When this whole running for political office for an eighth time thing doesn’t work out for him, Senator Russ Feingold should drive a few hours south and look for work in the land of his donors: Hollywood.
In his latest TV spot, Senator Feingold does a superb job acting like he supports the very measures he voted against during his eighteen years in Washington.
The cornerstone of Senator Feingold’s idea of "what it takes to combat terrorism and protect America," as he explains in the spot, stems from having "better human intelligence and here at home, more resources to track down and break up terrorist cells."
There’s only one problem with the script in Senator Feingold’s audition tape: Senator Feingold’s record.
As a barrage of columns noted following the terrorist attacks in Paris and San Bernardino, Feingold was the only senator to vote against increasing terrorism surveillance, the only senator to vote against extending the lone wolf terrorist provision, and was one of only nine senators to vote against creating the Department of Homeland Security.
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: "Feingold’s bad bet on intelligence"
It makes sense that Feingold would want to remake his image by pretending now that he’s been for strengthening U.S. intelligence all along. It wouldn’t be the first time he’s tried to rewrite the past…But Feingold’s long-standing argument against the Patriot Act has aged about as well as a week-old egg salad sandwich in a hot car…So while Russ Feingold will continue to preen about, saying he alone is the defender of our civil liberties, keep in mind that the scoreboard tells a different story. When Feingold claims to be a "maverick" because 96 of 97 senators voted for the Patriot Act, think to yourself — there’s probably a good reason he was alone.
Media Trackers: "Feingold Wants the FBI To Have Resources He Voted Against"
…Russ Feingold has been attempting to rewrite his record of opposing legislation that would allow the government greater freedom to go after such terrorists…For all of his rhetoric as he runs around Wisconsin looking to get his old job back, the fact is when Russ Feingold had a chance in the U.S. Senate to vote in favor of stopping lone wolf terrorists, he voted to tie the hands of law enforcement.
The Washington Free Beacon: "Feingold: Against Increased Intel Efforts Before He Was for Them"
Feingold has not always been a supporter of boosting intelligence efforts. He was the only senator from either party to initially vote against the Patriot Act in 2001 following the September 11 terrorist attacks. Additionally, Feingold voted against the creation of the Department of Homeland Security and also against the “lone wolf” provision in the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act in relation to permitting “wiretapping and surveillance of foreign terrorist suspects who operate alone.”