Russ Feingold's observations from Greenville, Alabama

[quaoar]

A wonderful article. It's about people who support Bush despite not sharing in the American Dream. The excerpt below is from the end of it.

http://www.salon.com/opinion/feature/2004/12/21/alabama/index.html

The people of Alabama appear to be among the most generous and most unsung philanthropists in this country. What they give is unimaginable to many others and they give it time and again: They regularly give their turn at the American dream to someone else. And they give it simply because they're asked. So many people in Greenville don't seem to have basic healthcare coverage or promising job opportunities. Meanwhile, their children volunteer to risk their lives in Iraq and Afghanistan. I can only be humbled by their sacrifice.

But because I am a lawmaker and a student of history, I also know who has been asking them to give so much. And I can only wonder how many more generations of central Alabamians will say yes when the increasingly powerful Republican Party asks them to be concerned about homosexuality but not about the security of their own health, about abortion but not about the economic futures of their own children. As my wife and I drove through Greenville that night, I thought how fundamentally unfair this all is in order to support an increasingly radical conservative movement.

Now, some may think that Alabama and Wisconsin are the polar opposites of American politics. But in both states I've found that -- along with sharing a sincere appreciation of a good turkey dinner -- too many hardworking people are losing their battles for decent paying jobs and adequate healthcare. I'm tired of seeing the power-hungry persuade the hardworking people of this country that the only way to preserve important values is to vote against their own families' basic interests. I believe that the working people of both states have sacrificed for other people's agendas for too long. And I believe that any political party or political movement or political candidate who would consistently say this would be heard throughout America.

We need to go to the Greenvilles of every state, red and blue, and say, "Thank you. You've sacrificed long enough. Now it's your turn at the American dream."

[shraby]

1. He's the best!

[Hippo_Tron]

2. Russ for President (n/t)

[Hippo_Tron]

3. Dupe n/t

n/t

[Hippo_Tron]

4. I'll kick this in the morning if you don't get a chance, this must be read

n/t

[Syrinx]

7. just curious

Why denounce it as a dupe then promise to kick it?

[Hippo_Tron]

10. OH, I was saying that my OWN post was a dupe of this one

Sorry about that.

[Syrinx]

30. sorry, I misunderstood

Sorry about that. ;)

[d_b]

5. Kick

[politicasista]

6. Shame on them for supporting Smirky

Ignorance is bliss.

[Cobalt Violet]

8. Repukes want to turn the entire USA into *******.

It makes me sick.

[QC]

15. I wondered how long it would take...

for someone to bleat the usual red/blue media-created hateful bullshit.

Not very long at all, it turns out.

Feingold is pointing the way to a new approach to the places where Democrats are losing, but some would rather wallow in the old "I'm so much better than those people" stuff than pay attention to him.

[AP]

24. Right on.

!

[fujiyama]

48. Fiengold has proven

that you can be principled, honest, and still win, if you show people the respect and attention they deserve.

Good for Fiengold. I really hope he runs for president.

[still_one]

9. bull

they asked for * and his policies and they deserve everything they get

If they want to sacrifice their children in a war not based on our national security go right a head

They are no heros, but blind fools, who won't be remembered within a year

[Hippo_Tron]

11. Well unfortunately, that attitude has lost us quite a few elections

Even if you don't like red states, if we could get their votes, this would be a much better country for all of us.

[hippiechick]

12. The powerful have been playing us vs each other since the Civil War...

It's not so much the fault of the 'fools' -- they haven't been taught to think beyond the scope of 'patriotism' and 'God and country' and all that jingoistic crap.

They really don't see that they have more in common with other minority groups that they 'hate' than they do with the rich white guys who are expoliting them.


:hippie:

[Lydia Leftcoast]

14. That's because Dem candidates have not been appealing to them in

terms that they understand.

If your approach is either DLC ("I'm just like the Republican, only not quite as much") or yuppified ("I'm all for free choice in personal behavior, free trade is good for whatever ails you, and taxes on business and unearned income are what's holding the economy down"), you won't get very far with the blue collar/rural voters.

[banjoman]

21. kerry was further away from average than anyone running

agreed. you can be proud, principled, and chase windmills forever, or you can be lucid, willing to work towards a reasoned middle ground, and appeal to the masses. until dems come to this realization, they'll never appeal to more than the party base, 38 percent of the population.

[quaoar]

29. Welcome to DU, banjoman

[AP]

25. So true.

It's amazing that more people don't understand that.

[htuttle]

13. Roll up your sleeves and get out there Russ

Keep shouting the Truth and pointing that finger!

America needs a good, strong dose of that old LaFollette populism!

[hopein08]

16. Great article, thanks!

After the stuff I've been reading here on Feingold lately, I think that he has just become by favorite Senator. I'm printing this article and showing it to everyone I know. Feingold gives me hope again.

