......Feingold's courage needs to be honored, not by celebrating him as a brave loner, but by following his leadership. Legislators of both parties need to preserve our liberties, despite ominous claims of permanent war and unchecked power. If not, God save the Republic.......
Published on Saturday, February 18, 2006 by the Boston Globe
http://www.commondreams.org/views06/0218-21.htmThe Lone Patriot
by Robert Kuttner
The other day, editors of the American Prospect interviewed the Senate Democratic leader, Harry Reid. I pressed Reid about the difficulty that Democrats were having mounting a unified opposition to President Bush, even on issues such as the badly bungled Medicare prescription drug program.
Reid did not respond directly on privatized Medicare drugs, where his caucus is divided. Instead, the minority leader invoked the bravery of Senator Russ Feingold of Wisconsin.
Reid said, ''An example of how people really appreciate your standing up for what you believe is Russ Feingold, the only person
to vote against the Patriot Act -- the only person. The Republicans in 2004 spent tons of money going after him on that one issue, and it didn't matter because people believed that Russ Feingold did it because he thought it was the right thing to do." Indeed, last year, when John Kerry carried Wisconsin by a bare 12,000 votes, Feingold sailed to reelection by more than 330,000 votes. ''I so admire Russ Feingold," Reid added.
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