I have been keeping an eye on the Senate polls — in particular, those in California and Wisconsin where two of the most liberal members of Sentate are up for re-election. It is looking more and more like Barbara Boxer is going to hold on (though it is incredibly close).
In Wisconsin, however, Russ Feingold, the conscience of the Senate, is down in the polls. So I asked my friend Rob Stolzer, an artist who teaches at the University of Wisconsin, Stevens Point, for his thoughts on the race. Here is what he had to say:
I haven’t followed things all that closely yet, as there weren’t any real races for Dems in the primaries, outside of Lieutenant Governor. I know that Ron Johnson (not the old Giants running back, unfortunately) is leading Feingold in the polls right now, but it’s still pretty early. Many folks believe he got a big initial bounce from winning the GOP primary.
Here’s the thing about Wisconsin: it’s largely a conservative state, but has large pockets of liberalism. Former governor Tommy Thompson described Madison as an island of liberals surrounded by conservatives. Madison, Milwaukee, Appleton, and many of the university cities are far more left-leaning than the rest of the state. It’s always been enough to pull Feingold through, but it’s usually very close. Folks on the right will say that Feingold is either a do-nothing senator, or too liberal, and needs to go. They’ll also say that he’s living off of McCain-Feingold, and that’s it for him. Personally, I see a senator who sticks to his guns and has paid a political price for it. He was the only one to vote against the Patriot Act, refusing to be a knee-jerk reactionary. Feingold also voted against the Finance Services Reform bill, which was highly touted by Dems. I saw him at a town hall meeting at a local high school a few months ago, and he stated that he wouldn’t support the bill because it didn’t go far enough. He wanted to see the Glass-Steagall Act reinstated, which went much further in it’s reforms.
I find it interesting that in Wisconsin, with such a small Jewish population, that we have two Jewish senators. I’ve run into folks who have never met a Jew before they met me, and yet, we have two Jewish senators. Like many other states, I’m seeing more of the extremes of the parties, though the GOP is louder right now.
Personally, I think Feingold will retain his seat in the senate. Madison is large enough to withstand the battering of the conservative chatter.
Let’s hope he is right.
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Hank Kalet 