Where Was Feingold When Conyers Needed Him?
We feel this is a valid question while Sen. Russell Feingold (D-WI) gets his man on in this lone battle with the White House and Senate over censure. Even his own Democrat colleagues in the Senate are "distancing" themselves from this one, privately dismissing Feingold's calls for censuring the President due to illegal wiretapping allegations (let's not fake the funk: it's illegal. But: whether or not it's effective is what everybody wants to know). Republicans believe Feingold is on an '08 warpath, setting up a stunt to gain favor in the next Presidential cycle.
What happened to Congressman John Conyers (D-MI)?
And, where was the Feingold muscle when Conyers called for censure in the House over fake war intelligence that led us into the current military quagmire in Iraq? That seemed more egregious, on some levels, than warrantless wiretaps (we're not trivializing the issue, we're just saying that if you compare the intensity of triggering World War III against listening in on someone's phone conversation, the former gets the big up). The way we see it, Feingold could have teamed up with Conyers which could have drawn in further support from the Congressional Black Caucus. Then again, the CBC isn't taken very seriously these days, even by their white party colleagues, and - who knows - that could have had something to do with it. Instead, Conyers has been left to dry, characterized as a grumpy, ancient statesman looking for a pointless brawl. Maybe a partnership is already brewing that we don't know about. Still, Feingold seems a day late and a dollar short ...
Of course, Feingold gets bigger media play than Conyers, golden boy of campaign finance reform with no skeletons in the closet. He has that rising star power factor Conyers never processed. But, Feingold is also an outsider and maverick, just like Conyers in the House, and the double-standard applied - clearly cutting that corner called race - is truly suspect.
What happened to Congressman John Conyers (D-MI)?
And, where was the Feingold muscle when Conyers called for censure in the House over fake war intelligence that led us into the current military quagmire in Iraq? That seemed more egregious, on some levels, than warrantless wiretaps (we're not trivializing the issue, we're just saying that if you compare the intensity of triggering World War III against listening in on someone's phone conversation, the former gets the big up). The way we see it, Feingold could have teamed up with Conyers which could have drawn in further support from the Congressional Black Caucus. Then again, the CBC isn't taken very seriously these days, even by their white party colleagues, and - who knows - that could have had something to do with it. Instead, Conyers has been left to dry, characterized as a grumpy, ancient statesman looking for a pointless brawl. Maybe a partnership is already brewing that we don't know about. Still, Feingold seems a day late and a dollar short ...
Of course, Feingold gets bigger media play than Conyers, golden boy of campaign finance reform with no skeletons in the closet. He has that rising star power factor Conyers never processed. But, Feingold is also an outsider and maverick, just like Conyers in the House, and the double-standard applied - clearly cutting that corner called race - is truly suspect.
posted by BPblogger at 7:32 AM
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