If you are looking for a defender of civil liberties and a candidate who will stand on his principles no matter what the pressure to do otherwise is, look for further than Senator Russ Feingold. I know I have said the same things about the good Senator before but that is because he just keeps fighting for what he believes in which, for me, is amazing given the number of inept and unprincipled representatives that sit in Washington.
Yesterday however showed that not only does Senator Feingold stand on principle but also that he can fight and win within the confines of the incredibly partisan Senate. Senator Feingold successfully led the charge to block a particularly damaging extension of the USA PATRIOT Act. You can watch a nice clip of him here and read about the story here. What I admired most though is that Feingold knows that Act will be authorized but instead of digging in and making the extension on his own terms he has worked with Dems and Republicans alike to craft an extension that is reasonable and one that will not continue to trounce on the civil liberties of Americans. In doing so he has been able to persuade some Republicans to block the measure that their President and leadership are fighting so hard for. I think Feingold is a leader and frankly, a hero. I think he is a guy to watch in 2008 because he is the perfect foil to Hillary’s disgusting opportunism and run for the center.