Here and There

Now that Senator Russ Feingold has called for the censure of Bush, it’s time (for me, at least) to take a closer look at the only person I’ve said I’d choose for president in 2008.

Feingold is often short-bio’d as the only senator to vote against the Patriot Act, one of a few against the Iraq war from the beginning, and being solidly against the Bush tax cuts. In liberal legislative politics, that’s the triumvirate no other member of our upper house of Congress can claim.

He opposed Condeleeza Rice as secretary of State. He opposed Alberto Gonzalez as attorney general.

He is the co-author of the last great attempt to rid politics of a disproportionate big business influence. With John McCain, he wrote legislation (since known as the McCain-Feingold bill) that attempted to prohibit soft money (from Wikipedia: “indirect, unregulated…donations to organizations that support a candidate but are not officially affiliated to his or her campaign”), ban third party ads funded by soft money, and required the reporting of donations over $10,000, among other provisions.

Here’s Feingold debating Gonzalez on the legality of wiretapping this past January.

And now, the censure motion. Monday, shortly after Feingold introduced the motion, Senate Majority Leader Bill “Psychic Diagnoses” Frist pushed it to the Senate floor for a vote.

And, typically, a large majority of the Democratic caucus in the Senate watched the ball hit the ground.

(I have to wonder if the hypocritical Republicans impeached Clinton for lying about a blow job only so the nation and Congress would grow weary of the process, allowing this President to get away with the true crimes he’s getting away with.)

The NYTimes editorial page, averaging a zero-sum this week, advocates against censure, arguing that an investigation is needed instead. That may be true, but we have a confession from the suspect. That shouldn’t be discounted.

There’s also the argument (espoused by, among others, my representative in Congress, Nancy Pelosi) that we’re a mere eight months from midterm elections, so let’s just let the legislative process take hold and the people will correct the system. I just won’t comment on that, as much as I believe in the importance of voting.

If censure is mostly a symbolic legislative gesture, why not go forward, Republicans and Democrats alike? The president is close to being a lame duck, with ratings in the mid- to low-30s and his beloved majority party showing obvious signs of fracture. Censure shows those constituents you need this November that you have the independence and the principle to stand up to acts of criminal overreach by the Executive Branch. The facts are already in, and they say overwhelmingly (despite Arlen Spector’s objections) that the administration broke not only the law, but the Constitution.

A lot of groups are trying to draft Feingold to run for President in 2008. I think it’s a great idea, but a little early. I like Feingold where he is, in the Senate, raising a nice amount of calm, collected hell.

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