Blood, Sweat, and Gore Gameplay Thread

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Feingold presents new, revolutionary plan on building on GORECARE

Senator Feingold has presented today on Capitol Hill a new plan which he hopes will gather endorsements from the Progressive wing of the Democratic Party. The plan, which contains 500 pages, has several differences from the plan of President Al Gore, the main differences being -

1. There is just one, national insurance exchange instead of 50 state exchanges, as progressives worry that state Republicans could sabotage the exchanges.
2. It makes the small business tax credit to help with premiums refundable.
3. It offers the possibility that, in case the states refuse the Medicaid expansion, for the uninsured people who lose the Medicaid possibility to be enrolled in Medicare
4. Add 50 billion dollars into investments in electronic health information systems
5. Require all federal employees plans to use disease management programs
6. Require all providers to report measures of health care costs and quality
7. Require all providers to report preventable medical errors
8. Require all hospitals and plans to report all disparities in care, and hold them accountable for them
9. Strengthen antitrust laws to prevent insurers from overcharging physicians
10. Reimburse healthcare plans for a portion of catastrophic costs
11. Mandate insurance coverage of autism treatment nationwide
12. Allow imported prescription drugs
13. Prevent drug companies from blocking generic drugs
14. Allow Medicare to negotiate for cheaper drug prices
15. Create a public option plan for the new National exchange

The Feingold campaign thinks that this plan will draw needed attention to their campaign, and will soon become a Democratic consensus, as well as, together with other measures soon to be announced, provide everyone with quality, affordable healthcare.

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Feingold speech in Iowa

Hello, Iowa! I am so excited to be here with all of you! Together will win this race!

I must say that I am always glad when I see hard working people all around the country with hope for their future, because no matter what the corporate hacks, politicians who forgot where they came from and the out-of-touch media tell us, we will prevail! They are scared of the real change that our movement is proposing, terrified to death by the possibility of them and the entire DC plutocracy losing their privileges compared to the working people of this country, and I am here to tell you that all of their fears are correct! Because when we, the people, will take back the White House, there will be no more loopholes for billionaires, no more ways for health insurance companies and drug companies to rip off our fellow citizens, no more secret wars, no more troops in Uganda, no more unnecessary deaths by American soldiers.

The Army Industrial complex, they are so scared of us and our movement. They fear that their plans to involve us in wars in the Middle East will not only be thwarted, but that we will abolish current unnecessary deployments in faraway countries as well. And they are right, we will!

The fossil fuel industry, they are so scared of us and our movement. They fear that we will continue on building on the legacy of President Gore and protect the environment against their greed, and they are right we will!

And let me tell you something. I hear you, Iowa! I know how you feel. You feel forgotten by DC. You are angry, and I am angry too! I have been in DC, I know what it is like there, I know that some of those Congressmen there are worried about what the billionaires think, what a random corporation thinks, what a lobbyist thinks, what the NRA thinks, and not about the people that they have been elected to represent. That is wrong, and I will fight tirelessly to shake things up in Washington, make them remember who they are really representing. Because I am your voice, I am with you and I will fight for you. Thank you, and let us make a progressive choice in 2008!


The strategy of Russ Feingold in Iowa

The strategists of the Feingold campaign think that the best chance at winning the race is an early victory in Iowa, which is why, even as the other states will not be ignored, this is where the bulk of the efforts will be given. With the help of Bruce Braley, the campaign will be focused on winning the big cities of Des Moines and Iowa City, as well as votes from farmers and workers across the state, in order to ensure a winning coalition.

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The schedule of Russ Feingold during the spring

1st March - 15th March - Nevada

Meetings with Union leaders, rallies and town halls in small communities. Focus both on Clark County to get out a significant number of votes and on the rural areas to gain the progressive base.

15th March - 31st March - Tour of the Plains

Russ will go on town halls, local restaurants, farms, talking to farmers of all the Plains states, putting emphasis of populism and the idea of taking Washington back.

1st April - 15th April - New Hampshire

Russ will build a campaign infrastructure in this state, where he hopes he will be able to win by appealing to the blue collar communities and the very progressive at the same time. He will canvass the populated areas of the state, hold rallies there and go to the less populated areas to hold town halls.

