Email This Page
add comment
read more of todays top articles

Russ Feingold writes: "A favorite and related concept of these same sages is that of bipartisanship, but for them bipartisanship is not so much members of different parties' hammering out meaningful solutions as it is a group of middle-grounders who can be relied upon to embrace impotent proposals. To many in the Beltway, bipartisanship itself has become its own hollow ideology."

Russ Feingold speaks during a Senate Committee debate. (photo: Win McNamee/Getty Images)
Russ Feingold speaks during a Senate Committee debate. (photo: Win McNamee/Getty Images)

go to original article

 

Comments  

We are concerned about a recent drift towards vitriol in the RSN Reader comments section. There is a fine line between moderation and censorship. No one likes a harsh or confrontational forum atmosphere. At the same time everyone wants to be able to express themselves freely. We'll start by encouraging good judgment. If that doesn't work we'll have to ramp up the moderation.

General guidelines: Avoid personal attacks on other forum members; Avoid remarks that are ethnically derogatory; Do not advocate violence, or any illegal activity.

Remember that making the world better begins with responsible action.

- The RSN Team

 
+26 # cadan 2011-09-28 08:41
Russ Feingold was our very best senator i think (only vote against the misnamed patriot act, wasn't he?).

And of course he makes a lot of sense here.

If he could run for President in 2016 he would be a great candidate, and one with a long track record so i think we could trust him.
 
 
+2 # stonecutter 2011-09-28 15:30
As a Jewish-American, I'd like nothing better than to see Russ Feingold elected president, but after Obama, putting a Jewish-American in the White House in this bigoted, hyper-nationalistic era would be about as doable as George W. Bush finding his ass with both hands and a floodlight. Maybe I'm wrong, and if I am, I'll dance through the night when it happens. But I don't think I'm wrong, and I believe it's a crucial reason why Feingold chose not to run in 2008 despite his progressive, Democratic bona fides.

After 4 more years of Obama, or 4 years of one of these GOP bobbleheads, the country might be ready to elect a Muslim (although I doubt it). Only time will tell if Feingold is still viable in 2016.
 
 
+4 # Rick Levy 2011-09-28 18:17
Right on. Russ, eat your Wheaties and take care of yourself. We're going to need you sooner than later.
 
 
+14 # reiverpacific 2011-09-28 10:17
Bipartisanship only works if all sides want to be constructive; not one side acting like a concrete barrier to ANY ideas. Just "No-No- and again-No!" without any suggestions forthcoming and an overwhelming desire to unseat the leaders of the other side at any cost.
Sound familiar.
If the shoe fits wear it.
By the way, Feingold has stated in print that he has no desire to run for either state or national office this time round, more's the pity He'd be a good replacement for the appalling Walker at home for a start!
 
 
+5 # Lulie 2011-09-28 12:22
What is the saying? The only thing in the middle of the road is yellow stripes and dead animals.
 
 
+7 # Pongacat 2011-09-28 12:41
Bipartisanship is only meaningful when there are significant differences between parties, and where all points on the political spectrum are represented in European-style proportional representation that provides genuine diversity of perspective. The US fulcrum is tilted so far one way (Obama is well to the right of European conservative leaders, as the post-banking crisis G20 summit clearly revealed)that the "middle ground" in the US is as meaningless as the middle ground in Apartheid South Africa or Nazi Germany...it simply means continuation of the status quo - the prevailing free market economic orthodoxy with softer rhetoric , overblown small "differences" and relatively minor issues of identity politics. Most Americans know that under the present system,there's no room for a third party.But how about a second party? The American eagle is a democratically flightless bird, with two right wings. Henry Adams recognised this way back in the 1890s:
“We have a single system,” he wrote, and “in that system the only question is the price at which the proletariat is to be bought and sold, the bread and circuses.”
 

THE NEW STREAMLINED RSN LOGIN PROCESS: Register once, then login and you are ready to comment. All you need is a Username and a Password of your choosing and you are free to comment whenever you like! Welcome to the Reader Supported News community.