Post-Election Matters: Senate Foreign Relations Committee chair Russ Feingold?

John Nichols  —  11/11/2008 8:14 am

COULD THIS BE FEINGOLD'S MOMENT? A Key Committee Chairmanship

Democrats have dramatically expanded their majority in the U.S. Senate -- to at least a 57-43 advantage, and perhaps more if a recount in Minnesota and a runoff election in Georgia go the party's way. At the same time, senior senators are shuffling their committee assignments -- either because of age concerns (Appropriations Committee chair Robert Byrd, D-West Virginia, is stepping down) or electoral developments (Senate Foreign Relations Committee chair Joe Biden, D-Delaware, is stepping up).

When Biden assumes the vice presidency, the chairmanship of the powerful Foreign Relations Committee will come open.

Under the seniority system, the next senator in line is Connecticut's Chris Dodd. But Dodd has signaled that he wants to retain his current chairmanship of the Banking Committee.

Next comes Massachusetts' John Kerry. But Kerry wants to be Secretary of State -- or, maybe, Ambassador to the United Nations. If Kerry got out of the line, that would leave the chairmanship to the next person on the seniority list, a fellow from Middleton named Russ Feingold.

There's been some speculation that Democrats might opt for another member because of Feingold's maverick record and reputation -- along with his outspoken advocacy for a timeline to bring U.S. troops home from Iraq. Here's one article discussing the prospect.

Don't buy it. Feingold's relations with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, and other key players in the Senate and on the committee are good. The Wisconsinite actually has better relations with many of the Republicans on the committee than other Democrats.

Unfortunately for Feingold, the prospect that Kerry will actually get a top appointment are, at best, 50-50.

SILLIEST SPECULATION: The Doyle Seeks a Position for Lawton Theory

Some Wisconsin political fantacists imagine that Gov. Jim Doyle is in the running for an Obama Cabinet post, but will only take it if he can get a job for Lt. Gov. Barbara Lawton, with whom the governor has often feuded. The theory is that Doyle would not take a federal post unless he could insert someone else in the Wisconsin's No. 2 position -- and thus in the line of succession to the governorship he would abandon.

The reality? Doyle's name has yet to show up on any serious lists of prospective Obama Cabinet prospects. And with literally thousands of Democrats positioning themselves for appointments, anyone who tried to the "I'll only take a job if you appoint someone else to something first..." gambit would find their name struck from consideration.

Chances of a Doyle move to Washington? Slim.

Chances that Doyle would be politically stupid enough to try a Lawton machination? Zero.

Chances that Lawton, who is fluent in Spanish and has lived in South America, might be considered on her own merits for an ambassadorship? Now, we're talking within the realm of possibility.

The best bet, however, is that the 2010 Democratic ticket in Wisconsin will feature Doyle for governor and Lawton for lieutenant governor.

WWGT? What would Gaylord Think?

Tia Nelson, the able executive secretary of Wisconsin's Board of Commissioners of Public Lands, is, as well, the daughter of legendary Wisconsin Gov. and U.S. Sen. Gaylord Nelson.

So, what would Nelson, who, as a white kid from northern Wisconsin volunteers to command an entirely African-American military unit during World War II and then became a leading advocate for civil rights in the Wisconsin Legislature and the U.S. Senate, think of the election of the nation's first African-American president?

"I'm sure that Papa would have been happy. He would have seen this as progress on so many levels," says Tia Nelson.

And, she adds, "I wish that Martin had seen it."

"Martin" is Martin Hanson, the great northern Wisconsin progressive and long-time friend and political ally of Gaylord Nelson.

Hanson died shortly before the election. In our Oct. 24 edition, Election Matters recalled:

Martin Hanson was the grand old man of progressive Democratic politics in the north, a key ally of Gaylord Nelson's who served as the tour guide for John Kennedy when the president visited the Apostle Islands on his last official trip before his Nov. 22, 1963, assassination.

Like everyone who met Martin, Kennedy was impressed. He died before he could take steps to declare the 21 Apostles as a national park. But Nelson and Hanson kept working to preserve the "Jewels of Lake Superior." In 1970, they succeeded, as Congress approved creation of the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore.

The Kennedy and Nelson connections, as well as his own political acumen and fund-raising skills, made Hanson a go-man for young Democrats. He encouraged a fresh generation of office seekers to embrace the "Earth Day" senator's environmental ethic.

Your reporter was last with Martin a few years back when I was the keynote speaker for the annual gathering of the League of Women Voters for Ashland and Bayfield Counties. The night was lovely. The crowd was large. But Martin and I found time to talk. He spoke to me about how delighted he was with the work of two of those next-generation Democrats: U.S. Senator Russ Feingold and Lt. Governor Barbara Lawton.

Martin was found dead Wednesday, at age 81, in precisely the place where he would have wanted to pass -- outside his cabin near Mellen.

Tia reports that Hanson's name will soon be added to Wisconsin's Conservation Hall of Fame.

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL HEARTS PAUL RYAN

Despite Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan's declaration that he is not interested in seeking the position of House Minority Leader, the Wall Street Journal editorial page keeps promoting the Janesville Republican for the job.

Here's the latest from the Wall Street Journal's "Ryan for the Republicans" endorsement.

Ryan says:

"I have been honored and humbled by the outpouring of support from my colleagues who have asked me to lead our party in the 111th Congress. I share their hunger for reform and will work tirelessly as a policy leader for the Republican Party. My first priority in life will always be my wife and my three young children. As I reflect upon the strains that this position would place on my young family, I have decided not to enter my name as a candidate for House Minority Leader."

John Nichols  —  11/11/2008 8:14 am