Feingold does not shy away from truth

Russ Feingold consistently follows his conscience rather than bending to political expediency. His modest call for censure of President Bush would pass overwhelmingly but for the fact that most senators behave in the opposite manner and must weigh the political calculus of supporting Feingold's call before doing what's right. Maybe this poll will help them along. It's truly laughable that Frist (of the Schiavo stunt) would decry the move as a political stunt.

Even if you don't see the secret surveillance program which bypassed the required FISA warrants as anywhere close to the most outrageous act of our outlaw government (and I would agree), it is a clear case where the law was broken, yet Bush unapologetically defends his lawlessness. This administration must be censured and Feingold correctly asserts that enough is enough.

Yesterday, mcjoan at DailyKos, made this discerning post, in which she called out these earlier words of John McCain:

Mr. Chief Justice, I intend to vote to convict the President of the United States on both articles of impeachment. To say I do so with regret will sound trite to some, but I mean it sincerely. I deeply regret that this day has come to pass.

I bear no animosity for the President. I take no partisan satisfaction from this matter. I don't lightly dismiss the public's clear opposition to conviction. And I am genuinely concerned that the institution of the Presidency not be harmed, either by the President's conduct, or by Congress' reaction to his conduct.

Indeed, I take no satisfaction at all from this vote, with one exception--and an important exception it is--that by voting to convict I have been spared reproach by my conscience for shirking my duty.

The Senate faces an awful choice, to be sure. But, to my mind, it is a clear choice. I am persuaded that the President has violated his oath of office by committing perjury and by obstructing justice, and that by so doing he has forfeited his office.

Of course, McCain was speaking in 1999 about a different President, but those words could work brilliantly from a moderate Democrat's standpoint today.

On a less serious note, I laughed when I first heard of the government's request to seek data from Google on common internet search strings. Right away I did Google searches for "Bush should be impeached" and "Cheney should be jailed", hoping to drive those numbers up. I suppose the reduced request probably turn up such numbers, but overstepping the bounds of what data this administration would mine would certainly not surprise me.

For those of you who have been checking in here periodically over the last several weeks, I do apologize for my silence. The good news is that a lot of others have been picking up the slack. I'll likely never be a daily blogger, but I still would like to avoid multiple week gaps. Life does dictate otherwise from time to time.

Previous Choosing Hope articles which reference Russ Feingold:
Comity Prevails
Thanks to Senators opposing Gonzales
Anticipating the Firestorm
Give 'em Hell Harry
and
my comment on Feingold at "What is Liberalism?"