15th April - 30th April - Tour of Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, Missouri and Minnesota

Russ is going to visit the states where he hopes he can build his base in. He will go to factories, speak against NAFTA and outsourcing, as well as the politicians who failed to fix these problems despite promising to. He will also visit population centers, hoping for his unabashedly progressive platform to win over a significant number of votes.

1st May - 30th May - Iowa

Russ will go now to the state which he desires to win the most - Iowa. As a Senator from a near-by state, he knows personally the problems facing the community, and that is what he will try to show, with the help of Bruce Braley, his first endorser, who will campaign in the state relentlessly.

Needless to say, he will provide interviews to both local and national media.

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Stump speech of Rep. Bruce Braley in support of Senator Feingold

Hello, Iowa! It feels so good to be here, in the state in which I grew up in, seeing hard working people like you. It is no secret, I went only recently to DC. But what I have seen there, shocked me. So many Representatives and Senators are only in it for themselves. They do not care that their constituents, their communities, have to live paycheck to paycheck or struggle to put food on their table. Or they care about is the money of the rich and the support of interest groups and lobbyists. I must admit, it was tough for me at first to deal with this kind of environment, in a dysfunctional body which no longer represents the people of this nation, but then I have seen dedicated servants, such as Russ Feingold, fighting to make it the place it needs to be.

I am endorsing Russ Feingold, because I know that he is the only candidate who is not beholden to the special interests, and who will help our state tremendously. Russ voted against the disaster named NAFTA, which devastated large parts of our country, including here, in Iowa. Russ knows what economic policies to apply, and most of all, he knows that it is unfair when the billionaires get all kinds of deductions and loopholes from their already very low rates while the workers and farmers have to pay every cent, even if they are struggling and have to keep 2 or 3 jobs to get by. Russ knows what healthcare policies to apply, and most of all, he knows that it is unfair for the insurance and drug companies to rob our country, provide low quality healthcare for insane prices and even then, millions not to have any insurance. GORECARE was a nice plan, but it did not went far enough. RUSSCARE is the future, and we need to support it. That plan, which would provide insurance to everyone, needs to pass and the only guarantee of that is if Russ is elected President in November. And, yes, our troops have nothing to do in Uganda, we need to deploy them effectively to truly protect us and our allies, not risk the lives of our children because right wing extremists want a new era of colonialism.

Thank you, and I hope that you will make the progressive choice in January and November. God bless you all!

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Russ Feingold releases comprehensive tax plan

Create a fair tax system has always been a major talking point for the Feingold campaign, but today, he wants to make a concrete effort in that direction. The Restore Fairness Act, as it has been named in Congress promotes tax cuts for working and middle class Americans with tax hikes for the riches.

The plan contains the following proposals -

1. Increase the capital gains and dividends taxes for families making over 250.000 dollars a year (or 200.000 if single) by 5%
2. Eliminate all oil and gas loopholes
3. Eliminate capital gains taxes for small businesses and start-ups
4. Require publicly traded financial partnerships to pay the corporate income tax
5. Close loopholes in the corporate tax deductibility of CEO pay
6. Create an international tax haven watch list
7. Require economic justification for tax changes
8. Provide option for a pre-filled-out tax form
9. Create a mortgage interest tax credit for non-itemizers
10. Make permanent the Research & Development tax credit
11. Require automatic enrollment in 401(k) plans
12. Require automatic enrollment in IRA plans
13. Create a retirement savings tax credit for low incomes
14. End income tax for seniors making less than $50,000
15. Create a tax credit of $500 for workers
16. Create child tax credits and marriage-penalty fixes
17. Create an earned income tax credit
18. Create a child and dependent care credit
19. Raise income taxes for the high income earners by 5%
20. Lower income taxes for lower income earners by 5%

Russ will promote his plan relentlessly in Iowa and New Hampshire, saying that he is the only candidate coming with extensive plans on issues related to healthcare or taxes. He promises there will be more policies designed to help workers in taxes and other topics.

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Feingold signs pledge not to privatize Social Security, asks other candidates to sign it as well.

