Friday, March 17, 2006
I Heart Feingold
As many of you know, I was an intern for Russ Feingold back in the day.
It was one of my first political experiences and one I would lable one of the "cleanest." I mean clean in the sense that it didn't contribute to the muddying of my idealism like so many other of my political experiences.
I went into the internship believing in him and left even more impressed. I was fired up enough to write an op-ed, published in the Capital Times in Wisconsin, complaining in a good way that his ethics are so strict he wouldn't even let his interns go to the fun capitol hill lobbyist receptions to dine on delicacies like free shrimp dinners and open bars (one of the only physical perks of being an unpaid intern).
I may not agree with all of his decisions (ascroft who?), but no one can deny the man has principles. He's also seriously smart. He actually reads all the bills before voting on them (yes, almost no Senators do--c'mon that's what staff are for). From being the only Senator to vote against the Patriot Act to giving his payraises back to help the national debt, he demonstrates that you can take some controversial stands and still be popular among your moderate constituency. Of course, that does come at the expense of his popularity on the Hill where old-school pols don't like that he doesn't play "the game"--righteous they call him. But who really cares at this point? Does it really sound that fun or important to be buddies with the likes of this House and Senate minority leadership? I'd almost rather hang out with Ken Mehlman.
So now, here he is, in the vain of fighting Bob La Follette before him, he's taking one for the team again by calling for a censure of this scary President. And of course his own party is giving him hell for it.
Thank You Sir.
It's nice to know there is at least one Democrat that isn't willing to roll over on his principles time and time again because of some paralizing fear that the Republican spin machine will knock a couple points off of your job approval rating... Or worse, that his own allies will do what the Dems do oh so well....circle the wagon and start shooting inwards.....
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It was one of my first political experiences and one I would lable one of the "cleanest." I mean clean in the sense that it didn't contribute to the muddying of my idealism like so many other of my political experiences.
I went into the internship believing in him and left even more impressed. I was fired up enough to write an op-ed, published in the Capital Times in Wisconsin, complaining in a good way that his ethics are so strict he wouldn't even let his interns go to the fun capitol hill lobbyist receptions to dine on delicacies like free shrimp dinners and open bars (one of the only physical perks of being an unpaid intern).
I may not agree with all of his decisions (ascroft who?), but no one can deny the man has principles. He's also seriously smart. He actually reads all the bills before voting on them (yes, almost no Senators do--c'mon that's what staff are for). From being the only Senator to vote against the Patriot Act to giving his payraises back to help the national debt, he demonstrates that you can take some controversial stands and still be popular among your moderate constituency. Of course, that does come at the expense of his popularity on the Hill where old-school pols don't like that he doesn't play "the game"--righteous they call him. But who really cares at this point? Does it really sound that fun or important to be buddies with the likes of this House and Senate minority leadership? I'd almost rather hang out with Ken Mehlman.
So now, here he is, in the vain of fighting Bob La Follette before him, he's taking one for the team again by calling for a censure of this scary President. And of course his own party is giving him hell for it.
Thank You Sir.
It's nice to know there is at least one Democrat that isn't willing to roll over on his principles time and time again because of some paralizing fear that the Republican spin machine will knock a couple points off of your job approval rating... Or worse, that his own allies will do what the Dems do oh so well....circle the wagon and start shooting inwards.....
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