Spin Dry

The more he speaks, the better he sounds. And, unlike other politicians, Russ Feingold (D-WI) doesn't seem to let politics get in the way of his views. The more issues he speaks out on, the more I like him. A short recap of his views, from his website: he's against the death penalty (or at least a reconsideration of the way it's used); he's in favor of (and co-authored legislation on) campaign finance reform; he has in the past and continues to work to reduce the federal deficit; he favors maintaining Medicare and Social Security; he lists Education as his number one priority for the country -- and has explained why "No Child Left Behind" does and will not work.

On top of that, he's now spoken out on that favorite "culture war" bugaboo of the rightwing fundie fringe. His latest, from this article:

Gay and lesbian people in our country are fighting a mean-spirited movement to harm them and to discriminate against them... I stand with them against that movement, and I'm proud to stand with them.

This is his response to placement of a proposed ammendment to the State Constitution of Wisconsin, which is on the November ballot. And, as I've said before, people need to be reminded that Constitutions do not exist to tell the people what they cannot do; it's to tell the government what it may not do to the people.

At a time when too many candidates try to pander to some imaginary "base", Feingold has been a refreshing voice that has reflected growing public sentiment. His base is not imaginary, though. He speaks for those of us tired of years of Republican bullshit and Democratic spinelessness. Maybe his campaign slogan in 2008 should be: "Feingold. All spine, no BS".