What They’re Saying
"U.S. Sen. Russ Feingold has returned $270,000 to the federal treasury, money that was part of his office budget. That brings his total to more than $3 million in office savings since Wisconsin's junior senator took office. Feingold also has consistently turned down automatic mid-term pay raises totaling more than $70,000.
Feingold made deficit spending a focal point of the 1992 campaign that started his Senate career, and he continues to take matters of fiscal sustainability seriously: Last month he proposed a package that would take a half billion out of projected deficits over the next 10 years. And his Control Spending Now Act would ask the rest of Congress to find the same savings his office has routinely managed."
- La Crosse Tribune, November 6, 2009
“…[T]he Senate should listen to Wisconsin’s Russ Feingold and amend the Patriot Act to rein in the authority of government agents to snoop through citizens’ medical, library and business records, to break into homes and to use gag orders to keep such activities secret.”
- Wisconsin State Journal, February 19, 2006
“U.S. Senator Russ Feingold deserves credit for launching an initiative designed to boost research funding for small businesses and fuel economic and work force development in Wisconsin. The initiative will include legislation to boost small business innovation and support job growth in the emerging energy sector.”
- The Milwaukee Business Journal, September 5, 2008
“Feingold’s plan might be the treatment we need.”
- Janesville Gazette, July 27, 2008, on Russ’s State Based Health Care Reform Act
“…Congress should follow Feingold’s lead on upholding pay-as-you-go standards.”
- Wisconsin State Journal, September 16, 2008
“…[T]here are times when we would want someone with the courage to buck all the trends.”
- La Crosse Tribune, September 18, 2008, on Russ’s vote against the invasion of Iraq.
“Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wis.) was right in 2001 when he was the lone senator to vote against the USA Patriot Act.”
- Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, February 18, 2006
“…Feingold has a long history of pushing for reform in the Senate.”
- Roll Call, December 15, 2008
“He showed a willingness to stand up for the rule of law and for the American people.”
- The Monroe Times, July 10, 2008
“Wisconsin Sen. Russ Feingold, ridiculed for being the one vote in a 99-1 decision, now seems prescient with his reservation about whether Congress should have been more cautious about writing and passing The USA Patriot Act.”
- Green Bay Press Gazette, January 14, 2009
“Because Feingold is right. This country’s war is with al Qaida, its outlaw network around the world and state sponsors of terrorism. That war is not being prosecuted with the vigor and relentlessness it deserves, because U.S. boots are stuck in the Iraqi sands.”
- Beloit Daily News, September 13, 2007
“…[I]f you’re looking for serious budgeters, Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wis.) ought to qualify.”
- Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, March 15, 2004
“Feingold has distinguished himself nationally by working hard to impose fiscal controls.”
- Wisconsin State Journal, March 22, 2006
“We’ve come to rely upon Sen. Russ Feingold’s appreciation for the fact that government is run for the people.”
- Wausau Daily Herald, September 30, 2006
"...Feingold has at times shown a willingness to buck the political party line. A longtime advocate of campaign finance reform, he criticized Obama for opting out of public funding in the presidential campaign."
- Wausau Daily Herald, 12/04/08
"Democrats and Republicans alike have to appreciate Feingold's down-to-earth characteristics and charisma. He's a man who'll listen to both sides and could certainly be an individual I'd like to take along to the bar sometime for a few drinks and quality discussion. Wisconsin should be very proud to have a decent man representing us in the US Senate."
- Greg Kowalski, Milwaukee Metro Today 8/03/08
"Feingold could easily have parlayed the enthusiasm for his positions into an uphill but surely credible campaign for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination. Instead, he recognized what he could do as the chairman of key Senate subcommittees dealing with the Constitution and Africa and determined that, as an active member of the powerful Budget, Intelligence, Foreign Relations and Judiciary committees, he could start undoing the damage done by the Bush administration immediately as a senator rather than spending a year or more playing presidential politics.
