Election Matters: Feingold to McCain: Knock it off

John Nichols  —  10/14/2008 1:15 pm

CALENDAR: The Nov. 4 election is 21 days (three weeks) from today.

THE END OF MCCAIN-FEINGOLD: Mention bipartisan cooperation and no two names come more quickly to mind than "McCain" and "Feingold." Ever since Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona and Democratic Sen. Russ Feingold of Wisconsin began working together more than a decade ago to promote the McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform law and related clean government initiatives, they have had something of a mutual-admiration society.

In 2000, when he was running a very different campaign for the presidency, McCain told me he would seriously consider giving Feingold a job in the administration he hoped to construct.

This year, Feingold has gone out of his way to say nice things about McCain, even as they have disagreed on the issues.

But the increasingly crude nature of the McCain campaign's attacks on Democratic nominee Barack Obama -- and the racial and ethnic insensitivity that has been tolerated at too many rallies featuring McCain and Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin -- finally proved too much for Feingold.

On Monday, the other half of the McCain-Feingold duo called McCain to knock it off.

Here's what Russ Feingold said:

In a closely fought campaign like the Presidential race, elements of either side can get caught up in the emotions of the contest. This is especially true during stressful economic times. I heard Senator McCain help tamp down the rhetoric at a recent town hall meeting.

Regrettably, he needs to do more of that. An energetically waged campaign can all too easily slip over into something hateful and dangerous, and everyone from the candidate on down needs to do whatever it takes to stop that. It won't seem credible for the John McCain I know to say his campaign should be respectful, while seeming to look the other way as his campaign employs certain tactics and rhetoric which apparently are intended to appeal to the fears of some Americans.

POLL POSITIONING: Obama continues to expand his lead in Wisconsin. The new Quinnipiac University poll for The Wall Street Journal and the Web site of The Washington Post has the Democrat ahead now by a 54-37 margin -- 17 points. That's up from a 51-43 advantage for Obama before the debates. As Wisconsin begins what looks like at shift out of "battleground" status, other states are shifting in. West Virginia and Indiana, formerly thought to be probables for McCain have moved to "toss up" status. Several new polls have Obama leading in West Virginia, a state that voted for George Bush in 2000 and 2004. McCain's still a little bit ahead in Indiana polls, but the Real Clear Politics poll-of-polls puts McCain up by a mere 3.8 points.

For more on the evolving numbers, go to RCP's site

OBAMA (AND McCAIN) SHOULD COME TO JANESVILLE: The General Motors corporation announcement that it would shutter its sprawling factory in Janesville -- eliminating thousands of Wisconsin's best jobs -- brought this statement from Barack Obama:

"For generations, the General Motors plant in Janesville has provided families with good-paying jobs and helped sustain this proud Wisconsin community. Now the plant is shutting down earlier than expected, creating new uncertainty and new challenges for thousands of workers and their families. We need to finally make good on Washington's promise to partner with the auto industry to make it more competitive. As President, I will work with automakers to build the fuel-efficient cars of tomorrow so that, instead of closing plants, we can create new jobs and lift up hardworking families in cities like Janesville."

John McCain offered a more general statement regarding a pattern of GM plant closures that includes the decision to shutter the Janesville facility.

McCain-Palin 2008 today released the following statement by John McCain on reports of pending General Motors plant closings:

"I'm disappointed to hear of the upcoming General Motors plant closings. Hardworking people are paying the price because our country's leaders have put Washington corruption and Wall Street greed before Main Street's interests for too long. Change is coming. I know families across America are hurting and as president, I will lead members of both parties in a fight to keep and create good jobs in communities across the country. Now is not a time for words and platitudes. Now is a time for action. That is why I supported auto industry loan guarantees and will continue to work to create opportunities for American auto companies to build the car of the 21st century and put Americans back to work."

But shouldn't the candidates say it in person?

For Obama, a Janesville campaign visit would seem to make perfect sense.

The Democratic nominee for president owes Wisconsin a visit. Yes, he is way ahead in the polls but, technically, this is still a battleground state. And Republican McCain has just done a two-day swing through Waukesha (with Sarah Palin), Mosinee and La Crosse. And Janesville would be a natural stop for the Democrat.

