Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Russ Feingold Attacks Tommy Thompson

Russ Feingold is on offense.

I guess those listening sessions have him a little spooked.

I can understand why.

Still, it's weird that he's attacking an opponent he doesn't have.

From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

Sen. Russ Feingold took aim at Republican Tommy Thompson Monday, questioning in an e-mail to supporters why the former governor was getting so much encouragement from Washington insiders to run against him.

“So you might ask, ‘Well why are these people in Washington asking Tommy Thompson to run?’ Because he’s their friend. Because he does what they want. That’s why they’re asking him to run.”

Feingold added: “I’ve spent years and years taking on the special interests. And Tommy Thompson spent years taking them on as clients.”

Feingold’s comments come a day after Republican lobbyist Bill McCoshen appeared on Mike Gousha’s “UpFront” show, saying that Thompson was seriously considering a run for the Senate.

“This is the most serious I’ve seen him,” McCoshen said, adding that Thompson was “no dummy politically.”

“He knows what the trends are, he knows what his opportunities are and he’s going about this in the right way,” he said.

McCoshen, a former Thompson campaign manager and chief of staff, said he expects to see Thompson form an exploratory committee in the next couple of weeks but that the Republican would probably not make a formal announcement before the state GOP convention May 20.

In a sign that Wisconsin Democrats are also gearing up for battle against Thompson, the party put out a press release Monday criticizing the former governor and arguing that he has surrounded himself with lobbyists, including McCoshen and Bob Wood, president of the lobbying firm Barbour, Griffith.

I don't know why Feingold is going so negative at this point, attacking Thompson when he isn't even in the race.

Has Feingold been taking advice from Rahm Emanuel?

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