United States Senator Russ Feingold's Address To the Wisconsin State Democratic Convention

Appleton, June 12, 2004

Thank you. Thank you everybody. Thank you Linda (Honold, Chair of the State Democratic Party) for your wonderful work and thank you for understanding the need to shift the speech from Friday to today. I appreciate that consideration. I was honored to represent the state of Wisconsin at Ronald Reagan's funeral yesterday and very much grateful that you made that possible. Thank you to the State Democratic Party, thank you to the wonderful Outagamie Democratic Party that has done such a great job in this convention and such a terrific job.

Thanks to the city of Appleton. My wife Mary and I, Mary is here today, we want to thank everybody, all of our supporters for the great work you have done in getting our campaign going real early. We've got ten headquarters around the state, fully staffed, with tons of volunteers. You turned out in droves for the announcement tour, we had great fun with all of you. You are out there dropping our literature, which is a huge help. In fact, I'm told we had 469 people dropping literature a couple of Saturdays ago. Thank you so much for the help.

I just want to share one story with you first from the literature drop. There is a lady who I want to thank, Liz Kastner up in Door County, thank you Liz, she has a son named Simon, and this is what I was told, she set up our lit drop. She was out dropping literature and Simon is five, okay, Simon had a couple of comments. Simon said, "Mom how much are we paid to do this?" Mom said, "Nothing, we do it because we live in a democracy, just like it is at home, everybody needs to pitch in."

Now later, at the end of two and one-half hours of walking up a hill, Simon said, "What's this job called?" Pointing to a photo of me on the literature, mom said, "He is a U.S. Senator." After a moment to mull this over, reaching the crest of the hill Simon said, "Mama, I don't want to be a senator, it is a dirty job and your legs get real, real tired and they don't pay you any money." That is what Simon said. Well Simon, let me tell ya, it can be tough. But it is a great job, and I love it and I thank you all so much for letting me have this opportunity.

But as much as I love my work and I thank you for it, all of this activity in our campaign is not just about my re-election. It's about all the Democratic races; it's about all the great people I met last night. The incumbents and those of you who are running for us, it's about getting the State Senate, State Assembly back, and that can happen this year. It's about our wonderful members of Congress we have, and the ones that we are going to elect as Democrats in the fall. It's about all those great people, but it's especially about something else. To paraphrase my friend and colleague Joe Lieberman, "Do we need a new president, or what?"

We always say this is the most important election of our lifetime. We say that every election. This time it's really true, okay. It's the real thing. Let's be honest, the year 2000 election was a tough pill to swallow, and some very bad things have happened because of the way it turned out. And then, let's face it, in 2002 many of us were upset with the lack of backbone in our own party. Let's be honest about it, we're Democrats we can be honest. We were upset the Democrats didn't stand up to George Bush.

But you know what you did? You took your disappointment, and your anger, and you turned it into an exciting nomination for our party's nominee. Especially in the Wisconsin primary, that wonderful Jefferson-Jackson event. You did it. You all did it, you made us proud as a nation, as a state, in front of the whole country. And you set the stage, you set the stage for the successful nomination of my friend and colleague John Kerry.

And yes it is time now, it is time now to get out there to talk to your friends and neighbors about John Kerry. Ask them questions. Who do you think will do a better job of protecting our environment? An administration that has taken every opportunity to gut our protection of clean water? Or John Kerry who has probably the best lifetime pro-environment record of any member of the United States Senate? Ask them who they think will do a better job.

Ask your friends and neighbors who do they think will do a better job at getting us independence from foreign oil and a real energy policy. Two former oil executives? Or a guy who I have seen stand on the floor of the Senate and stand up to the oil companies every time. It's John Kerry, John Kerry is the answer to that question.

Ask them who has the common sense to know that No Child Left Behind has not worked and that it must be changed. Is it the party that has Rod Paige call the NEA "terrorists" and who comes to Wisconsin and says that's it's funded? No it's not. John Kerry knows that's not true. John Kerry has said he will fix it. Republicans will say he flip-flopped; that's not a flip-flop. That's maturity. That's saying look it's a mistake we've got to fix it. I'm gonna get elected, I'm gonna do something about it. Only John Kerry will fix No Child Left Behind. George Bush will not.

