24 Russ Feingold Quotes on Politics

Russ Feingold quotes on politics

2. Of course, there is no doubt that if we lived in a police state, it would be easier to catch terrorists. If we lived in a country that allowed the police to search your home at any time for any reason; if we lived in a country that allowed the government to open your mail, eavesdrop on your phone conversations, or intercept your email communications; if we lived in a country that allowed the government to hold people in jail indefinitely based on what they write or think, or based on mere suspicion that they are up to no good, then the government would no doubt discover and arrest more terrorists. But that probably would not be a country in which we would want to live. And that would not be a country for which we could, in good conscience, ask our young people to fight and die. In short, that would not be America.

7. Congress has lost its way if we don't hold this President accountable for his actions.

8. How is that worthy of applause? Since when do we celebrate our commander in chief for violating our most basic freedoms, and misleading the American people in the process? When did we start to stand up and cheer for breaking the law? In that moment at the State of the Union, I felt ashamed.

10. The president and others say that if we leave, it will just be chaos in Iraq. Well, right now when you come to Iraq, you can't even drive from the airport to the Green Zone.

13. I don't care, whatever political considerations I have are absolutely irrelevant to the decisions I make having to do with people's civil liberties and something as weighty as Americans risking their lives overseas. The day that I start think politically about those things is the day I should leave politics. --(In response to the claim that his stands on civil liberties may hurt his chances with moderate Democrats and conservatives.

14. Some say 'we've got it made ... let's not rock the boat,' but I believe that's exactly how we lost in 2002 and 2004. We won't win by default. We won't win by just running out the clock. We'll only win if we show we are willing to discuss tough subjects or else we will be perceived as weak and full of fear.

21. Resisting overreaching by the federal government is appropriate and, yes, even patriotic.

22. We must let this town square, which has added a significant dimension to our political process, continue to flourish.

23. The President's pre-1776 mentality is hurting America and fracturing the foundation on which our country has stood for 230 years. The President can't just bypass two branches of government, and obey only those laws he wants to obey.

25. It's that mix of passion and pragmatism that Feingold hopes will appeal to Democratic voters looking for a fresh-faced truth-teller come 2008. Feingold's career has been defined by his crusader nature, but it's his skills as a conciliator -- with conviction -- that may be most important for his hopes of capturing his party's nomination.

26. I can't see a damn soul in D.C. except Russ Feingold who is even worth considering for President. The rest of them seem to me so poisonously in hock to this system of legalized bribery they can't even see straight.

27. That's what I like about you, senator, you're kicking it old-school.

29. Amid scandals in high places, Senator Feingold is fresh air. The country should rise up and sing.

30. [Feingold] showed that a politician need not shelve his conscience to achieve success.

33. Feingold shows a knack for thinking through issues on a case-by-case basis instead of marching in a partisan parade.

34. Feingold won big after voting against the Iraq war and Bush's tax cuts, and having cast the lone vote in the Senate against the Patriot Act

35. In fact it was at the Rockingham County event that he got something no other potential presidential candidate - Republican or Democrat - has received: a lengthy standing ovation just in the middle of his introduction.

36. [O]ne of the most independent members of Congress

37. Americans ought be listening to Russ Feingold in these defining days for the Republic, because what the Democratic senator from Wisconsin is saying goes to the heart of the question of whether a nation founded in revolt against monarchy will be ruled by laws or by the crude whims of an intemperate sovereign and his out-of-control administration.

38. Senator Feingold was right about the dangers when the Senate first passed the Patriot Act, and he has remained true to his cause. I stand with him today as I should have the first time.

40. The New Republic recently dubbed Feingold 'The Hillary Slayer'; Vogue called him 'The Man of the Moment'; and he is a favorite on liberal blogs like Daily Kos.

43. I didn't come to Washington to make friends. That's not where my friends are.

46. So I'm always going to be someone people think they can knock off, using words like patriotism or whatever. But I don't think it's that easy, because I'm straight with people. I don't say one thing in one town and another thing in another.

50. I sincerely think this is going to transform politics. It's almost a miracle...