Tuesday night, John Fund, of the Wall Street Journal, discussed the Russ Feingold - Ron Johnson race for the U.S. Senate on The John Batchelor Show, focusing on their most recent debate on Monday.
Fund was reporting from Wisconsin, not from afar. He was on the ground here, picking up the pulse of the people.
Listen to the podcast.
Today in the WSJ, Fund writes about Feingold's attempt to pull off an extreme makeover.
The increasingly strained efforts by Wisconsin Democratic Sen. Russ Feingold to ingratiate himself with conservative voters don't appear to be having much effect. His GOP challenger Ron Johnson has led in every major published poll since July, and currently has a lead of seven points in the RealClearPolitics average of recent polls.
That hasn't stopped Mr. Feingold from trying to reinvent himself as the original Tea Partier. He plugged away again in this week's debate between the candidates, calling himself the authentic "maverick" in the race. "I have actually done the things, most of the things, [Tea Party supporters] are concerned about," he said, noting his votes against bank bailouts and the Patriot Act. "They should vote for me."
Mr. Feingold returned to the theme: "The Tea Party thinks all kinds of people should be in the U.S. Senate, and not just millionaires." Mr. Johnson, the prosperous owner of an Oshkosh plastics factory, shot back that he was "a job creator" and that Mr. Feingold's entire life had been spent in politics.
Mr. Feingold has also been trying to play to Tea Party sentiment with radio ads that claim Mr. Johnson is soft on gun rights. "I have been one of the true leaders in fighting for a greater right to bear arms," Mr. Feingold told reporters recently. The National Rifle Association begs to disagree, having given Mr. Feingold an "F" and "D" during his last two re-election efforts. This year, the NRA has endorsed Mr. Johnson.
Mr. Feingold looks to be the Democratic equivalent of Pennsylvania GOP Senator Rick Santorum in 2006, an incumbent who fell out of touch with the sentiments of his electorate and never regained the initiative in his campaign.
Feingold really is desperate.
He's flat-out lying about his record. He can't do that.
You see, Feingold has a problem. We know Russ. He's had 18 years in the U.S. Senate.
He can't reinvent himself. Wisconsin voters know him too well. We know the truth.
We know Feingold isn't a darling of the NRA.
We know he mocked Tea Partiers. It's insulting for him to be claiming to be the original Tea Partier.
What's next?
Will Feingold claim to have always been in favor of a ban on partial-birth abortion, even after he argued in favor of what amounted to infanticide?
In the past, I think what voters perceived as Feingold's sincerity and genuineness has helped him win elections.
In 2010, Feingold is being anything but sincere and genuine. We know that.
Finally, the majority of Wisconsinites don't want what Feingold is selling this time around. It became clear that Feingold wasn't listening to us, and he was exposed as a fraud and a member of the entrenched Washington elite, out of touch with the people he's supposed to represent.
Feingold's vote on ObamaCare, a vote he proudly embraces, opened the eyes of many Wisconsinites. Feingold has no qualms about defying his constituents. He's lost sight of the fact that he's in Washington to serve us.
We want Ron Johnson, the real deal, to represent us in the Senate. Johnson is a good listener.
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