At a rally with AFL-CIO members in Iowa, Russ Feingold took a lot of time to discuss Social Security, and the dangers that it faces in this election. Here is what he had to say -

- Wall Street and the corporate hacks are desperate for blood after 16 years out of power, and they are planning to go after your Social Security benefits. They want Wall Street to own your retirement benefits, and I will not stand for it. Many on the right, and secretly many on the left, want to also raise the retirement age, which would be unfair to our seniors. Instead of punishing hard-working seniors, I will raise taxes on millionaires and billionaires in order to ensure that Social Security is sound in the future, for decades to come. So, today, I am signing a pledge called Protecting Our Seniors in which I promise not to raise the retirement age or privatize the program, and I ask all of my fellow competitors to do the same. It is vital for our seniors to know where the candidates stand on this.

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Feingold signs pledge to Repeal-and-Replace NAFTA, asks other candidates to do the same

During the same speech, Feingold also took time to discuss the infamous trade agreement called NAFTA, which he characterized as the biggest disaster in the last 50 years, and signed a pledge promising that, if he is elected, he will make it a priority to renegotiate NAFTA. He said the following things -

- NAFTA is clearly the worst thing to have ever happened to the Midwest, including my state of Wisconsin, as well as one the worst things to have ever happened to this country. It is a Reaganist, Bushist and Corporatist policy that the Democrats should have killed off in 1992. Now, after more of 15 years since it started causing devastation, we need to renegotiate it in order to save our workers. I will sign a pledge to Repeal-and-Replace it and I urge all of my opponents to do the same. It must be a national priority to get this done.

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Iowans ask, Russ Answers - new tour throughout the state

The Feingold campaign wants for its positions on the issues to be widely known and, as such, the Senator will go all in on town halls, answering questions related to all issues. The first one was already held in Des Moines, and it featured Russ answering for 3 hours to the voters. Here are some of the biggest moments of the event -

- The economy, even as strong as it currently is, works just for the very few. What would you do to fix that?

- Well, first of all, I will provide a tax cut to the working families of the country. I will create a credit worth $500 per person, or $1.000 per working family. This credit will be a big boost to all workers in the country. Second of all, I will end income tax for all seniors earning less then 50.000, and simplify tax filings. With this measures, the middle class will get unprecedented tax relief. I will also support small businesses, the backbone of this country, by abolishing capital gains taxes for them. And obviously, I will end the horrible, devastating NAFTA deal. I will tell the leaders of Canada and Mexico, that they either come to the table and negotiate a deal from the scratch to restore fairness in trade or the deal gets outright cancelled. It is as simple as that. Some policies, I will not, under any circumstances, adopt, are hundreds of billions of dollars in tax breaks for corporations and billionaires. Here is a key difference between me and my opponents. Many, influenced by their donors, are open to passing this kind of plan favoring Wall Street. I am not. Not only will they not get tax cuts, they will get tax hikes to fund programs for workers and help struggling middle class families. And I will also not give tax breaks to outsourcing companies, which cause use to lose hundreds of thousands of jobs, but I will raise their taxes and prevent them from stealing our jobs any longer.

- Our health care system leaves millions of people out, and allows insurance companies to dictate coverage however they please. What would you do to fix that?

- Well, President Gore, as we all know, has tried to fix this, but was stopped by the corporatists in Congress. His plan, Gorecare, was a nice one, and an improvement from our current system, but it did not go far enough to fix the unfairness happening in this industry, which is supposed to protect the lives of Americans not profit off them. My plan will make health insurance affordable and accessible to all, lower health care costs for a working family by over $3.000 and promote public health by constantly increasing its standards and efficiency instead of the private corrupt institutions which have only one goal - to rip off the American people. Unfortunately, that is not what many of my opponents want. I have heard rumors that Wall Street wants to force its puppets to tax health benefits so they can pay for the insane cuts to corporations and billionaires. Under their plans, people with pre-existing conditions will get left out, and funding for programs like Medicare will go down. This is not what the people of our country, many already struggling, need, and I will fight for this horrific future not to become reality.

- Many people living in rural areas feel left behind by Washington, and farmers are being left unable to put food on their table by multinational corporations. What would you do to fix that?

