Warren writes: "Long before I ever even thought about running for office, Wisconsin Sen. Russ Feingold was fighting hard in the US Senate for working families. So I'm happy, excited, delighted, thrilled, and all-around ecstatic that Russ just announced today that he's running to return to the Senate in 2016."
Russ Feingold. (photo: Tony Williams/AP)
16 May 15
ong before I ever even thought about running for office, Wisconsin Sen. Russ Feingold was fighting hard in the US Senate for working families.
So I’m happy, excited, delighted, thrilled, and all-around ecstatic that Russ just announced today that he’s running to return to the Senate in 2016.
Russ and I first met in the 1990s, back when I was trying to stop a terrible bankruptcy bill in the Senate. Even when the odds were against us, even when the big banks and credit card companies did everything they could to squeeze struggling families harder, Russ threw himself into the fight.
I saw first-hand then what many people already knew: Nobody fights for the values we share like Russ Feingold. And it’s not just standing up to the big banks – from his landmark legislation to keep money out of politics, to his outspoken opposition to the war in Iraq, we know we can count on Russ when it really matters.
Now here’s the catch. You and I know all too well what happens when someone stands up to the powerful interests: they come at you with everything they’ve got. And as enthusiastic as I am about getting Russ back into the Senate alongside me, I know that the other guys will be pushing with the same energy – and a whole lot more money – to keep him out.
As great as it would be to have Russ return to the Senate, we also should talk about who he’d be replacing. Ron Johnson was elected with the Tea Party tidal wave in 2010, and his policy positions aren’t just extreme – they are flat-out dangerous.
Ron always knows who he is fighting against: “We are up against a strategy that is taking place by liberals, progressives, Democrats, whatever they call themselves nowadays, Socialists, Marxists.” As much as we need Russ Feingold in the Senate, we need Ron Johnson out of the Senate. This is a two-fer.
