Russ Feingold was the lone vote against the Patriot Act two years ago. He’s currently soliciting funds, apparently to fend off attacks on this and the rest of his voting record. Now, I don’t live in Wisconsin, and his Patriot Act vote and campaign finance reform bill are all I knew about him, but after doing some reading, he seems like a real stand-up guy. So yeah, I contributed some bucks. Consider doing the same if you think he’s done right.
- Russ Feingold of Wisconsin, Council for a Livable World Candidate Fund
Wisconsin Senator Russ Feingold is a profile in courage who defied the political consensus during the Bush Administration’s rush to war. Feingold was the only United States Senator to vote against the USA Patriot Act after September 11 because he felt that many of the provisions threatened our constitutional civil liberties. Feingold was one of only 23 Senators to vote against authorizing the President to attack Iraq. When the Senate approved a large increase in the military budget in 2002 by a vote of 93 – 1, he was the lone holdout. He was the sole Senator willing to launch a lawsuit to block President Bush’s withdrawal from the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty.
- Russ Feingold: Mr. Good Government
Citizens Against Government Waste, a Washington, D.C.-based watchdog, rates Feingold higher than all other current Democratic senators over a career, except for one – the senior senator from Wisconsin, Herb Kohl.
- ACLU Score Card
- Public Citizen Score Card (hey, they use the same software, Capwiz)
- More from his site: