Feingold: Silencing Clinton, Schumer and Kerry

NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. – The old political motto is that when in a primary, a Democrat ought to run to the left and a Republican to the right. When in a general election, they meet somewhere near the center. It's a Beltway cliché because it has proved a reliable electoral strategy over time.

But Russ Feingold has now taken the “run to the left” theory a little too far. And given the relatively radical nature of today's Democratic leadership (think Nancy Pelosi), that is saying a lot.

As I mentioned Monday, Mr. Feingold is calling on Congress to censure President Bush for tapping phone conversations between suspected terrorists. What most Americans see as a necessary measure toward the defense of our homeland, Mr. Feingold apparently sees as grounds for censure.

And Mr. Feingold, in making this transparent media ploy as he prepared to run for the presidency, has apparently sprinted so far to the left that he cannot find a single senator to join him in this wasteful endeavor.

Dana Milbank has a very humorous piece in today's Washington Post, headlined “The Feingold Resolution and the Sound of Silence,” highlighting how this latest piece of garbage has left even leading senate Democrats speechless:

Democratic senators, filing in for their weekly caucus lunch yesterday, looked as if they'd seen a ghost.

"I haven't read it," demurred Barack Obama (Ill.).

...

"I really can't right now," John Kerry (Mass.) said as he hurried past a knot of reporters -- an excuse that fell apart when Kerry was forced into an awkward wait as Capitol Police stopped an aide at the magnetometer.

Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.) brushed past the press pack, shaking her head and waving her hand over her shoulder. When an errant food cart blocked her entrance to the meeting room, she tried to hide from reporters behind the 4-foot-11 Barbara Mikulski (Md.).

...

Next in the Senate TV gallery came Schumer. An aide hung up a poster showing a port. The senator called the ports situation "extremely troubling." The aide hung up a poster of an Exxon cartoon. "Obscene profits," decreed Schumer, equally passionately.

CNN's [Ed] Henry asked the Feingold question. Schumer ended the news conference.

Indeed, Senate Democrats are starting to sound like the Keystone Cops as they try to dodge questions about Mr. Feingold's absurd proposal. On one hand, they don't want to publicly condemn a man who may just follow in the footsteps of John Kerry and Al Gore; on the other hand, they all know that the American people will hold them to the coals if they back such a ludicrous proposal.

Then again, this whole stunt seems to be working for Mr. Feingold. After all, a presidential candidate is going to want as much of the evening news to himself as possible, and by scaring all of his colleagues away from the microphone, the Wisconsin senator has found a sure-fire way to monopolize the sound byte market.

(And, yeah, I'd be willing to pay money to see Ms. Clinton try to hide behind Ms. Mikulski.)