Feingold faces tough re-election fight

Race against Johnson will test formidable veteran

– Read in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel –

Six years ago, in a 50/50 state, in a 50/50 country, Senate Democrat Russ Feingold won a breakout, double-digit victory, capturing the vast majority of Wisconsin’s independent voters and a surprising share of conservative crossovers.

It was a surefire re-election formula, but the odds of replicating it in 2010 have suddenly begun to look steeper.

Challenged by a well-funded political newcomer in a dismal climate for Democrats, Feingold is no longer the rock-solid favorite he appeared earlier this year.

Instead he may be in a fight for his political life.

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“Feingold’s in a Fight”

Oshkosh, WI…Oshkosh manufacturer and U.S. Senate Candidate Ron Johnson is making headlines as he seeks to replace 18-year incumbent Russ Feingold. Feingold, who proved his listening skills are lacking when he voted with his party to support a trillion dollar failed stimulus experiment and a government health care takeover, will be feeling the heat from voters and Ron Johnson this fall.

“Voters are rejecting Russ Feingold’s notion that more government is the answer to our fiscal and economic woes,” Johnson said. “As a manufacturer and an accountant for over thirty years, I’m prepared to take my experience creating jobs and balancing the books to Washington. It’s time to send a Wisconsin manufacturer to lead the efforts on job creation in the Senate.”

Here’s a sample of a few of the recent headlines highlighting Johnson’s candidacy:

“Feingold’s in a Fight” (CQ-Roll Call, Posted: 7/22/10)

The anti-Democratic mood of the electorate may finally be catching up to Sen. Russ Feingold, the three-term Wisconsin Democrat who’s made a career of positioning himself as something of a political outsider.

“Ron Johnson, Oshkosh, a formidable opponent for U.S. Sen. Russ Feingold” (Gannett, 7/23/10)

Ross Baker, a politics expert at Rutgers University, said that while Feingold in the past has been able to capitalize on a reputation as a maverick Democrat, “that doesn’t immunize you from an angry electorate.”

“CA, WA, WI Senate Races Move Toward GOP” (Rothenberg Political Report, 7/23/10)

Right now, Democrats look poised to lose five to eight seats, and any net loss short of that would have to be regarded with relief by Democratic strategists.
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Feingold Supports Using Taxpayer Dollars to Sue Arizona

[Oshkosh, WI] In yet another demonstration of his fiscal recklessness and disdain for the wishes of the Wisconsin people, Senator Russ Feingold voted against an amendment that would have barred federal funds from being used in any lawsuit seeking to overturn the Arizona immigration law.

Senators Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) and David Vitter (R-La.) introduced the amendment yesterday which failed on a 43-55 mostly party-line vote, with Feingold voting against the measure. A Rasmussen Survey last week found a majority of Wisconsinites support an immigration law similar to Arizona’s here.

“Despite claiming to be a fiscal hawk, Senator Feingold brazenly supports using taxpayer dollars to fund a federal lawsuit to overturn Arizona’s law, passed in response to the federal government’s failure to protect our borders and the citizens of Arizona,” said Juston Johnson, Campaign Manager for Ron Johnson for Senate. “Maybe it shouldn’t come as a surprise that Russ Feingold, an attorney, supports just another frivolous lawsuit. It’s time instead to send a manufacturer to the Senate to lead the discussion on job creation.”

Johnson Campaign To Feingold: “Stop Spending Now”

[Oshkosh, WI] After Russ Feingold voted to add another $34 billion to the nation’s $13 trillion federal debt and rejected funding offsets to extend unemployment benefits through unused stimulus funds, Juston Johnson, Campaign Manager for Ron Johnson for U.S. Senate, issued the following statement:

“Extending unemployment benefits without paying for the new spending will add billions to our debt and Russ Feingold knows it. Not surprisingly, Feingold’s vote violated one of the key tenants of his own phony ‘Stop Spending Now Act.’ The contrast in this race couldn’t be more distinct: Feingold is a big-government liberal who can’t stop spending, and Ron Johnson will bring fiscal discipline to Washington.”

Feingold Needs A Reminder Where In-state Support Comes From

Clue: It’s Not His FEC Report

[Oshkosh, WI] After attempting to say he “sides with Wisconsin,” 18-year incumbent Russ Feingold should see where his “support” actually comes from.  According to Feingold’s latest fundraising totals, 46% of his donations come from outside Wisconsin.

Feingold’s fundraising numbers prove he’s having a hard time motivating Wisconsin voters, whose wishes he voted against as he sided with Washington insiders on the health care takeover and trillion dollar stimulus experiment.

