him and started talking about current issues. There was no pompous attitude, no slickness, no entourage of handlers, just genuine friendliness and a willingness to discuss the issues with a nobody like me.

I actually read that in the newspaper last year that people were trying to sponsor a bill to lower the hunting age from 12 to 8 so to preserve the hunting tradition in Wisconsin. Those are some of the things that make me think just how conservative rural Wisconsin is.

That's an urban/rural issue.

I think that principle holds in most saloons, churches, and traveling carnivals, too.

is "why aren't Russ Feingolds being elected nationwide?"

I've talked with Republicans who follow the trends and they say conservatives, while they may not agree on many of his positions, really like how he is approachable, intelligent and has lots of open meetings throughout the state to get a pulse of the electorate.

He can boil down an issue to a couple sentences off the cuff in a tense crowd situation and do it with a populist sense of humor. I've seen him in action and it is a treat to watch.

I'm in Madison, btw. Welcome to DU!

We have the ability to let our rural friends who are raised on conservative values "see the light" and follow a better path, the left path.

Is there are sooo very many people who want to civilize us poor, ignorant jackpine savages and make us fit to be a part of genteel society.
Sorry about that, that was snippy and uncalled for. I just get riled up sometimes. I'm proud of being from "Up Nort", born rural, raised rural, etc. Don't be fooled by what sometimes passes for conservatism. Lot's of abandoned Democrats up there waiting for the train to come back and pick them up.

I'm from "all over" myself...Madison is certainly a big small town. If they want to civilize you near the Square or on the West Side, you can always come to the East Side with the rest of us scrabblers...

Simple as that, if you ask me. One thing Russ has shown in his time in office is a refreshing willingness to think first, speak his mind and stand firm once he's spoken. These local meetings he goes too all over the state, they ain't like one of Bush's canned photo-ops. Nobody's screened to make sure only the right sort of questions get asked. When difficult questions are asked, Russ answers them, not dodging around the subject or avoiding the past.
Last election, the nobody that ran against him tried to use Russ's vote on the Patriot act against him. Russ came out swinging, defended his actions, took whats-his-name to the woodshed in the debate. It was beautiful. People respect a person they can trust. I have heard avowed Republicans (old-style Lee Dreyfus types, not the new-style John Gard whack-jobs) say that, while they don't agree with Russ on things a lot of the time, they trust him to work for the best interest of Wisconsin.
Wisconsin is a weird and wonderful state. Progressive ideals running smack into rural conservatism, mixing together and coming out all jumbled and ornery. Living in Madison and Milwaukee won't give you a real appreciation of it. My home county is pretty much split right down the middle north to south, one side in one Congressional district, one in another, with no real demographic difference on either side of Hwy 45. Last election, the east side voted for Gard (Pinhead-Oconto) overwhelmingly (to no avail, ha ha). West half voted overwhelmingly for Dave Obey (D-Wausau), the incumbent who wiped the floor with whatever poor SOB the Republicans tricked into running in that race.
One of the simple facts is that most human beings that live north of Hwy 29 have a deep and abiding mistrust of any politician coming otta Madison, both parties be damned. Having lived here in Madison for going on six years now, I gotta say they've got a point. Nice place to visit, just don't drink the water.

He really believes presidents should get the nominees they choose confirmed, so it hads led to many a confirmation vote that is at odds with his other voting record, but it does get more votes from the moderates and some conservatives.

He also sided with McCain on campaign finace reform and crafted a moderate plan that countered the Kerry and Wellstone crafted plan for public financing of campaigns the Clean Money, Clean Elections bill.

McCain-Feingold became the popular media darling bill.

Feingold fully supports further campaign finance reform but realized it stood no chance in hell of passing a GOP congress.

Not in this America, I'm afraid.

It's often been said in the past that Presidential candidates would never be elected if they were Catholic or of Italian descent either, although JF Kennedy was the first and only Catholic president.

I'm half Italian, btw, and I'd love to see a paison in the WH someday, as long as it isn't some arrogant asshole like Rudy Giuliani. I hate that fucker almost as much as Bush.

Not only does he get elected, but he usually pushes around 60%

He's the best senator around (since wellstone died, anyway)

fiscally conservative. Am I wrong? Because if that's what a populist is, then Feingold definitely isn't a populist.

The message played well in Montana and Virginia too.

I love Russ, but let's be honest about the circumstances he was faced with:

In '92, when he unseated Bob Kastan, Feingold rode the wave of pro-Clinton enthusiasm.

In '98, he almost lost his seat to Mark Neumann (an actual MODERATE Republican).

In '04, he trounced Tim Michels in the debates...it also didn't help that Michels couldn't run a campaign to save his life. He still did better than Kerry in the state, which means there was probably a good chunk of Bush/Feingold crossover voters (don't ask me why).

But admittedly, after 12 years in the Senate, Russ had gained the trust of a majority of Wisconsinites...even the moderate-to-conservative ones who often disagree with him on issues. He's sort of Wisconsin's version of Byron Dorgan, Harry Reid, Carl Levin, Blanche Lincoln, Jeff Bingaman, or Evan Bayh...pretty much untouchable for as long as he wants to keep his Senate seat, despite the red/purple leanings of his constituents.

Bob Kastan was a shitty Senator and '92 was a Democratic year but Russ had low name recognition as a state senator and won with mostly small individual contributions.

Of course, I was only 10 at the time, but I still remember seeing them call the race for Feingold on TV, and drawing the conclusion that he'd benefitted at least partially from Clinton's momentum. At that young age, I didn't truly realize how ethical and principled our then-senator-elect actually was/is.

The thing is that I knew she was running for the position of Senator but I didn't have a clue as to what a Senator did.

Feingold's a pretty strong candidate though. I cant think of any WI-Republican except Thompson that would defeat Russ.

McCallum might have gotten blamed for Thompson's mess in 2002, but all of Tommy's failed policies would be drudged up again in a hypothetical Senate challenge to Feingold.

he wouldnt run. Isn't Kohl even more popular than Feingold?

He's really just a lump in a seat. Very beatable if the Republicans ever put a lot of money behind a real candidate. Feingold probably actually would run better between the two.

Kohl happens to have more money than a lot of countries (Kohl's Department Stores, etc), so that discourages serious challenges. He's a likeable guy, but he really doesn't do much for the state. Fortunately the Republicans never seem interested in his seat because of the resources required.

Kohl probably won't run for reelection in 2012.

He also has taken moderate stances on gun control and his generally libertarian attitudes on social issues have landed him support among libertarian conservatives.

Welcome to DU! You should post this in the Wisconsin forum, where there's a lot of people who have lived in WI since he first ran many years ago. The amazing thing is when you see Bush and Feingold signs on the same lawns in Madison, as happened in 2004.

The short answer is- Feingold earns people's respect because he listens to them, and he is an honest man. People can see that they can trust him. Also, he IS a fiscal conservative, and he is not corrupt at all- there simply is no dirt to dig up on him. And he climbed the political ladder one step at a time, coming up through state government. People in WI have known him and his family (from Janesville) for years, and I've never heard a negative thing said about any of them.

Well, somebody who faced Russ in court as a lawyer said he was ferociously argumentative, but that's a good thing.