It is telling that, on the day that he bowed out of the presidential sweepstakes, Feingold was in Racine for his 1,000th listening session. Even as he has become a significant player in the politics of the nation, the senator remains deeply rooted in the state that shaped his progressive values. Indeed, a big part of what made Feingold the most valuable player of 2006 was the fact that he is more Wisconsin than Washington.
Wisconsin benefits from Feingold's connection to this state. But the connection also benefits the senator. He is an increasingly essential actor on the national and global stages precisely because he is a Wisconsin progressive -- and, as has ever been the case, it is Wisconsin progressivism that points this country toward the better angels of its nature."
- John Nichols, The Capital Times 12/31/06
"Few politicians in the history of the American democratic experiment have been involved in ongoing conversations with so many of their constituents as Feingold. Those conversations do more than just inform him. They give him a feeling for his state and its voters allowing Feingold to be the boldest member of the Senate."
- Editorial, Capital Times 4/28/07
"In 2001, Feingold was the only senator to vote against the USA Patriot Act, a law enacted in the immediate aftermath of the terror attacks of 9-11. The law bears the marks of hasty draftsmanship. But it was passed in an atmosphere of unprecedented fear and rage, and voting against it took both insight and courage.
Feingold's maverick tendencies, we believe, are popular in a state that often rewards independent thinkers."
- Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, October 29, 2004
"Wisconsin Sen. Russ Feingold is a politician in the tradition of progressives like former Wisconsin leaders Bob La Follette and Gaylord Nelson. Feingold has also been consistent in keeping a campaign promise to visit each of Wisconsin's 72 counties once a year for organized listening sessions. We feel that he does listen and takes concerns back to Washington. To keep in touch with constituents is one of the mainstays of progressive politicians, and Feingold fits that category."
- Manitowoc Herald Times, October 31, 2004
“…Russ Feingold and Tommy Thompson have continued the tradition of Wisconsin leaders having a positive presence on the national stage.”
- Oshkosh Northwestern, January 30, 2009
“Pull pork from Congress' diet -- Russ Feingold and John McCain's reform bill a strong first step.”
- Wisconsin State Journal, February 6, 2009
“We applaud Sen. Russ Feingold's plan to offer "The Fiscal Discipline, Earmark Reform and Accountability Act of 2009"..
- Green Bay Press Gazette, January 9, 2009
“…Feingold gets what open government is all about.”
- Wausau Daily Herald, January 7, 2008
“But in an age in which most of us feel more disconnected than ever from our leaders – an age in which we feel our voices drowned out by the volume of lobbyists and their money, we still get unfiltered access to Feingold’s ear.”
- Wausau Daily Herald, January 7, 2008
“Russ Feingold is among the few in officialdom maintaining an old-school connection as tradition. Thanks, Senator.”
- Oshkosh Northwestern, December 31, 2007, on Russ’s Listening Sessions
“While other politicians consult pollsters for their positions, Feingold heeds his sharp sense of right and wrong. Often, that means he’s the Cheesehead who stands alone. As someone once said of Fightin’ Bob, “What guts he’s got.”
- Isthmus, December 28, 2007
“…[T]he state’s junior senator does deserve a hand when it comes to his commitment to listening to the people of Wisconsin.”
- The Lake Mills Leader, November 22, 2007
“…Sen. Feingold isn’t necessarily one to vote along party lines,…he takes seriously his duty of being a responsible steward of your tax dollars.”
- The Monroe Times, November 9, 2007
“[Feingold] rises to the higher call of public service.”
- The Capital Times, December 1-2, 2007
“That’s just like Russ. Principled, dogged and committed to doing the right thing.”
- Abbotsford Tribune-Phonograph, March 17, 2005
“But when it comes to bucking the go-along-to-get-along culture of Congress, it takes characters like McCain and Feingold to put a thumb in the eye of the old-boys club.”
- Beloit Daily News, January 8, 2009
“It’s not surprising to see Feingold, or McCain for that matter, leading this fight. It’s been one of their missions in the Senate, and taxpayers should be grateful for it.”
- The Monroe Times, January 9, 2009, on Russ’s push to eliminate pork-barrel projects and earmarks.