“Feingold has a hard time garnering support from inside Wisconsin state lines because he’s spent too much time in Washington,” said Juston Johnson, Campaign Manager for Ron Johnson for Senate. “Someone should show Feingold a map so he remembers where Wisconsin support is generated. A look at his finance report wouldn’t show you that.”

Lately, Feingold has gotten desperate in his attempts to collect information from unsuspecting out-of-state victims for his own fundraising purposes. Feingold has been cultivating fundraising information from a web site he set up with New York City Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY) and Senator Pat Leahy (D-VT). Unsuspecting citizens sign a petition for the  DISCLOSE Act, but what they don’t know is Feingold hid information in the privacy policy statement indicating he’s collecting information necessary for fundraising purposes in order to share it with his campaign committee.

“Unlike Feingold, who has turned to sneaky and hypocritical fundraising tactics, Ron’s donors are excited to get involved and participate in the most important election of our lifetimes,” Juston Johnson said. “Ron’s support comes from Wisconsin, and it’s the only state whose interest’s he’ll represent.”

Feingold to gun owners: Look the other way on SCOTUS Confirmations

[Oshkosh, WI] Yesterday Senator Russ Feingold was brazen enough to have a letter to the editor published about his work ‘to preserve Wisconsin’s tradition of responsible gun use and to oppose unreasonable limitations on gun ownership,’ while simultaneously having his Senatorial office issue a press release supporting Supreme Court Nominee Elena Kagan.

As Wisconsin voters have come to expect, Feingold says he supports gun rights in Wisconsin but goes to Washington to vote for the anti-gun, activist Justices who seek to take away our individual gun rights. Senator Feingold appears to be backing stealth opponents to the Constitution’s Right to keep and bear arms with his confirmation votes.  Opponents who, once on the High Court, will do all they can to restrict the rights of law-abiding gun owners of the State of Wisconsin and the United States.

“On Constitutional issues, there’s one thing that matters above all else for a Senator — his vote to confirm a justice to the Supreme Court. On that test, Russ Feingold has failed miserably,” said Juston Johnson, Campaign Manager for Ron Johnson for Senate. “It is obvious that Feingold is willing to throw Second Amendment rights overboard so he can cast partisan votes on judges. We don’t need Russ Feingold’s rhetoric on guns, we need his votes to stop anti-gun judges. That’s what counts.”

FACT: Senator Feingold voted to confirm two of the four dissenting Supreme Court Justices in District of Columbia vs. Heller.

FACT: Senator Feingold voted to confirm three of the four dissenting Supreme Court Justices in McDonald vs. Chicago.

(Ginsberg Confirmation Vote, 1993 Roll Call 232, Confirmed 96-3, August 3, 1993; Breyer Confirmation Vote, 1994 Roll Call 242, Confirmed 87-9, July 29, 1994; Sotomayor Confirmation Vote, 2009 Roll Call 262, Confirmed 68-31, August 6, 2009.)

(District of Columbia vs. Heller, Majority: Scalia, Thomas, Alito, Roberts, and Kennedy; Dissent: Stevens, Breyer, Ginsberg, and Souter,  McDonald v. Chicago, Majority: Scalia, Thomas, Alito, Roberts, and Kennedy; Dissent: Stevens, Ginsberg, Breyer, and Sotomayor.)

FACT: Senator Feingold voted to filibuster and reject the nomination of Justice Samuel Alito, one of the five votes in the majority for both Heller and McDonald.

(Cloture Vote on Confirmation of Sam Alito, 2006 Roll Call 1, Agreed to 72-25, January 30, 2006; Alito Confirmation Vote, 2006 Roll Call 2, Confirmed 58-42, January 31, 2006.)

“Previous statements and policy work from Elena Kagan, from her notes during her clerkship with the late Justice Thurgood Marshall, to her time in the Clinton White House, have made it more than clear she is not a friend of America’s gun owners,” Juston Johnson said. “Once again, Russ Feingold is backing just another activist, liberal ideologue to the Supreme Court who is nothing more than a stealth opponent to the Second Amendment.  All his talk about being on the side of gun owners becomes hollow when put under that light.”

Legal blog “SCOTUSBlog” has summarized Kagan’s stance on gun control as such:

“Ultimately, we think Kagan likely supports gun control laws as a policy matter, based on her work and communications within the Clinton Administration.  Yet this reveals little of relevance for a Supreme Court Justice.  We cannot infer much about her current view on the Second Amendment and what restrictions on guns are permitted by it.  Our best guess is that she would be with the Court’s left on the question.”