- Well, corporations are invading the rural areas as we speak, devastating the already struggling farms after the disaster called NAFTA, and leaving millions of people to live in poverty. This has to end, and will end under a Feingold Administration. As President, I will make DC turn around and listen to the farmers again. I will fight for farm programs that provide family farmers with stability and predictability. I will implement a $250,000 payment limitation so that we help family farmers - not large corporate agribusiness. I will also support small business development by providing capital for farmers to create value-added enterprises, and improve rural quality of life by combating methamphetamine use, improve health care, improve education, and upgrade infrastructure in rural areas. It speaks louder then all words that I am the first to acknowledge the big struggle of corporations trying to take over agriculture, as even those claiming to be representing the American farmers did not say a word about it. My corporatist opponents will dismiss ethanol so that farmers can not help in solving our energy crisis, reject any initiative to help family farms and instead help large companies and multinational corprorations. The rural areas need the help of Washington DC, and I will be there to be their voice.

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The schedule of Senator Feingold for June and July

1st June - 14th June - Iowans ask, Russ answers tour in Iowa, focused mostly on big cities, as well as some rural areas

14th June - 16th June - Brief Farmers ask, Russ answers tour in Nebraska and Kansas

16th June - 23rd June - Nevada asks, Russ answers tour in Nevada

23rd June - 30th June - New Hampshire asks, Russ answers tour in New Hampshire

1st July - Back to Washington DC to present the Energy Plan of Russ Feingold

2nd July - 9th July - New Hampshire rallies, town halls, especially in cities

16th July - 23rd July - Tour of the Midwest

23rd July - 30th July - Rallies in Iowa

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Russ Feingold ad - Public Servant, running in Iowa, New Hampshire and Nevada

Russ Feingold has been a public servant for 15 years. During it, he has actually helped America. He passed a bipartisan campaign finance reform, which helps ensure that billionaires and corporations are not buying and bribing politicians. He has voted against the disaster called NAFTA, which devastated the American economy, and the discriminatory Defense of Marriage Act. Russ believes all Americans should have a chance to fulfill their dreams, not just those as the top, which is why he has consistently argued for universal healthcare and a more progressive tax system, while his opponents are only coming around to this issues now. Russ is someone that you can trust, to fight for your interests, and not for those of Wall Street and the big corporations. Let us elect Russ Feingold in 2008, and make a progressive choice for our future.

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The answers of Russ Feingold at Democratic Town Hall

Opening statement -

Good evening, my fellow Americans. I have been representing the great state of Wisconsin in the US Senate for 15 years. During this time, I have seen the big swamp of DC politics, a swamp formed of politicians only interested in being re-elected and corporations writing their own interests in legislation. During this time, I have also learnt how to fix Washington, how to take it away from the pocket of the billionaires and give it back to you, the people of this great nation. Because what you deserve is not tax cuts worth billions, some even say trillions, of dollars to corporations and billionaires, instead you deserve tax relief for struggling working class Americans combined with increasing the already unfair shares for millionaires and the top 1%. If you want the reality of heads, Wall Street wins, tails, Main Street loses to end, I am your voice. Because what you deserve is not this unfair healthcare system, in which the greed of the insurance companies is the main priority not the health problems of the American people, nor an incomplete plan which would still leave out millions of Americans. Instead, we need to join every other country on earth and grant health care to all of our citizens, not just those who can afford it. If you want a healthcare system which is fair and compassionate, I am your voice. And what you deserve is for the government to be concerned with how to put food on the tables of American families, not playing the guardian of the world in faraway lands. There is no reason for our troops to be in places like Uganda. If you want an effective military which does not provoke all kinds of countries, but protects the US and its allies, I am your voice. My Administration will be one of the people, by the people and for the people. Thank you.

Question 1 -

Well, I normally would think that a transition of power after 16 years would be more then welcomed. However, the agenda our opponents would implement is far too dangerous to be allowed to be the way our country is governed, and this is why I am running. What they would do is cut the taxes of billionaires and millionaires, raise the taxes on working class Americans, tax health benefits while pretending to do the middle class Americans a favor. They will continue to protect NAFTA, the biggest disaster of the last 50 years, and not even help workers affected in any way. They will protect the greed of the insurance companies and the drug companies, help corporations in their way against family farms, repeal all things Al Gore has done for the environment and favor polluting oil companies, give Social Security over to Wall Street and, obviously, invade the Middle East. That is their real platform, confirmed by decades of actions, and I will go to the working and middle class Americans and tell them - This is not the way forward, here is what I want to do instead to help you and your community. I will do so with the credibility of a Senator who broke ranks with his party when any of its proposals harmed the American people, worked across the aisle when I found common ground, and took principled stands on all issues facing America today. That is why I think our movement will win this election, and start bold, progressive reforms necessary to create prosperity.

