Feingold Woos and Wows New England Dems

Russ Feingold was on the presidential campaign trail Saturday, making stops at state Democratic conventions in Maine and New Hampshire, and addressing the wacked out party faithful.

From Feingold's New Hampshire highlight reel:

"Some say 'we've got it made ... let's not rock the boat,'" he said, "but I believe that's exactly how we lost in 2002 and 2004. We won't win by default. We won't win by just running out the clock. We'll only win if we show we are willing to discuss tough subjects or else we will be perceived as weak and full of fear."

...Feingold said wherever he goes, conservatives, liberals and moderates all ask him the same question. "When are you guys going to start standing up?"

To emphasize his point, Feingold listed all the things he's voted against, including the Iraq war, the Patriot Act, the North American Free Trade Agreement and the No Child Left Behind Act.

When it comes to Iraq, Feingold said there's some truth to the perception that Democrats "won't stand up when the administration starts its saber rattling."

Feingold, who has called for removing U.S. troops from Iraq by the end of the year, said many Democrats started to back him up but eventually "went back into their fox hole."

"Why are so many Democrats so timid about saying what everyone in American knows -- it's time to get the troops out of Iraq," he said.

Feingold spoke of the need for Dems to "develop the backbone necessary to stand up for their principles."

What does Feingold really mean by that?

He's calling on Dems to push Left and push far and push hard.

Feingold's visit to the convention in Maine, as the keynote speaker no less, must have been gratifying for him. He had to be pleased that the Dems in Augusta were flaunting their well-developed backbones.

AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) -- Democratic State Convention delegates adopted a resolution Saturday calling for impeachment proceedings against President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney, but they opted not to include the measure in their party platform.

The strongly worded resolution says the president and vice president have "betrayed their oaths" in their prosecution of the war in Iraq, treatment and detainment of prisoners and use of illegal domestic surveillance.

Feingold must have had this bunch of Leftists eating out of his hand.

They are completely on the same page as Feingold. He has literally been their voice.

It urges Congress to investigate the leaders' actions, "carrying the legal process through to its conclusion in an act of impeachment." It also calls on the Maine Legislature and the state's congressional representatives to press for an investigation.

...The platform committee did not include the impeachment language in the draft because they wanted to make sure the issue was debated by delegates, party leaders said. Some party activists who spoke said that while they did not believe an impeachment plank should be part of the platform, they agreed with it in principle.

"There are grounds for impeachment, but it's not practical," delegate Gary Sinden of Eliot said after the vote. Sinden said he believes the idea of censuring the president, as proposed by convention keynoter Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., "is more practical."

Although impeachment didn't make it into the Maine Dems' platform, the delegates made it clear that they want Congress to proceed with the impeachment of President Bush and Vice President Cheney.

They probably believed that a warped impeachment plank would likely turn some independents and more moderate Dems (if there are any moderate Dems) against the party.

But there's no question that impeachment is high on their agenda.

...Delegates rejected a plank calling for a state Department of Peace, after opponents said they weren't sure what it would do and questioned how the state would afford it.

A Department of Peace?

That's so off the wall that even some of the Dems balked at that one.

Does Maine really need a Department of Peace?

Do Mainiacs live under such violent and chaotic conditions that they need to establish a special department to deal with the issues?

It's funny that the cost of the proposed department was an issue. It's not often that Dems concern themselves with a proposal's affordability.

I suppose Feingold probably thinks that he accomplished a great deal on Saturday, winning support from the extremists in the New Hampshire and Maine Dem parties.

His appearances most likely will mean more cash in his 2008 campaign coffers.

But there's a problem.

What's good for far Left Feingold is bad for the national party and its hopes for success.

Liberals can't win nationally unless they lie about what they stand for.

The liberal agenda has been rejected in election after election.

While other Dems, like Hillary Clinton, pretend to be moderate, "maverick" Feingold refuses to play that game.

He seems to be under the false impression that mainstream America embraces his extremist views. It doesn't.

Little conclaves, like the gatherings in New Hampshire and Maine, may be enthusiastic about Feingold; but there is just no way that support for his fringe lib agenda would be adopted by those in the vastness of Red America.

The fact is Feingold and his followers are in a bubble, a very small bubble.