Feingold reaffirms nonendorsement; Says candidates should not be afriaid to take on FISA
Wisconsin Senator Russ Feingold has countered arguments made by Republican handmaiden Karl Rove that a vote against FISA and rolling back President George W. Bush's warrantless wiretapping could hurt the Presidential candidates on the campaign trail. Feingold told HuffPo:
"The case is fairly straightforward to make to people. We just want to make sure procedures are in place so that if you are doing absolutely nothing wrong, the government can't run around and hear everything you have to say and want to say to your kids and everything you put in an email. That's a winning argument... But if you hide and act like you are afraid of Karl Rove than they'll win the day. And unfortunately on these issues they seem to win the day almost every time by using this kind of fear."
How the candidates vote on FISA could also finally help Feingold make a decision on who to endorse. He has made it fairly clear that he won't be throwing his weight behind former North Carolina Senator John Edwards and is currently torn between New York Senator Hillary Clinton and Illinois Senator Barack Obama.
"I'm trying to figure out who is most ready to be president in a very difficult world. I'm looking for somebody who can carry real change and a real feeling of unity in the country. I see some of these qualities in Senator Clinton and some in Senator Obama. And I simply don't feel that I am compelled to make a decision."
It should be noted that while Obama and Clinton have been mostly silent on the issue, Edwards issued a strongly worded statement from the campaign trail supporting former Presidential candidate Senator Chris Dodd's efforts to block telecom immunity in the FISA bill.
Dodd was the only candidate to leave the campaign trail in order to fight the attempt to give immunity to telecommunications companies in the FISA bill. Obama and Clinton were absent from Thursday's vote to strip the FISA bill of telecom immunity. The move lost in the Senate 60-34. The issue will be tackled again on Monday and it is unclear if the two candidates will be weighing in.
Post new comment