Feingold's Censure and Michigan 2006

Cross-posted on Michigan Liberal.

When Senator Russ Feingold introduced his resolution to censure President Bush, I was rather pleased. Not only was I pleased that there was a chance that President Bush would be held accountable, but also this was another in a long series of principled decisions made by Feingold that make him more and more appealing for 2008. But regardless of how this might help or hurt his presidential aspirations, this may offer a way to help in Michigan's 2006 Senate race. I'm a liberal, and like many others, I've been a little disappointed in Senator Stabenow. She's no Joe Lieberman, to be sure, but she hasn't been Carl Levin, either. And, as much as I'd like both Stabenow and Levin to stand with Feingold on the censure, I know that our interests would not be served by her losing this fall. But what if we can have her support Feingold and be guaranteed reelection?

When I wrote an e-mail to Senator Stabenow last week encouraging her to support Feingold, I mentioned that making the election about Bush-- her opposition and her opponent's support-- might help her win, when the president is polling in the mid-to-low 30s. Similar sentiments were expressed in kant's diary at Daily Kos. As he says: Look, I'm no genius at composing these diaries. There are folks like Hunter and Dood Abides and emptywheel whose work blows me away. But this censure issue is not rocket science. Rove and the Republicans want 2006 to be what they call a "choice election." They made 2004 a choice between Bush and Kerry, and then proceeded to trash a war hero so they could get their idiot candidate 47% of the vote and then steal the remaining 3% through election fraud. The alternative to a "choice election" is a "referendum election" and even the "worst/stupidest president ever" can figure out how a referendum on a 33% President is going to turn out... Indeed, it's been pointed out recently on this website that the Michigan GOP still proudly supports the president. One would think that Senator Stabenow and others across the country would leap forward at a chance to censure President Bush, but instead fear holds them back. So what if we stop asking Senator Stabenow to support Feingold? What if we start asking Republicans? Although Keith Butler, Michael Bouchard, and Jerry Zandstra don't seem like particularly strong candidates, and although they've been polling far below Stabenow, the race could still heat up. An easy reelection is by no means guaranteed, and Michigan has always been a top target of both parties. But one thing could hurt the campaigns of all three Republicans: their support for President Bush when he's got 30% approval in the state. Could we get the three Republican candidates for Senate to make public statements against the censure and supporting President Bush? Can we win by making this election about George W. Bush? And would Senator Stabenow feel more willing to stand up to Bush if she knew that such stances could win the election? I think it's worth a shot. Contact all three and ask for statements concerning Feingold's resolution. Ask them whether they stand with President Bush, and encourage them to make that known in public. Michael Bouchard Bouchard for U.S. Senate P.O. Box 159 Royal Oak, MI 48068 Phone: (248) 566-1125 Keith Butler Keith Butler for U.S. Senate Committee 26621 Southfield Rd. Lathrup Village, MI 48076 Phone: 248-905-5288 Fax: 248-905-5298 Jerry Zandstra Zandstra for U.S. Senate 6670 Kalamazoo Ave. S.E. Suite E-160 Grand Rapids, MI 49508 info@jerryzandstra.com PHONE: 616.726.6699 FAX: 616.827.8788