And who do you think will appoint judges who will protect a woman's right to choose, and maintain the separation of church and state. You know, the right-wingers in the country aren't happy that seven out of the nine Judges were appointed by Republicans. They are mad about what that court is doing, can you imagine what they would really like to do? They are upset with this court. Well, John Kerry will appoint the best people to be judges, and they will be people who will live up to their oath to protect the Constitution.

And yes, perhaps most importantly, ask your friends, "Who do you think is more ready to be president in relation to the rest of the world?" I have sat next to John Kerry for twelve years on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee as far away as I am from Linda. And one thing that would be great if he got elected is that I would get to ask my questions earlier. I move up in seniority, that's a nice thing. But in all dead seriousness, I have heard John Kerry speak without any notes, without any preparation, intelligently and effectively about every single situation in the world. He is ready to be president. Let's put him in there. He is ready to be President of the United States.

And of course remind people that John Kerry really is the candidate who earned three Purple Hearts for our nation in Vietnam. But he doesn't just rest on that laurel. When it came time to challenge this administration's attack on veterans, when the VA put out a notice saying no money shall be expended to tell our veterans about their healthcare benefits, the first senator to challenge that on the floor of the Senate was John Kerry. Tell your friends that, they need to know that, our veterans need to know that he really does stand up for the veterans of this country.

And finally, we all know this, I'm sure it has been said many times during the convention. It's up to us here in Wisconsin, John can't do it if we don't win Wisconsin. Wisconsin was the closest state for Gore percentage-wise of any state in the country. He will not be president, if we don't do our job. If we do I'm confident he will be. It's up to us here in Wisconsin, let's get out and get the votes, let's get every one of them, every single one of them!

Now, Mary and I are planning on spending our 14th wedding anniversary with John Kerry and all of you in Washington D.C. on January 20th, 2005, when John Kerry is sworn in as the next President of the United States. But I don't want John Kerry looking out on a Republican majority in the Senate and the House. I want him to see a strong Democratic majority in the United States Senate. And we can really do that, we are ahead in the polls; if we keep this up we will have the majority in the United States Senate.

But to do so, I have to get re-elected, okay. It's part of the plan, it's got to get done. And in order to do that, the number one ingredient is to continue the outpouring of support we're getting from you and so many Wisconsin citizens. In fact, I've got to tell you, I have been getting some support from some surprising places in the last few years. Some just very interesting comments from some people you wouldn't expect.

Let me just share one nice communication that I got: "… I think Russ Feingold is doing a fine job as a senator. He's interested, he's out talking to people, he's getting input … You can tell he wants the job to do something; he has an agenda he's trying to accomplish, to make the world a better place…" You know it is very touching to have a person say that, and who do you think said that? State Senator Bob Welch said that about me. Thank you Bob. Thank you Bob.

You know another thing that's enormously helpful is when people talk about the issues I have been strong on for a long time and realize I might have been right about it. There is a guy out there running ads about my issues. He says that we should import prescription drugs from Canada - that's how I voted. He says that we have got to crack down on corporate crime. You better believe that I have been involved in that. He says - as my friends in organized labor have always said - that we need fair trade, not free trade. And all I can do is say, who do you think said that? Close but no cigar. Construction executive Tim Michels is running those ads agreeing with my positions, that is who's taken those positions.

Finally, I want to share a third measure of surprising support. You know you've given me these wonderful campaign contributions, five dollars, ten dollars, you give me what you can. We get the majority of our campaign contributions from Wisconsin citizens, the average contribution is about fifty dollars, but sometimes we get a little bigger check. Who do you think gave me those big checks? Russ Darrow, Russ Darrow, Russ Darrow! I want to take this public opportunity to thank all three of these men for their expressions of support for me. I'm so delighted, thank you! Thank you Bob, thank you Tim, thank you Russ. With help like that, how could I not seek another term as your US Senator?

My friends, you bet I'm renewing my original garage door pledges from 1992. The story of our statewide work together in a way began with that contract. But the best of this story is the pledge I've made, and that I've kept, to embark on the wonderful journey of listening to you ever year in every county. 72 listening sessions a year for 12 years, we've done over 850 of them. And as I ask you to help me, I want to talk about how listening has led to effective action for Wisconsin, how this unique approach to this job will continue to respond to Wisconsin's needs and values, and how listening causes me to stand up for Wisconsin with the confidence that I continue to think and act like the Wisconsinite I've been so proud to be for 51 years.

