Yes, another rich nutball has bought himself a Republican nomination, this time in Wisconsin, and he's threatening to take down Russ Feingold, the most true blue civil libertarian in the Senate. The race is neck and neck.
Even for those who are disillusioned and angry with the Democratic Party, or even apathetic about the outcome generally of the 2010 elections, Russ Feingold is one of the very few candidates whose re-election is genuinely worth caring about. No matter how bad Democrats generally become, Feingold's presence in the Senate provides unique and real value. I spoke with him for 15 minutes late last week about a variety of topics, including Obama's civil liberties record. The discussion can be heard by clicking PLAY on the player below. But before you listen, I'd like to review just some of the reasons for my view that Feingold's re-election is compelling and important, and why I strongly encourage donating to his campaign as part of his "Money Bomb" today -- here -- as he tries, within the confines of his self-imposed campaign finance limits, to defeat an extremist, multi-millionaire, right-wing candidate who will be as radically awful on civil liberties, secrecy and war issues as Feingold is great.
Our founding fathers laid down a basic principle -- that we are a nation of laws and that no one, including the president, is above the law. From Guantanamo Bay and warrantless wiretapping to torture and excessive secrecy, the Bush administration has turned this principle on its head. The Constitution states that it and the laws of the United States are "the supreme Law of the Land." Yet, the current administration has claimed unprecedented powers as it has ignored or willfully misinterpreted the laws on the books.
While Americans’ decisive call for change this election was a clear repudiation of the Bush administration’s conduct, failing to act swiftly to reverse the damage could essentially legitimize that conduct and the extreme legal theories on which it was based. That is why it is critically important for President-elect Obama to unequivocally renounce President Bush’s extreme claims of executive authority.
I don't think we've seen the president unequivocally renounce Bush's claims of executive authority and there is little doubt that he has essentially legitimized much of the Bush administration's conduct. (Hard lessons learned by civil libertarians once again --- they never give back power once its taken.)
Today, Feingold is one of the very, very few senators willing to take to the floor of the Senate and go on the record with the truth about the excesses of the National Security State, no matter which party is in power. It's a role that doesn't earn him a lot of friends among his peers who really seem to believe that it's politically smart and morally sound for America to be a rogue superpower. But it's vitally important for the health of our constitution and the future of our democracy to have Russ Feingold in there reminding his brethren that it isn't.
Feingold's opponent is filthy rich. And he's ready to spend however much it takes to win. In this environment, I think we know just how possible it is for any kind of rightwing nut to win, but one who has unlimited funds is especially formidable.