FEINGOLD: "NO" to TPP!

[kpete]

Former Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI), who just announced his candidacy for his old Senate seat, is joining Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) in opposing the trade agreement President Barack Obama has been pushing Congress to approve.

"The economy has definitely been improving, and things like the stock market are doing better," Feingold said in an interview with Wisconsin's WISC-TV . "But the economy has to be good for working-class and middle-class families who work every day, send their kids to a school like is in front of my house, and they have to be able to enjoy their lives. That's why you don't pass a trade agreement that ships even more jobs overseas."

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/russ-feingold-elizabeth-warren-tpp-obama

[HereSince1628]

1. No surprise there, but I guess he's just another politician, a no-nothing

opposed to the trade agreement that will finally bring the big rock candy mountain

[2banon]

4. ?

sometimes sarcasm is difficult to detect in text on the intertubes, especially if left implied. (could be stating the obvious) but I hope you meant that as a sarcasm,. ?

IOW, you're not really intending to suggest that Feingold is a "know-nothing" / 'do-nothing" typical pol? Or are you?

[Jackpine Radical]

13. Speaking for HS1628, "No."

It was snark aimed at Obama's dismissal of the people on the left who voted against TPA.

[2banon]

22. thanks for the clarity.. totally got that confused.

[2banon]

2. Excellent issue to take a stand on front and center at this moment.

[shraby]

3. I know where I stand on it now. I trust Feingold to make the right decision.

[bullwinkle428]

5. K&R - we're gonna need a bigger bus!

[Segami]

6. Hell Yea!

[Jefferson23]

7. Thank you. Can't wait to see him elected again. K&R

[aspirant]

8. This should be a litmus test

for every Dem candidate, House and Senate

[Scuba]

21. /\_/\_This_/\_/\

[seabeyond]

9. why did he lose last time. i cannot remember. really like the man. didnt he talk about pres?

anyway. good to hear.

[Geronimoe]

11. He lost because he is an honest and principled man

He refused to take any money from outside of his state. Johnson on the other hand raised a great deal of money outside the state and had outside the state groups running ads against Rus. Rus was out spent in ads 3:1.

[seabeyond]

14. ty. i am thinking i vaguely remember that. sure was disappointed he lost. glad he is running

again.

thanks for the info

[PeaceNikki]

15. Because Democrats need to do better showing up at the polls for mid-terms.

It was a tea party wave.

[seabeyond]

16. ah, mid term. yes. thanks. nt

[Jackpine Radical]

17. Here is something I wrote during the 2010 campaign that may be of interest in this context:

I spent several hours on Saturday as a volunteer making phone calls in behalf of Russ Feingold and Tom Barrett.

The results of the phone banking were enlightening in a stomach-churning sort of way. I generally take my time with calls, and get into conversations with people if they are willing to do so when I call. I talked a few Russ-leaning people into agreeing to vote, and maybe did some good that way, but I heard a lot of desperation mixed with apathy out there.

Some were saying they weren't going to vote because they voted for Obama wanting change, and they didn't get it. One woman talked about how she just barely missed qualifying for Badger Care (WI's extension to Medicaid), and had a policy from her $8/hour job with a $3000 deductible, which was the same as not having insurance as far as she was concerned. It didn’t do much good to point out that the Health Insurance Reform legislation won’t swing into full effect for another three years.

Another woman said she has been out of work for 2 years, hasn't been able to make her house payments, and is about to be foreclosed on. She wanted to know why the billions in bailouts went to the banks. Wouldn't it have been better to give that money to the people who needed it and let them pay their bills with it?

The bailouts were a recurrent them. Jobs was another. People on the edge of personal financial disaster were simply not much moved by hearing how much worse things might have been under Republican rule.

I would summarize the afternoon of phone calling by saying that I think the Democratic Party is in deeper trouble than they recognize. People who voted for Obama have not felt much change in their lives except an increasing sense of desperation. They are demoralized. They feel burned. They are in "Fool me once…" mode. They're not just bitter at Democrats; I doubt that many of them will vote for Republicans.

They just won't vote.

[seabeyond]

18. thanks for digging that up. i did not put a lot of thought in, when i asked. i knew others would

give me the info. but ya.... i remember all that. thanks.

[joshcryer]

24. The catfood commission messaging was extremely effective.

They literally had Republicans running ads saying Democrats wanted to gut Medicare/Medicaid.

[Jackpine Radical]

25. I'm still pissed off when people claim that it was the "Far Left" who stayed home

& cost the Midterms. Bullshit. We were fitting like hell for people like Feingold & Barrett (who ran against Walker). I will confess that there was one candidate (Julie Lassa), who ran to replace Dave Obey in Congress, whom I couldn't bring myself to campaign for because of her Third Way mindset. A little Mary Burke without all the charisma. I voted for her, of course, but I really couldn't push her positions with a straight face, so I just put more effort into Russ' campaign.

[joshcryer]

27. I won't get in to that.

I don't feel like rehashing it because it was painful for me. I spent more time in the 2010 campaign (successfully) than I had in any campaign prior. I'm talking almost quit my job full on canvasing mode. My own liberal friends told me it wasn't worth it, that Obama was a fake, that the whole politics thing was a complete and utter sham. I had no support. I was taking dozens of people to the polls, several hundred people I either took or convinced to get registered (before the vote) and go vote.

We barely, very barely, kept Colorado blue. If we hadn't I don't think we would've legalized marijuana in 2012. In 2012 it was a lot easier, maybe because marijuana was on the ballot, maybe because it wasn't a midterm, but we had a lot of support, and the bashing Obama stuff was at a minimal (unless you browsed DU).

GOTV is where the Democrats win. Everything else is just details. GOTV.

[2banon]

28. Every bit as relevant today as it was in 2010.

[joshcryer]

23. Vote depression.

[grasswire]

10. Hoooo ray!!

If we can get Feingold back, maybe we can get Olbermann back some day.

[salib]

12. Too late. The only real opportunity for the minority (I.e. Our party) to stop It in the Senate

Was the filibuster. That is over.

Now, all those turn-coat Dems can vote against the TPA bill and claim "I voted against it!", and it will still pass.

Our chance is in the House now.

[myrna minx]

19. K&R

[LWolf]

20. Not a surprise. nt

[libdem4life]

26. Glad he's back in politics.

But I'm pretty sure we'll not hear Obama say, "Russ, you're wrong...you're just a politician" and smile.