Love him or hate him Senator Russ Feingold (put your cursor over the star to gets lots of great info on the senator) has been absolutely consistent in his position on the Iraq War. From the very beginning he stood up against this war and continued to stand against the misguided foray. He now looks almost omnipotent for holding a position that seems ultimately to be spot on and finds new converts daily.
Feingold is also a bit pardoxical. If you watch the clip above you will not hear a dove. What you will find is a person who is not afraid of military might. Rather Feingold believes we are engaged in the wrong mission, he thinks that this morass in Iraq is more an affront to the war on terror than a front. Right now we could use Democrats with his fortitude and consistency. Our Iraq “policy,” if it can be called as much, is all over the map. Our Party has no consistent strategy. By admitting that the war has taken a frightful and increasingly “stuck in neutral” turn there is no harm in admitting that Iraq needs a new plan. Hopefully one that doesn’t include us being in Iraq.
For those Republicans and Joe “I am the center of the Universe” Lieberman who would suggest that leaving Iraq would somehow be an invitation to the terrorists to attack us I would just remind everyone that the recent terror plot in London demonstrates a willingness on the part of the terrorists to attack us for staying in Iraq. So if we are doomed to attack no matter what, I would rather preserve the lives of American soldiers and ensure that we have a military that isn’t distracted in a battle we cannot win.
Personally it is the last minute or so that really exemplifies what it is that I find so attractive about Russ politically.
If we dont’ stand for something we are going to be perceived as weak, not ready to govern. … We are not going to win by looking like whimps.
I think that tough language is exactly what we need. Russ has consistently advocated for Democrats taking more firm positions on every issue from healthcare to the war in Iraq. He has said that the six point plan recently put out by the Demcorats is a good start but that it does not go nearly as far as it needs to in spelling out a plan to govern. I think Russ acknowledges that if we don’t have a real plan, if we don’t have real alternatives, our chances for success are going to be severely handicapped. I couldn’t agree more.