[banjoman]

20. feingold

feingold is too level headed to ever seriously compete for the democratic nomination. just because some people view howard dean as mainstream, doesn't mean that the rest of us see it that way. feingold is to dems what mccain if to repubs, a middle of the roader who probably can't legitimately buy into the cause as it currently is laid out.

[CarbonDate]

28. Feingold is not a centrist....

...he is a true progressive. He was the only senator to vote against the Patriot Act (including Wellstone) and he voted against the Iraq War. If anything, he's too liberal to carry the Democratic nomination. Then again, if Dean gets the DNC chairmanship, that might change.

I'm still a Clarkie, but Feingold is a close second on my list.

[MsUSA]

17. Read the book "What's wrong with Kansas" by Thomas Franks

and it'll explain this whole "blacklash" phenomena. Great book, would make a great gift.

[Radical Activist]

22. It sounds like Russ read that book too.

He's saying exactly what we need to say to combat the backlash Thomas describes. I think Russ knows how to win.

[geek tragedy]

18. Alabamans are getting what they deserve.

If they reform themselves, then maybe they can join the rest of us in the post-Medieval era.

[QC]

26. Same shit, different day....

Your little obsession has gotten tiresome.

[banjoman]

19. feingold

Many of us don't view the government as our solution, nor do we look at citizenship as a chance to grab as much as possible from our country. We just hope to help out the guy next door like he would for us, and to leave the nation a better place than when we arrived. Regardless of who in the WH, we don't suddenly change our outlook on life, or our perpective on who we are. In the end, we're just regular people.

[HootieMcBoob]

23. Unfortunately...

The people who are at the helm of the Republican party these day do see government as a chance to grab as much as possible from our country. We need a party who will put an end to that kind of robbery by the powerful elite.

P.S. Howard Dean is not the crazy liberal that the Republicans paint him as. Remember that he had the highest rating from the NRA. They hate him because he is a galvanizing personality who will help out people like Feingold. Remember Dean was the guy who said he wanted the party to appeal to everybody even the guy with the confederate flag sticker on his truck.

[Comicstripper]

27. Sounds like a presidential candidate to me

[missouri dem 2]

31. Yes, it looks like he's running and if he can sell economic

Populism in the south, we have a winner.

[Geek_Girl]

52. Exactly!

I agree! This is exactly what we need to win here in the south. Now if we could just get all of the democratic candidates to sound a little bit more like this, then the we'll own the south.

[flaminbats]

32. Kerry is someone I made phone calls for..

I went to rallies for Kerry, even persuaded undecided neighbors to support him! But with Russ Feingold I would move mountains, campaign in the primaries, even do back-flips through Alabama if it would help him win!

:yourock:

Feingold is the only U.S. Senator who still bears the name of patriot in my eyes, and other than Jim Jeffords, is a true independent.

[Hippo_Tron]

33. I intend to intern for him if he runs

It might be a little hard to help him in Iowa, considering that I'll hopefully be going to school in DC, but I'm sure there will be something that can be done from DC.

[flaminbats]

58. Iowa is the place you could most help Feingold..IMHO

by participating in both the Democratic Caucus and November. Dick Cheney isn't likely to be the national favorite in 2008, John Kerry lost Iowa in 2004..meaning you could make more of a difference in Iowa than DC. I would rather take my chances in Iowa than Georgia or New York..what would be the freaken point??

[itzamirakul]

34. Do you think that Feingold and the centrists

on this board can ever possibly get those southerners to stop hating black people so much and begin to see their own pathetic position?

A lot of those people voted against the Democratic Party because the Dems have so many African American supporters. They allow people like Rove to get them all worked up about the right to fly the confederate flag while they totally ignore health care, good jobs, and education.

They (the southern Republicans) prefer to homeschool or Christian school their children, teaching them such lessons as "Slavery wasn't so bad after all."

When the centrist Dems are willing to agree with their hatred of African Americans then maybe they can get some more of those red voters to vote blue.

[QC]

35. That's a mighty nice broad brush you got there!

Did they have a special on them down at the hardware store?

Race is a key part of Southern politics, no doubt, as is true of American politics in general, but there's a lot more to it than that. But if it makes you feel better about yourself to sling around stereotypes, then don't let me stop you.

[itzamirakul]

37. I'm glad that you agree

that race is a key issue in southern politics. The centrists in the Democratic Party are very concerned about gaining the votes of some of those voters who may be racist in their outlook...but otherwise, fine, upstanding citizens. After all, the hatred of people because of their ethnicity or skin color does not make a person TOTALLY bad.

So, if the centrists just go ahead and admit that gaining the votes of these southerners is important enough to COMPROMISE on Civil Rights Laws, why then I'm sure that the Democratic party will gain many of those red voters.

No broad brush is needed. Their own votes painted the middle of the map red. They did their own stereotyping with their votes.

[QC]

39. Nice straw men, too!

You've just got to tell us where you do your shopping!

