Q&A: Russ Feingold

[October 8th, 2008]
Once considered a likely Democratic presidential candidate, U.S. Sen. Russ Feingold is instead campaigning to send Sen. Barack Obama to the White House. And that’s just where Feingold says he wants to be.

Not up for re-election in his home state until 2010, the 55-year-old Wisconsin Democrat is also taking time this week to campaign in Oregon for Democrat Jeff Merkley, who’s running against two-term incumbent Sen. Gordon Smith (R-Ore.).

Before touching down in Portland on Monday, Oct. 13, for a whirlwind tour of the Willamette Valley with Merkley, Feingold talked with WW about his disagreements with Obama over the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which granted immunity to telecommunications companies participating in Bush’s eavesdropping program, and his disappointments with Smith. He also talked about how being forever associated with Sen. John McCain as a result of their pioneering campaign finance reform law is nothing like having the name of an ex-girlfriend tattooed on your biceps. So Feingold says, anyway.

WW: You’re a twice-divorced Jewish man from one of the most liberal states in America. So why aren’t you running for president?
Russ Feingold: [Laughs] Well, it’s because I didn’t want to run for president. I like being a senator from Wisconsin. And I’m very glad that other people, particularly Sen. Barack Obama, stepped up to the plate.

You were one of Obama’s early supporters. You’re also a strong advocate for civil liberties. Did it sting a little when Obama voted in July for the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act?
I really was concerned, and I continued to be concerned about the FISA bill. But there’s a choice here between two people for president, one of whom I think will really help us fix the FISA bill and one who won’t. I think President Obama will understand the need to change some of these things that intrude into the privacy of Americans.

Your name will be forever associated with McCain’s because of the groundbreaking McCain-Feingold campaign finance rules. These days, does that association feel a bit like having the name of an ex-girlfriend tattooed on your biceps?
[Laughs] Not at all! I’m very proud of the McCain-Feingold law. It was probably one of the most important bipartisan bills of the last 30 years, and it did exactly what it was supposed to do: eliminate these huge, unlimited contributions being raised by members of Congress. So I’m proud of that. But I’m also proud of being the co-author of Barack Obama’s major piece of legislation, the lobbying and ethics law.… The McCain-Feingold bill was just a first step. There are many other steps that have to be taken. First and foremost is, we have to reform the public-financing system for the presidential elections, which has worked in the past.

Obama opted out of public financing for the general election, saying on June 19: “The public financing of presidential elections as it exists today is broken.” In press accounts on the topic, you gave Obama a pass. Why?
That is untrue. I did not give him a pass. I probably stated in a gentle way that I was disappointed. And I was disappointed. This was the first time a presidential candidate had done that. But I know Sen. Obama believes this system should be fixed, and he’s going to help me do it. I was clear that I thought that [Obama’s decision] was the wrong decision.

Without employing any slogans or Democratic talking points, can you give me one good reason why Gordon Smith shouldn’t return to the Senate for a third term?
Gordon Smith really isn’t an ally for progressive causes. Occasionally, he’ll throw us a good vote. But even when he realized the Iraq war was basically morally bankrupt and said so on the floor of the Senate, he continued to vote against the legislation that would have brought our troops home. He doesn’t live up to these allegedly heartfelt statements that he makes. He just keeps voting to keep this travesty going.

After that famous change of heart in December 2006, did Smith ever seek your advice on ending the war, seeing as how you are one of the antiwar leaders in the Senate?
I think we may have talked a little. I remember seeing him give that statement [on the floor of the Senate], and I was momentarily impressed that Gordon Smith really was going to try to make up for the terrible mistake he made voting for the war. But when it came to what really counts, which is voting, he didn’t do that. And that is the worst of all worlds—saying you’re deeply concerned, but when you have a chance to do something, you don’t.