Question 2 -

Yes, I agree with the decision to repeal DADT. It was an odious, clearly discriminatory policy, and there is simply no reason for which a person willing to bleed and die for his or her country should be rejected, regardless of their sexual orientation, and the army should be focused on defending the United States, not on investigating its members on issues related to their personal life. I am also an opponent of the Defense of Marriage Act, and I was against it even in 1996, when it was voted on. I believe that this whole issue is a charade by some Republican politicians to hide the fact that they have no sane agenda on issues which matter most to voters, like the economy, education, environment, energy, healthcare, foreign policy or social security. But, in the end, we are all Americans, regardless of gender, race or sexual orientation, and we should focus on what united us while cheering on the differences between us, accept each other and work together with optimism for a better future, instead of falling for demagogues attempting to divide us.

Question 3 -

Well, I agree with them. I am sure that President Gore has had the best of intentions when he created this department, but it became redundant, breaking the civil liberties that we as Americans value the most without doing much work in preventing terrorism at home. If I am elected President, I will abolish it, as the agencies we had before were and still are perfectly capable of dealing with this threat, and use the money to boost funding for crucial government programs such as Medicare, Social Security or the EPA. It is vital for the tax dollars of the people to be used in their own best interest.

Personalized question -

Well, let me first of all thank my colleague and distinguished public servant John McCain. Even as we disagree on many things, he is a man of an outstanding integrity and moral compass and the country will be forever grateful for his service. Now, back to your question, I will absolutely pass new campaign finance reform, as well as lobbying reforms, to stop lobbyists and billionaires from controlling our politicians. For example, I will centralize ethic and lobbying information for voters, require independent monitoring of lobbying laws and ethics rules and close the revolving door on former and future employees. With broad changes like this, we will ensure that DC listens to the people and not to special interests like it did until now.

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Senator Russ Feingold @RUSS

The military industrial companies are desperate to get our country into a war (getting to supply military presences in Uganda or Botswana is not enough for their greed) - and ordered the House far rightists and racists to drag us into Iraq! President Gore did nothing wrong in dealing with Iraq and the alleged (in a conspiracy theory) WMDs are just a pretext for those military company CEOs to get even richer! SHAME!

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During a speech in Iowa, Senator Feingold spoke about the new investigation. Here is what he had to say -

Well, the big companies involved in military industry are more desperate then ever to get us into a war. Even as the US Army is too expanded as it is, that is not enough to satisfy their greed, and so they ordered the Congressional far rightists and racists to drag us into a war with Iraq. They, as it fits their partisan goals, accepted it with eagerness. President Gore did nothing wrong, and handled the Middle Eastern situation with competence, despite overwhelming pressure from the Republicans to invade and open up a huge theater, and the alleged WMDs that Iraq owns are nothing more than conspiracy theories with no proof, a pretext for both the politicians to get more power and the billionaires to get more wealth. It is shameful, and I will not stand by it.

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Where will Russ Feingold be in September and October

1st August - 7th August - Tour of the Plains
7th August - 14th August - Nevada
14th August - 21st August - California
21st August - 5th September - New Hampshire
5th September - 30th September - Iowa

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Russ Feingold releases new ethics plan to clean up Washington

A populist through and through, Senator Feingold has been claiming for a long time that he wants to clean up Washington which has succumbed to the will of corporations and special interests, and restore it to the people of the country. But today he released a list of pledges about how he will save Washington from lobbyists -

1. Create a centralized Internet database of lobbying reports, ethics records, and campaign finance filings.

2. Fight for an independent watchdog agency to oversee the investigation of congressional ethics violations.

3. No political appointees in an Feingold administration will be permitted to work on regulations or contracts directly and substantially related to their prior employer for two years. And no political appointee will be able to lobby the executive branch after leaving government service during the remainder of the administration.

4. Refuse contributions from PACs or lobbyists

Russ said he is the only candidate to care about this issue and propose a plan to deal with it.

