WSJ = Wisconsin State Journal
QUOTE
Feingold: Fight terror and still protect civil liberties
JASON STEIN jstein@madison.com
Visiting the UW-Madison campus Friday, U.S. Sen. Russ Feingold tore into what he called attacks on Americans' civil liberties, then laid out how he'll decide whether to make a much-speculated-on presidential bid in 2008.
The Wisconsin Democrat went through a media blitz in recent days as he and other senators battled President Bush over the renewal of the Patriot Act, showing up everywhere from "Good Morning America" to CNN.
Touring the university's Waisman Center, Feingold peered through a microscope at stem cells and into a vat filled with freezing vapors and valuable cell lines. Speaking afterward to reporters, he said he is committed to renewing the broad anti-terrorism bill, but only with greater guarantees of civil liberties.
"This is a fight against terrorism and an effort to protect innocent Americans who have done nothing wrong. We can do both," said Feingold, who cast the lone vote against the legislation when it was first passed in 2001.
In a Capitol dash just before the holidays, lawmakers approved a five- week extension to the Patriot Act after Feingold, Senate Democrats and a handful of Republicans fought off efforts in recent days to renew the original act permanently.
President Bush criticized their Senate filibuster, saying Feingold and other lawmakers were being "irresponsible" and "endangering the lives of our citizens."
When Congress takes up the issue next year, Feingold said his support would hinge on key issues such as the protection of the records of businesses and libraries from undue intrusion by authorities and timely notification of citizens subject to "sneak and peak" searches done without their knowledge.
Feingold said he'd continue to speak out about a recently revealed secret wiretapping program by the National Security Agency, saying the practice was possibly illegal and helped make the case for greater checks on authorities charged with rooting out terrorism.
President Bush has defended the NSA surveillance, saying it was both needed and within his powers to authorize.
On a possible presidential bid, Feingold said his decision would come down to whether he thought he could win in a general election - not just in the primaries - and then be effective in the White House.
Political watchers such as University of Virginia professor Larry Sabato point out that while Feingold's recent stands on civil liberties and the Iraq war may please liberal activists, they may well hurt his chances later on with moderate Democrats and conservatives.
The senator had a blunt answer.
"I don't care," he said. "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."
- Knight Ridder Newspapers contributed to this article.
JASON STEIN jstein@madison.com
Visiting the UW-Madison campus Friday, U.S. Sen. Russ Feingold tore into what he called attacks on Americans' civil liberties, then laid out how he'll decide whether to make a much-speculated-on presidential bid in 2008.
The Wisconsin Democrat went through a media blitz in recent days as he and other senators battled President Bush over the renewal of the Patriot Act, showing up everywhere from "Good Morning America" to CNN.
Touring the university's Waisman Center, Feingold peered through a microscope at stem cells and into a vat filled with freezing vapors and valuable cell lines. Speaking afterward to reporters, he said he is committed to renewing the broad anti-terrorism bill, but only with greater guarantees of civil liberties.
"This is a fight against terrorism and an effort to protect innocent Americans who have done nothing wrong. We can do both," said Feingold, who cast the lone vote against the legislation when it was first passed in 2001.
In a Capitol dash just before the holidays, lawmakers approved a five- week extension to the Patriot Act after Feingold, Senate Democrats and a handful of Republicans fought off efforts in recent days to renew the original act permanently.
President Bush criticized their Senate filibuster, saying Feingold and other lawmakers were being "irresponsible" and "endangering the lives of our citizens."
When Congress takes up the issue next year, Feingold said his support would hinge on key issues such as the protection of the records of businesses and libraries from undue intrusion by authorities and timely notification of citizens subject to "sneak and peak" searches done without their knowledge.
Feingold said he'd continue to speak out about a recently revealed secret wiretapping program by the National Security Agency, saying the practice was possibly illegal and helped make the case for greater checks on authorities charged with rooting out terrorism.
President Bush has defended the NSA surveillance, saying it was both needed and within his powers to authorize.
On a possible presidential bid, Feingold said his decision would come down to whether he thought he could win in a general election - not just in the primaries - and then be effective in the White House.
Political watchers such as University of Virginia professor Larry Sabato point out that while Feingold's recent stands on civil liberties and the Iraq war may please liberal activists, they may well hurt his chances later on with moderate Democrats and conservatives.
The senator had a blunt answer.
"I don't care," he said. "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."
- Knight Ridder Newspapers contributed to this article.