First, first of course, even on the 1992 campaign trail and for many years after that, you demanded a tough Wisconsin attitude about wasteful spending, mounting deficits, and fiscal responsibility. You said we've got to get the federal deficit under control. You asked, "Why do we have to steal from social security? Why can't the federal government live by the same rules that families and businesses have to live by? How can we leave such a debt and burden of deficits to our children and grandchildren?" Friends, I've responded. After over 11 years of hard work I'm known on both sides of the aisle as one of the true, undisputed deficit hawks working in Washington to deal with this issue. We worked in the 1990s on a bipartisan basis to get rid of the deficit, completely, and we did. There was a significant surplus in this country when George Bush took over in 2000.

Unfortunately though, the Bush Administration doesn't get it. Over my strong objections, they put huge tax cuts and unwise spending ahead of fiscal responsibility and now we have by far the largest deficit in American history. My opponents all endorse this terrible approach to our budget and our economy, and would only help continue to deepen the deficit, increase the debt, and use social security over and over again to pay our bills. In contrast, I've been leading the fight in Congress to put a Wisconsin principle back in place: that you should have to pay for something when you do it. Of course spending, but also tax cuts - you should have to pay for it. In fact, in DC they call it the "pay-go" rule or the pay-as-you-go rule. It worked in the 1990s and we need to get that rule back in place, because we know what huge deficits do to our local economy, and ultimately, to our kids' future. I will stand up to those deficits and waste every day, until we get the budget back in balance again.

My friends, another demand, or really a plea I've heard from Wisconsinites all throughout the state was clear throughout my two terms: they wanted campaign finance reform. Of course I'm somewhat associated with this issue on the national level, it was probably the best-known bipartisan bill of the last twenty years. My friend the Senator from Arizona likes to tease me that people think my first name is really McCain. But the real story is that throughout the 8 year battle, when all the DC insiders said that it would never pass, that the President would never sign it, that the Supreme Court would strike it down, it was the people of Wisconsin who kept me going, saying over and over again, "Don't give up in the fight against those special interests, stay at it, stay at it until you get it done," is what you all told me.

Not only was it one of the top issues in all my listening sessions, but this is what I remember: whenever I'd go to a Badger game or a Packer game or a Brewer game and shake hands out in front, there'd always be a number of Republicans who would come up to me, and they'd go, "I never voted for you, and I don't agree with you on a lot of issues, but whatever you do, keep going on campaign finance reform." We heard it from everybody in this state.

And this is why the people of Wisconsin know that the growth of unlimited soft money contributions, hundred thousand, five-hundred thousand, million dollar contributions are one of the main reasons we haven't made progress on some critical issues in this country. It's of the main reasons we haven't gotten independence from foreign oil. It really is the ability to give those big checks. It's one of the main reasons that we haven't had real movement toward universal health care for all Americans. You better believe it's one of the main reasons those lousy unfair trade agreements passed; that money was one of the main reasons for those poor bills passing that hurt Wisconsin jobs.

And I had a chance to respond to my constituents and tell them the sad truth. Everybody had heard about the Lincoln bedroom and the White House coffees and all that ugly stuff, but I had to tell them what I had witnessed, being in the well of the Senate, hearing one Senator bragging to another, "Hey, I just scored a $500,000 contribution," on the way over to a vote. In other words, with one hand, they were dialing for dollars across the street, a few minutes later with the other hand they're voting "aye" for the special interests. This is intolerable in this country, we cannot have such a system, and now through our work together, and my response of standing up with John McCain to this legalized corruption, that same conduct is a federal crime. And I'm extremely proud of that, it's a federal crime now to do that. Of course I will continue to stand up for even further reform; I believe in the public financing of all campaigns, that's what we should be doing.