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Russ Feingold to paint himself as the only populist in the race, contrast with Hillary Clinton

The Feingold Campaign is realizing that they are running out of time to build a winning coalition, and so they will go all in on attacks to the other candidates. Russ Feingold will underline in every speech, that he was the only candidate, other than Barbara Lee, to pledge not to privatize Social Security and hand over the benefits to tens of millions of people over to Wall Street and the only candidate to actually sign the pledge related to Repealing and Replacing NAFTA, even as other candidates constantly promised to do it. He will also contrast with Hillary Clinton, the frontrunner of the race, in numerous occasions, as he hopes to make himself her main opponent. He will attack her for supporting NAFTA, the Defense of Marriage Act and for fanatically supporting outsourcing, even calling her the Queen of Outsourcing, as she personally invited an outsourcing company to open up in Brooklyn, so that her state can lose their jobs and take part in the wonderful process of outsourcing as well. He will also call her as representing the status quo, at a time during which the workers need bold reforms in office. Russ hopes that this new strategy will gain him much needed attention from the voters, especially in Iowa, Nevada and NH.

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Opening statement -

Good evening, my fellow Americans. Tonight millions of people are watching us, wanting to hear from us hope, hope for a better future, and boldness about going after it. And I, unlike my opponents on this stage, am here to offer that to them. Because I know Washington, and that is why I know that it is deeply broken. No one there cares about the hundreds of thousands of mothers losing their children because they did not have some fancy insurance. No one there cares about the millions of families trying so hard to put food on their tables so that they can live to fight another day. No one there cares that the corporations are attacking local businesses, putting millions of people out of work. Or that the devastating NAFTA is putting millions of people out of work and taking away income from many more, and that politicians only support it because lobbyists tell them to. Or that the corporations are outsourcing jobs to other countries. They not only do not care about those issues, but they are warmly inviting outsourcing companies to their states. I am here to tell them, that enough is enough, and that I will stand up to be the voice of the working Americans. If you grant me the great honor of being elected President, I can not promise you that things will get better in a day or a week. But what I can promise you is that I will fight every day and every minute for each and every one of you to have a better life, a life that they deserve, and to be able to fulfill their God given potential. Thank you.

Personal question

Well, Tom, I do not know what endorsements are you referring to. Because I have the full endorsements of millions of people from every state of this nation which have decided to listen to my message, see that my campaign is truly one by the people and for the people and give me their support, some of them even donating small amounts of money to help us with our cause. Those are the endorsements I care about, not those of politicians. And my strategy is to go out and convince every working American from any state that the movement we are building together can take Washington, and that obviously includes Iowa. But it is obvious when you look at the crowds all of us attract that I have a strong following in the entire country, and people are relating to the progressive values and bold choices that I propose in this election.

Closing statement

My fellow Americans, tonight you have heard all of us proposing plans and making promises. But in the end it comes down to this - who on the stage has broken party lines in order to do the right thing? Who on the stage has fought Washington with all of its bad influences? Who on the stage has not listened to lobbyists, but to the people? Who on the stage has signed a pledge to Repeal-and-Replace NAFTA? Who on the stage has plans to make their lives of every single American better, not new ways for corporations and billionaires to get wealthier? Ask yourself this questions, and then decide who is worthy enough of your vote. Thank you.

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Russ Feingold comments on the backroom deals of Hillary Clinton

Asked by an Iowan citizen today on his thoughts related to the feud between Hillary and other candidates, Russ had the following to say -

Look, I think that it is clear for everyone that the DC swamp, the lobbyists, billionaires and all other forcss involved in robbing the American people are getting freaked out by the fact that tens of millions of working Americans are saying "Enough is enough" and are backing progressive movements such as my campaign or the one of Barbara Lee. They have chosen an establishment politician to try and stop us, but the people will see right through their game at the ballot box. Hillary Clinton has been supporting all kinds of horrible policies during her long political career, such as NAFTA and DoMA, and her support for bad trade deals and outsourcing has left millions out of work. This is why she will not win, even if the entire DNC throws its support, and the fact that she has no real plan for the country and her only response to criticism has been "shame on you" and "I am sick and tired of hearing this" only shows how weak her message is. So I am not concerned about her, let's move back to the issues.

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Russ Feingold slams Barbara Lee for hypocrisy in speech given in Iowa.

