Political Suicide
Russ Feingold's juvenile antics and idiotic attempts to turn Congress into a flea circus have me mad as hell. Let's do some plain speaking here, shall we?
Russ Feingold wants to be President. Russ Feingold does not have the flash and swagger of many of the Democrats on the Hill, so he needs to set himself apart from the pack. He isn't married to a compulsive liar, however "charming" he may be, so he doesn't have the cache of Hillary. He's not known far and wide for much of anything, except for the McCain-Feingold Campaign Finance Reform. (A free-speech stifling piece of legislation, I personally feel.)
He knows that the Democratic Darling Hillary has pissed off the left wing nuts with her support of the GWOT and Iraq and the troops. He also knows that Hillary is a very polarizing figure on the best of days: you either love her or you hate her, there is no middle ground. So, knowing that Hillary's move to the middle on security might appeal to swing voters, and her consistent bashing of Bush might appeal to some of the wingnuts, he has to find his niche. Seeing as how Cindy Sheehan has momentarily faded from the lime light (don't worry - like a cold sore, she'll be back), a certain vacuum has been left.
Enter Russ Feingold. He has never been particulary supportive of the War, so the wingnuts don't have to worry about any election-year switching of horses of flip-flopping with this senator. But, he lacks the flash, so he needs to make a splash. What do his political consultants direct him to do?
Call for Censure. Play to the base and the crowd by doing a little song and dance with President Bush as your whipping boy. Literally, he has taken a page out of Billy Flynn's play book and is giving them the "old Razzle Dazzle."
Give 'em the old razzle dazzle
Razzle Dazzle 'em
Give 'em an act with lots of flash in it
And the reaction will be passionate
Give 'em the old hocus pocus
Bead and feather 'em
How can they see with sequins in their eyes?
What if your hinges all are rusting?
What if, in fact, you're just disgusting?
Razzle dazzle 'em
And they'll never catch wise!
Case in Point:
...
Feingold, a potential presidential candidate, said on the Senate floor, "The president has violated the law and Congress must respond."
"A formal censure by Congress is an appropriate and responsible first step to assure the public that when the president thinks he can violate the law without consequences, Congress has the will to hold him accountable," Feingold said.
...
It is all just Razzle Dazzle, and do you know how we know this? Because, if Feingold really thought that the President's actions with the NSA Terrorist Wiretapping program was illegal, that the President who is not above the law had broken it, why, I feel certain that impeachment proceedings would have already been initiated. Why? Because impeachment would be even better for the base and the wingnuts. It is so...splashy. Censure is boring, but impeachment is sexy, politically speaking of course. I mean, if we can conduct impeachment proceedings on whether or not a sitting President committed perjury, surely we can play a game of gotcha-grabass over the violation of US Citizen's Constitutionally protected civil liberties!
But Feingold knows that the program is not illegal. He knows that in the bright light of an investigation he would be found to be a moronic whore, lifting his skirt in the red light district in the hopes of being able to give out a few bj's and earn himself a little rent money for the big white house on Pennsylvania Ave. He knows that the act of calling for censure of the President wins him points with the wingnuts, whether his resolution gets voted on or not. He catches the positive attention of the far left, perhaps stimulates a little giving like How-Weird Dean did when everybody thought he was the man to beat, and he figures he's golden.
Nevermind the fact that his very act is dishonest. It is all just tap dance, meant to mystify the lesser informed. I find it very offensive, personally. It isn't so much that he's looking to score political points at somebod else's expense. Hell, politicians have been doing that since the beginning of time. Rather, I am insulted that he apparently thinks that I'm fucking stupid enough to fall for it. I am one of his constituents, and he'll never get my vote. Why? Because he clearly thinks I'm stupid.
Stop dancing, Russ Feingold. I'm not buying your bullshit.
