Russ Feingold

ABC Gushes Over Ben Affleck’s Congressional Testimony
By Jeffrey Meyer | March 2, 2014 | 11:56 AM EST

Ben Affleck, an actor who himself admitted that he was “not a Congo expert” was given star treatment on Sunday’s This Week w/ George Stephanopoulos. Earlier this week, the liberal actor testified before Congress on the war-torn nation of Congo, and the folks at ABC couldn’t have been happier to obtain an exclusive interview with him.  

Host George Stephanopoulos cheered how “Ben Affleck scored some bipartisan praise on Capitol Hill this week...The Oscar winner’s traveled there nine times for his Eastern Congo initiative. And as he told Martha Raddatz, that mission has changed his life.”

AP's Beaumont Gives Away His Viewpoint in Writing About Feingold's 2010 Election Loss
By Tom Blumer | June 3, 2012 | 11:05 PM EDT

The headline at Thomas Beaumont's Sunday item about the possible significance of the Scott Walker recall election in Wisconsin is "Few November clues to be found in Wisconsin recall."

Maybe, but I have a definite clue as to Beaumont's political proclivities, something which I shouldn't be able to glean from a wire service report, thanks to the paragraph which follows the jump. Let's see if readers can pick up that clue:

NYT's Carl Hulse Indulges Russ Feingold's Preening Liberal Melodrama
By Clay Waters | February 21, 2012 | 3:14 PM EST

New York Times congressional reporter Carl Hulse’s “Congressional Memo” Tuesday was a late valentine to former Wisconsin senator and preening liberal hero Russ Feingold, “In New Book, Ex-Senator Says Fear Clouded Judgment After 9-11.”

Hulse, who has a history of promoting Democrats while dismissing Republicans, portrayed Feingold as a brave maverick trying to thwart a rising tide of fear.

CBS Gives Platform to Russ Feingold to Bash Herman Cain As 'Un-American' For Criticizing 'Occupy Wall Street'
By Matthew Balan | October 10, 2011 | 6:27 PM EDT

CBS sided with supporters of the "Occupy Wall Street" protests on Monday's Early Show, bringing on former Democratic Senator Russ Feingold to boost the left-leaning demonstrations, with no Republican and/or conservative critics appearing as guests during the program. Feingold slammed Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain as "un-American" for his critique of the protests.

Near the end of her interview of the Wisconsin politician, anchor Erica Hill raised Cain's attack on the continuing anti-corporate rallies: "Republican candidate Herman Cain, weighing in over the weekend. He said that, basically, it's un-American to protest capitalism. Businesses have to make money, and if they can do a better job making money oversea- it's an unfortunate reality for many Americans- but they're concerned about their bottom line. Can there be some sort of common ground here?"

ABC Hypes Michelle Obama's 'Star Power' in Wisconsin, Skips Any Mention of GOP Challenger
By Scott Whitlock | October 14, 2010 | 4:27 PM EDT

According to Good Morning America's Sharyn Alfonsi, the White House is hoping the "star power" of Michelle Obama will be enough for the Democrats to beat the Republican senatorial challenger in Wisconsin. Of course, Alfonsi on Thursday failed to even mention the name of Ron Johnson, the man who currently holds a seven point lead over incumbent Russ Feingold.

Co-host George Stephanopoulos offered banal assertions such as "Her pitch is more personal than partisan. White House officials tell me she's having a good time out on the campaign trail."

MSNBC's Luke Russert Hypes Russ Feingold as a 'Fiscal Conservative,' Hits Angle for 'Absurd Comments'
By Scott Whitlock | September 28, 2010 | 5:12 PM EDT

MSNBC reporter Luke Russert on Tuesday lauded Democratic Senator Russ Feingold as a "fiscal conservative." During the same segment, he knocked Republican Sharron Angle for making "outlandish, absurd comments."

Russert asserted that Feingold is known for "independence during his Senate career, having a lot of moral victories" and for "being fiscally conservative." [MP3 audio here.] 

The National Taxpayers Union disagrees, awarding the Wisconsin politician three Ds and two Fs over the last five years. The American Conservative Union gave Feingold a lifetime score of 12.

Feingold On His Tough Re-Election Race: I Blame George Bush!
By Mark Finkelstein | September 2, 2010 | 8:58 PM EDT
A recurring rubric at James Taranto's Best of the Web Today column at the Wall Street Journal online is "We Blame George W. Bush," for tongue-in-cheek blaming of the former prez for things palpably beyond his purview. Let's add another item to the list.  Dem senator Russ Feingold has blamed his tough re-election race on, yes, W.

Let's think about that. If Bush were such a bad president.  If his policies were so disastrous for the country. Wouldn't that boost the chances of an incumbent Dem senator who, like Feingold, had voted against Bush policies every step of the way?

Hey, I don't try to understand Dem reasoning: I just report it.  Feingold made his logic-defying allegation on this evening's Ed Show.
AP Soft-pedals McCain-Feingold's Effect on Campaigns, Free Speech
By Ken Shepherd | January 28, 2008 | 12:16 PM EST

Covering the escalating battle between Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) and former Gov. Mitt Romney (Mass.) for Florida's Republican convention delegates, AP's Glen Johnson offered a tepid description of the defining and definitely liberal magnum opus of the former's legislative career, the McCain-Feingold bill --formally titled the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (BCRA) of 2002 (emphasis mine):

Romney struck first on the day before the winner-take-all Florida primary. He attacked the Arizona senator for his legislation reducing the role of money in politics, for his position on immigration and for his support of an energy bill that Romney said would have driven up consumer costs.

Funny, seems to me political campaigns are flush with cash and that campaign finance has grown, not shrunk, since 2002. What McCain's bill did do, however, was to enact a ban on so-called soft money, as well as institute bans on third-party issue ads airing 60 days prior to a general election. The issue ad ban was overturned in a 2007 Supreme Court ruling, despite McCain's wishes to the contrary:

Ethics Bill Passes Senate, Do-Nothing Congress Lives Up To Its Name
By Noel Sheppard | August 2, 2007 | 6:21 PM EDT

If the Ethics Bill just approved by Congress had passed this time last year, a media hell-bent on giving Democrats control of that governmental branch would have lambasted the legislation as an election year stunt by Republicans desperately trying to distance themselves from their own culture of corruption.

Yet, twelve months later, with Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nevada) and Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-California) at the helm, it seems a metaphysical certitude Katie, Charlie, and Brian will hail this bill's passage as a crowning achievement of Democrats that vowed to clean up Washington.

In fact, you can already see the self-congratulations in the Associated Press article written shortly after the votes were counted (emphasis added throughout):