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Feingold presses president’s actions
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U.S. Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., issued a statement earlier this month calling for the need to hold hearings investigating President George W. Bush's authorization of secret wiretaps.
"I look forward to comprehensive hearings … regarding the President's decision to authorize secret wiretaps of U.S. citizens without a court order," Feingold said in a statement. "If the law was broken, as appears to be the case, then there needs to be accountability."
According to Feingold, the government has been wiretapping the international phone and monitoring e-mail conversations of thousands of U.S. citizens since 2002.
The possible accountability Feingold is calling for could constitute action as extreme as presidential impeachment, some speculate.
While many Democrats express outrage over what they view as an abuse of presidential power, some student Republicans staunchly back the president and his judgment.
"I think [Bush] was acting within the presidential powers," University of Wisconsin College Republicans Chair Jordan Smith said. "The College Republicans are going to support President Bush over Russ Feingold any day."
Since being the only senator to vote against the Patriot Act in 2001, Feingold has made a name for himself by actively opposing Bush.
In the interest of protecting innocent citizens' civil liberties, Feingold led a Senate effort in late December to block the permanent extension of the Patriot Act, requiring the body to take up the act's reauthorization within six months. The U.S. House of Representatives later passed a five-week extension set to sunset Feb. 3.
Feingold, along with a bipartisan group of senators, sent a letter to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Penn., early this month asking for improvements to the Patriot Act reauthorization conference report.
"We still firmly believe that modest but critical changes can and must be made to the conference report to address the needs of law enforcement and protect the civil liberties of law-abiding Americans," Feingold, along with others — including Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., and Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass. — said in the letter.
Though there's no doubt Feingold has been active in the news recently, some Republicans question his motives.
"I think it's pretty clear [Feingold] has presidential aspirations," Smith said. "I feel [he] is running for president, and he's going to play up his maverick stance on practically any issue right now just to get his name out in the news."
Democrats, however, believe Feingold is genuinely working to best represent the interests of Wisconsin citizens, especially UW students.
"I think if there's one person the college Democrats look up to as a hero, it's Russ Feingold," Madison College Democrats Chair Brian Shactman said. "He's kind of the No. 1 guy in [our] view who really seems to be fighting for student interests and values."
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It follows that Republicans would think that Senator Feingold’s actions are politically motivated. I disagree. While Senator Feingold may be considering a presidential run, I believe his first priority as a U.S. senator will always be his constituency. The excuses this administration is making for their illegal actions are ludicrous. We need more representatives in Washington to defend our basic freedoms as well as other interests.
Joseph Homstad La Crosse
Firstly, I can’t understand why this President has any credibility whatsoever as he has been wrong about everything. Only the most rigidly closed minded, staunch, Republican supporters of limited intellect could support this man. Secondly, If Bill Clinton can be impeached for a personal indiscretion, why has this President not been impeached for lying to congress? This President has clearly presented false circumstances whether it be of his own making or of his own naivety. He holds no one in his own administration accountable and not only has he fired no one, he continues to support them unabashedly. Impeachment proceedings must be initiated as this President has clearly broken many laws, however the Republicans obfuscate the clear truth and continues to cloud the issues changing them to shades of gray. If we are going to save this country, impeachment of this President must be initiated.
massive conspiracy must be opposed with massive jail time. maybe the death penalty should be repealed now. just in case.
Of course, even if Feingold was just grandstanding for a future Presidential run, that doesn’t automatically mean he was wrong. Even a stopped clock is right twice a day. When people attack Feingold personally rather than adress the issues he raises, they say more about themselves than Feigold: They are telling us they can’t respond to his arguments because he’s right, they just can’t accept it because they are intellectual cowards.