Lindsay over at MajikThise took an opportunity to post her stump for Russ Feingold. Feingold is one of the possible prospects for the 2008 Democratic nomination. I think he'd make a decent choice based on what we see and hear. The problem though is don't believe anything you hear and only half of what you see.

She made some good points with his strong record in civil liberities, abortion, gay rights and other areas. He's also the only Senator to vote against the Patriot Act in all its forms. I guess the thing to wonder is if he would get the Thomas Jefferson syndrome. What I mean by that is how will he change in office when presented with certain sets of circumstances if he were elected?

The case I point to with Jefferson is the Louisiana Purchase. It was the right thing to do hindsight but he really questioned whether he, as president, could authorize the purchase. I have a lot of respect for Jefferson but often did things after the wonder of the Declaration of Independence as a chief executive some might call into question. I think Feingold would run into the same problem.

For example, the very nature of the NSA is to spy on communications and they're quite good at it. I for one don't believe the wiretapping thing didn't go on before the current administration got there. FISA was passed during Carter's administration by a Democratic congress. I would be willing to bet money George H.W. Bush, as head of the CIA authorized those types of things without anyone's knowledge. I'd also say he did it agains as vice president and later as president. My bet is it went on in the Clinton administration too. In all of it, the executives I'm sure had plausible deniability. The difference now is that people like Dick Cheney don't give a shit about plausible deniability. I wonder what would happen when Feingold were presented with such a choice. Would he stop the program? I tend to doubt it. He'd be reducing his own power and it's quite rare indeed for an executive to intentionally give up some of his own power. It goes against their instincts.

I'd vote for Feingold if he ran I think but I don't think he could completely escape the corrupting influence of power. Very few have.

Technorati Tags: Russ Feingold, Bill Clinton, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan George Bush, Dick Cheney, Patriot Act, Abortion

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Do you think Feingold would do better than Kerry and Gore did in Kentucky?

I think his style and midwest upbringing connects well with rural voters. It would take a lot for a Democrat to win, but do you think Feingold could win over some votes in Kentucky?
 

Honestly, I don't think so. While he does have the midwest roots, he's extremely liberal. Kentucky is one of the few places Bush is polling pretty well and the Republicans are still fairly strong here. Even if Democrats do well in thi years elections for Congress, our Senators are still going to be Republican. The fact he's Jewish may also detract. He'd easily be portrayed as a liberal who doesn't believe in Jesus. If he's pro-choice, which I believe he is, that won't play well either. I'd vote for him in a heartbeat. The only thing that might work is to appeal to "gubment's listening in and get into our business" but even that would be tough.