[itzamirakul]

40. A true, loyal, red-blooded, non-racist citizen

who sees past the race problems in the centrists' positions like yourself would not be interested in where I shop. :)

[quaoar]

41. Racism here in Alabama has been solved

We outsourced the Klan.

[Hippo_Tron]

36. We don't need to win Mississippi and Alabama to win elections

I'll admit that in southern states, those two being particularly good examples, racism plays a certain factor. The fact is, that if we could've reached out to 50,000 more rural/small-town voters that had been hit by economic hard times in Ohio, we would have president elect Kerry. Racism is not really a factor at all, outside of a few southern states that we don't need to win, to win presidential elections.

[itzamirakul]

38. I think you are kidding yourself, Hippo...

racism IS a major factor in the southern states, especially because many of the poor whites there have been brainwashed to NOT WANT TO BELONG TO THE PARTY THAT THE AFRICAN AMERICANS BELONG TO.

Rush and other hate mongers like him have so demeaned blacks and blamed blacks for welfare cheating and laziness and all the other problems that poor whites suffer, that the poor guys have developed this racist mentality as much now as during the Civil War. By doing this, Rush and his ilk prevent the poor whites of the south from seeing how the Republican Party is raking them over the coals in so many ways.

[quaoar]

42. Are you suggesting

that the South has an exclusive franchise on racism?

[QC]

43. Oh come now--everybody knows that!

:eyes:

[Hippo_Tron]

46. Which is why I said that we DONT NEED Mississippi and Alabama

And the racism isn't about Rush Limbaugh, it's something that goes back to the days way before the civil war, poor white people in the south feel that they need to be better than somebody, and that somebody is blacks.

Obviously there wasn't enough racism in Louisiana, Arkansas, Tennesee, Florida, Kentucky, and West Virginia to stop Clinton from winning there. How about Ohio, Indiana, Idaho, and Colorado? Segregation was ILLEGAL in those states before Brown v Board of Education, they are red, two of them are SOLID red. Perhaps racism is rampid enough in Alabama, Mississippi, and South Carolina that Democrats can't win there. Again, WE DONT NEED THOSE STATES to win elections. We can appeal to people in the other 47 states without racism.

[BamaGirl]

50. Gee, please fill us in our your vast knowledge and experience in Alabama

cause from where I'm sitting, you are pretty misinformed. It's this kind of crap that's going to keep the Dem party exactly where it is right now. Second.

[fujiyama]

49. Russ Fiengold is no centrist

He's a true liberal progressive senator.

Check out his record on just about every issue. He doesn't side with the DLC on much.

He's not perfect and I'll always find his Ashcroft vote rationale strange, but his record is by far very good in terms of issues important for minorities and working people.

[Geek_Girl]

53. There is a Racist undertone in the South

but it's a segregationist cultural thing. A black and white couple is taboo here. But a Latin and white couple is fine. It's very weird I can't quite explain it. But I think the reason why southerns tend to vote Republican has more to do with the Republicans ability to use religion as a political weapon as well as their ability to demonize democrats.

[msongs]

44. Howard Dean said all that last fall.....nice of Russ to repeat it eom

[QC]

45. Other people were saying it long before Dean.

The hope of forming a cross-racial coalition of working people goes back to the Populists of the late 1800's. And some people have actually managed to do it, John Edwards for one.

[Radical Activist]

55. But when Dean says something he is always the first!

Dean sets the trend even if many others have been saying it for weeks, months, or decades. Didn't you know that?

At least that's what much of the corporate media and many others apparently believe.

[Hippo_Tron]

47. Except that Howard Dean sounded like an idiot when he said it

Don't get me wrong I like Dean, but he should've known better than to say a line about "Confederate flags and trucks" because anybody experienced in politics would know that the media would pick that soundbyte up and play it over and over and over and over.

[Radical Activist]

56. Ivy league New England millionaires don't make good populists

Dean made a great argument for economic populism, but he just isn't the guy to carry that banner.

[Hippo_Tron]

57. JFK did it pretty well, more or less

But this is a different time.

[Radical Activist]

59. He was popular but

he wasn't really a populist. At least I'm not aware of him using populist themes more than the average Democrat of his day.

Then again, I think standards have changed. What would pass for populist class warfare today was probably the typical campaign speech back in the 60's. You just don't hear it much anymore.

[Hippo_Tron]

60. Populism was less radical of an idea back then than it is now...

Back then you didn't have to be radical to be a populist, as you said. Put it this way, JFK was more liberal than Carter, Clinton, Gore, or Kerry. But he was certainly no William Jennings Bryan.

[fujiyama]

51. Howard Dean is a good guy

but he wasn't the first to say this.

Fiengold is a great progressive in his own right. He's been pretty consistant for the last 14 years in the senate.

[Ripley]

54. Absolutely correct.

Dean said it and meant it.

Too bad Kerry never stepped foot down here. (But has money left over I hear...)