But what is truly exciting today about our success on this issue is that the ban on party soft money is the platform that sets the stage to respond to the two leading concerns that I've heard from Wisconsin citizens in recent years: jobs and health care. On jobs, of course, I voted against all those unfair trade agreements, I voted against NAFTA, I voted against GATT, I voted against Most Favored Nation for China, I voted against Fast Track, I voted against every single one of them. Some tried to argue that this was anti-business, but you had told me at our town meetings that standing up to bad trade agreements was pro-farmer and pro-Wisconsin jobs. Especially in the last two years, this concern has reached a fever pitch.

I remember in Washington County, a manufacturer coming to my listening session saying that he was a Republican, never voted for me, the same litany, but he said, "All our jobs and our companies are being shipped over to China!" He said, "What he need is fair trade not free trade." Where have we heard that before? From all of you, from my friends in organized labor and the unions and others, you had it right in the first place.

Even more memorable, was when I tried to do my listening session in Suring, Wisconsin in Oconto County. I pulled up to the door of the listening session, the Village President grabbed me by the arm and threw me in the car, in his van with a cop, and he drove away, and my staff was a little concerned. But all he wanted to do was drive me to the other side of town and show me the ghost-town look of what had been the Evenflo Plant where they shipped all the jobs to Mexico for $2.50 an hour. That's all he wanted to show me.

We've lost 80,000 manufacturing jobs in Wisconsin since 2000. How did this happen? Well again, when both parties are on the take, receiving huge, unlimited soft money contributions from corporations, and then we go and vote on trade agreements supported by companies that want to pay people twenty-seven cents an hour in China, its going to happen every time.

My friends I've been standing up to these bad policies for over 11 years, not only by voting "no" on the trade agreements, not only by banning those huge contributions that buy them, but also by taking the lead on trying to pass legislation to strengthen our "Buy American" law, that requires the federal government to buy American products when it can. By introducing legislation in the Senate that would require all future trade agreements to have minimum standards to protect our workers here but also the workers and the environments in the countries that we want to trade with. By supporting, with some success, legislation that would take away tax breaks for those who would move the jobs overseas and give those breaks to those who promise to keep the jobs right here in Wisconsin, right here in America.

My opponents will not do this, they will not stand up to the President when he demands more of the same. In fact, one of my opponents, a state senator, proudly proclaimed in 1993, quote: "NAFTA is good for Wisconsin and good for America." Ten years later he's still touting his support for NAFTA before certain audiences and yet he claims he wants to save Wisconsin jobs. My friends, when I am re-elected, and every day until I am re-elected, I will continue to stand up for Wisconsin jobs and the families that they support.

And yet, as intense as the concern about job loss has become over the course of twelve years, the concern most mentioned at the listening sessions has been health care and the costs of health care. Thousands of individuals have come to my town meetings to talk about lack of coverage, being underinsured, the need for prescription drug coverage, the need for mental health parity, the need for home and community based long-term care and many other related issues.

But what has become even more alarming is the number of businesspeople, small business people who come to the meetings all the way from Eagle River and Richland Center to say: "My insurance has gone up 25% on top of 15% last year on top of 35% the year before. I can't cover my employees anymore, and they're like family to me. I don't know if I can even stay in business." I hear this everywhere, all over the state. And yes it's true in 1994 that's not what they were saying, 1994 businesspeople would say: "Russ, whatever you do keep the government out of health care." Well, they're not coming and saying: "Russ, please put the government into health care." That doesn't really trip off the tongue of businesspeople. But they know what I do, and they know who they're talking to and they're asking for help. They're asking for us to really do something.

Sadly, President Bush is hopelessly out of touch with America on this. He ruled out, in the State of the Union, our serious participation in trying to solve this problem. And equally sad is that all of my opponents endorse the President's outdated view of the need for fundamental health care reform. Together, if we keep them in office, they would block health care coverage for all Americans for at least another decade. A tax credit here, and a medical savings account there for the chosen few, will leave too many Americans without their right to affordable health care. I've already been one of the key leaders in Congress on a number of health care related issues from trying to save these wonderful home health care agencies to providing dental care for our kids. But now, now the time is right to return to the fundamental goal of providing health care for all Americans as something that each and every American can actually count on every single day of their lives.

Yes it's going to cost some money, but if we don't do it, it will cost more. So now is the time, with ten of millions of Americans uninsured or underinsured, with much of the business community and the health care community clamoring for change, and with those unlimited contributions by insurance companies being prohibited, now is the time to force Congress to act.

