Senator Russ Feingold has upped the ante for the 2008 Presidential Sweepstakes by announcing that his Leadership PAC, Progressive Patriots Fund, will be creating a 15-member “Patriot Corps” to staff elections in Wisconsin and around the country to help Democrats win crucial offices.
Although the Feingold field program will help Democrats immediately in 2006, Feingold is certainly staffing up with an eye on 2008. It is certainly a wise move for the Feingold camp. The more progressives Feingold can elect in 2006, the more chits he will have to call in for a potential presidential bid in 2008. A field campaign also lets party establishment-types know that Feingold is serious about building the Democratic Party and not merely a candidate of the left-wing blogosphere.
Russ Feingold’s strong positions in favor of troop withdrawal, censure of George W. Bush and against the Patriot Act stand out among what could be a crowded Democratic field in 2008. DoubleSpeak will be keeping an eye on Feingold’s moves as 2008 approaches.