Amelia
Rookie
- Banned
- #1
What would have happened if Feingold had been true to his principles in 2009 and 2010 instead of being a good partisan soldier?
If Feingold had stood up against the renewal of the Patriot Act under Obama the way he did under Bush, what reverberations might that have had through the Obama presidency? I know he offered token resistance in committee in 2009 but he filibustered Bush. Under Obama he allowed the Patriot Act to be renewed without debate on the floor of the Senate.
If he had stood up to Obama the way he did to Bush he would have kept his reputation as a true independent and a man of principle. Perhaps he might have helped Obama stay true to his own promises. Feingold would have broken the spell of "thou shalt not criticize Obama", which might have done wonders for Obama's ability to govern. Holding Obama on a pedestal and branding criticism as unpatriotic (or worse) hurt Obama -- it stopped him from feeling the pressure to reach out and make connections.
If Feingold had stood up to Obama and forced him to closely examine the principles he was compromising, that might have helped Obama live up to the ideals he campaigned on instead of down to unaccountable imperialism he gravitated toward.
If Feingold had set an example of honest debate then the media would have been less afraid of questioning Obama on the issues and Obama would have been forced to be a better person.
Then Obama might have been a good president.
And that could only have been good for the nation and the world.
I still wouldn't have agreed with everything Obama did but you'd know what to expect from a principled and accountable president who was invested in working with Congressional leadership. You could actually get something done with a president like that.
And maybe Feingold's base wouldn't have stayed home in 2010 and he'd still be in the Senate.
If Feingold had stood up against the renewal of the Patriot Act under Obama the way he did under Bush, what reverberations might that have had through the Obama presidency? I know he offered token resistance in committee in 2009 but he filibustered Bush. Under Obama he allowed the Patriot Act to be renewed without debate on the floor of the Senate.
If he had stood up to Obama the way he did to Bush he would have kept his reputation as a true independent and a man of principle. Perhaps he might have helped Obama stay true to his own promises. Feingold would have broken the spell of "thou shalt not criticize Obama", which might have done wonders for Obama's ability to govern. Holding Obama on a pedestal and branding criticism as unpatriotic (or worse) hurt Obama -- it stopped him from feeling the pressure to reach out and make connections.
If Feingold had stood up to Obama and forced him to closely examine the principles he was compromising, that might have helped Obama live up to the ideals he campaigned on instead of down to unaccountable imperialism he gravitated toward.
If Feingold had set an example of honest debate then the media would have been less afraid of questioning Obama on the issues and Obama would have been forced to be a better person.
Then Obama might have been a good president.
And that could only have been good for the nation and the world.
I still wouldn't have agreed with everything Obama did but you'd know what to expect from a principled and accountable president who was invested in working with Congressional leadership. You could actually get something done with a president like that.
And maybe Feingold's base wouldn't have stayed home in 2010 and he'd still be in the Senate.