Obama delivered one of the most important addresses of his campaign -- a populist critique of the free-trade policies of the Clinton and Bush administrations -- at the city's sprawling GM plant in February. He has since referenced that visit, and GM's preparations to shutter the plant, frequently on the campaign trail. Now that the automaker has announced that the plant will close by the end of the year, Obama should return. And he should say something strong, like what Gov. Jim Doyle said Monday:

"General Motors' announcement of the final day of production at the Janesville plant is another tragic example where hard working families are carrying the brunt of the burden for the financial failures on Wall Street. Even in the face of national economic challenges, we will still continue our efforts with the local union, businesses, community leaders and our Congressional Delegation to convince GM to bring a new product line to the Janesville plant.

The Janesville announcement gives Obama a chance to come full circle. But he cannot simply express sympathy. He must present an economic vision that makes sense to a city that is worried -- as much of the country now is -- about its future. Frankly, the same goes for McCain.

In a campaign season when both major-party contenders have struggled to address concerns about both Wall Street and Main Street, Janesville offers a venue -- in a battleground state -- where they can do so.

In fact, if these candidates wanted to have a meaningful debate -- unlike the silly joint appearances in which they have so far engaged -- they would come to a city that is hurting and engage in a serious discourse about how to address the most fundamental of questions: Will American still manufacture cars? Will America still manufacture anything? Will America ever have an industrial policy that allows us to compete seriously in the global economy? Will America ever establish trade policies that are designed to benefit Janesville as much as Manhattan?

NOW FOR SOME REAL DEBATES: Gard-Kagen Schedule Two Clashes

The last scheduled presidential debate will take place this week. Sigh and ho-hum.

But Wisconsinites still have something to look forward to. The state's most hotly contested congressional contest, the 8th District race between Democatic incumbent Steve Kagen and Republican challenger John Gard (the former state Assembly Speaker who lost a battle for the traditionally Republican seat to Kagen two years ago) will see two late-October debates:

Tuesday, October 21 at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. The debate will be sponsored by Project Vote Brown County, WisPolitics.com, UW-GB College Democrats, UW-GB College Republicans and The Student Government Association of UW-GB

Thursday, October 23 in the Stansbury Theater at Lawrence University in Appleton sponsored by AARP and Lawrence University.

These should be rip-roaring events. Consider the nasty anticipatory statements from the two candidates:

Gard, who has in recent days accused Kagen of dodging debates, recently sent a letter to his opponent demanding to know: "What is it that you are afraid of talking to voters about," Gard asked in his letter to Kagen. "Your votes to raise taxes? Your vote to give healthcare to illegal immigrants? Your vote to give millions of taxpayer dollars to bailout Fannie Mae? Your refusal to see Medicare patients in your clinic?"

Ouch.

Kagen, in accepting the debate invites, said, "I look forward to debating John to highlight the dramatic differences between us on everything our communities care so much about. I have been listening closely to the concerns of my constituents for my entire adult lifetime and will represent their views on how by working together we will build a better future for all of us. John will represent Big Oil, Big Insurance, Big Corporations and the same losing policies of the Bush Administration -- and simply put, we cannot afford to send John to Washington."

Double ouch.

Here's the a recent Kagen ad.

Here's a recent Gard ad.

FIRST QUOTE OF THE DAY: "Every moment McCain co-chair J.B. Van Hollen refuses to do his job and investigate destroys any credibility he has left. He's not a hired attorney for John McCain and the Republican Party - he's supposed to be Wisconsin's top cop and serve us." -- Scot Ross of One Wisconsin Now, announcing that his group had delivered to petitions signed by nearly 3,000 Wisconsinites calling on the Republican Attorney General and John McCain to investigate suspicious absentee ballot mailings coming from McCain and the Republican Party of Wisconsin.

SECOND QUOTE OF THE DAY: Bad registrations.

"For most of the individuals who have been hired to do this work, their primary focus is preserving their jobs. This was an employment opportunity for them in tough economic times ... If you have to come up with 25 voter registration applications by the end of the day, you're going to come up with the 25 voter registrations." -- Neil Albrecht, deputy director of Milwaukee's city election office, on the controversial practice of having paid workers meet quotas for registering new voters. Concerns have been raised about 49 cases of bad registrations collected by workers associated with ACORN and the Community Voters Project -- two groups Republicans have criticized.

John Nichols  —  10/14/2008 1:15 pm