So I have offered a proposal, my proposal would be a recognition that we need an American-style health care system for all Americans. It's not unlike what you've heard people like my friend the late Paul Wellstone talking about, or Tammy Baldwin. But even the Heritage Foundation is looking at this idea. It's an approach I find is especially attractive and lets individual states decide how they want to achieve universal coverage, but the federal government would provide states with financial help, technical assistance and oversight needed to provide all residents with health care coverage at least as good as under what is called the Federal Employee Health Benefit Plan. In other words, what I get, what every member of Congress gets, that's what every American should be guaranteed on a plan like this.

You know, there are lots of other good ideas out there - that's not the problem - the problem is that Congress and the White House refuse to take this issue up despite the outcry from businesses and health care providers and everybody else. Washington refuses to address the problem in a comprehensive way. That's why I will soon introduce legislation that forces Congress to take this up, kind of like the Base Closing Commission that forces us to deal with an issue, my bill will require the majority and minority leaders in the Senate as well as the chairs of the Health Committee and Finance Committee to introduce legislation right away, as the next session begins on a tight timeline, so we have to take it up and we have to debate it and the House will have to do the same thing.

Let me emphasize, my bill does not prejudge what health care reform measures should be debated, but it does require Congress to act. It has been ten years since we've had any debate on comprehensive health care reform. We cannot afford any further delay. Yes this will be a very tough battle, but so was getting rid of the deficit the first time, so was banning soft money. I'll tell you what, I'm actually really looking forward to this battle, because I know the people in this state, the people of this country, desperately want their government to respond and do the job on something that is fundamental to every single one of us. I will work every day toward this goal, I will stand up for fundamental reform of our health care system on behalf of all Wisconsin and American families.

Having said all of this, let there finally be no mistake. I believe that since September 11, 2001, our top priority as a nation is to fight the terrorist network that attacked us, and to get it right both internationally, and getting it right here at home. I strongly supported, and do support the attack on al-Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan. I want to see them crushed. If there's somebody trying to kill me and my kids or you and your kids, we'd better act with true resolve. We must stand up to them. In fact, I voted against the Iraq invasion because I felt it would detract from the fight against terrorism - and it has. That's exactly what it's done.

But no one has worked harder in Congress to support our troops, with flak jackets, making sure the Humvees are adequately protected, and all the things that are needed. But I believe in supporting the troops not only when they are overseas, but also when they come home. That's what "supporting the troops" really means, it's a lifetime job all the way through.

My friends, I will also continue to insist on careful scrutiny of administration policies that needlessly threaten American lives and American freedoms. As a member of the Judiciary Committee, I was the only Senator to seek to amend the USA PATRIOT Act, and ultimately the only Senator to vote against the USA PATRIOT Act. Do you know what I did? I've given Harvey Stower (Mayor, City of Amery) credit for teaching me this, I read the bill. I read the bill, and when I read it I found out that I was in agreement with of all people, conservative columnist Bob Novak who said, "Russ Feingold is right. Much of this was an old wish list of the government, and they used the opportunity to do it."

We must keep our eye on the ball when the Administration fails to do so, when it seeks unreasonable powers over law-abiding Americans. My opponents wrap themselves in the flag, and ignore the very real dangers that parts of the hastily passed USA PATRIOT Act present to the privacy and the freedoms of people who have done absolutely nothing wrong.

In fact, let me conclude today by citing my opponents' relentless criticism of me: that I don't always vote with President Bush. You don't say? You don't say, I kind of like that criticism. They all offer Wisconsin a timid adherence to the Bush White House even if it's making serious mistakes, which it has. So I guess the election is going to come down to this: does Wisconsin want to send another "yes man" to Washington for President Bush? Or does Wisconsin want to send a Senator that will continue to ask the tough questions?

That's the choice my friends, that's the choice for Wisconsin in this race. I believe on November 2nd the people of this state will choose someone who will continue to listen, who will ask the tough questions, who will stand up to the terrorist network, who will stand up for American freedoms, who will stand up for clean water and our environment, who will stand against "No Child Left Behind" and for public education, who will stand up for fiscal responsibility, who will stand up for American jobs, and who will stand up for health care for every single person in the United States of America. Thanks so much.

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