Barbara Lee called out, and rightly so, the backroom deals of Hillary Clinton and her establishment backers, but here she is doing the exact same thing! Hillary Clinton and Barbara Lee are teo sides of the same coin, and this sudden endorsement shows that it is as clear as day! The American people will choose for President someone who plays by the rules, regardless of the machinations of Hillary and Barbara.

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Russ Feingold ad - Two sides of the same coin, airing in all of Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and Michigan

Narrator - Hillary and Barbara claim to be different from one another, and accuse each other of hypocrisy and being part of the DC swamp. But are they really different? While Hillary was having meetings to cut backroom deals with Senators Daschle and Lincoln, Barbara was calling her out. But when Barbara was suddenly endorsed by Senator Obama, she certainly did not do the exact same thing as Hillary, did she? The reality is that they both would do anything to be President, and represent the same old Washington swamp that has been robbing working families for years. And no matter their charades, they are 2 sides of the same coin.

Russ - I am Russ Feingold, I approve this message, and let us make a progressive choice for the future of America.

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Feingold pledges that his running mate will not be another white man, in statement at IA rally.

Here is what he had to say -

Look, I know that there is a clear bias in politics. White men, such as myself, are privileged, and more likely to succeed. There is no point in sugarcoating this. That is wrong, and that must end. If I am fortunate enough to be granted the honor of my life and be elected as the Democratic Nominee, I guarantee you that my running mate will not be another white man like me. My campaign is all about bold, progressive choices, and this one is a must to break once and for all the unfairness of the American political system.

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Russ Feingold pledges to reform the immigration system in statement at rally in Nevada

During a speech made in Nevada Russ promised to pass through Congress a plan built to improve our immigration system and bring people out of the shadows. Here is how he will do that -

1. Fix the dysfunctional immigration bureaucracy and increase the number of legal immigrants to keep families together and meet the demand for jobs that employers cannot fill.

2. Create a system that allows undocumented immigrants who are in good standing to pay a fine, learn English, and go to the back of the line for the opportunity to become citizens.

3. Work to do more to promote economic development in Mexico to decrease illegal immigration.

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Feingold attacks Clinton, Lee for not signing pledge to Repeal-and-Replace NAFTA

Here is what he had to say -

NAFTA is one of the worst things to have happened to this country. It devastated entire states, killed off millions of jobs and destroyed lives. Many of my fellow candidates promised to renegotiate it. However, I am the only one who signed a pledge to Repeal-and-Replace NAFTA. Hillary Clinton was a fanatical supporter in the 1990s and would keep it for sure, and Barbara Lee, for all of her progressive charade, refused to sign this pledge. If she does it now, it would only be because of the public pressure. Both of them clearly do not have your best interests in mind and would keep this murderous trade deal in place if they are elected, because that is what the establishment wants.

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Russ Feingold ad - Who is who?, airing in Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and Michigan

Narrator - Hillary Clinton and Barbara Lee. Or is it Hillary Lee? Or Barbara Clinton? Or Clinton Lee?

Hillary and her wealthy establishment donors tried to make her the queen of the Democratic Party, by cutting backroom deals and buying support from incumbent Senators. And when she did that, Barbara Lee was loudly criticizing her for trying to steal the primary. However, when the opportunity stroke, what do you think Barbara did? Yes, the exact same thing! She could not have passed on the opportunity of being elected President, even if that meant cutting the kind of backroom deals that she said were wrong. And who do you think was criticizing her for this? That is right, Hillary! The only real question now is - is it Hillary Lee, or Barbara Clinton? But regardless of which one it is, behind them is the same DC establishment swamp. Russ Feingold would rather actually earn your vote than cozy up to party leaders.

Russ - I am Russ Feingold, I approve this message, and let us make a bold choice for the future of America.

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Russ Feingold endorses equal pay for equal work

Russ Feingold acknowledged today the problems which are being faced by women in America, and promised to fix them. He promised to mandate equal pay for equal work, and close up the pay gap with smart governmental action. He also said that part of any tax reform effort would be a massive childcare tax credit, to help parents with the costs, and that he will expand paid sick leave. A priority for any Feingold Administration will be to grant real equality between women and men and fight sexism in all of its forms. This is why, if Russ is nominated, he will select a woman as his running mate, making history with the first female Vice Presidential nominee.