July 13, 2012

Russ Feingold on the Wisconsin recall: "I wouldn't have won either."

The audience gasped.

These were 500 people at First Unitarian Society who'd showed up for a talk  organized by the Interfaith Coalition for Worker Justice of South Central Wisconsin — on "the role of interfaith communities in the labor movement."
Feingold said that interfaith groups will play a key role in healing the current partisan divide in the state. He said he saw that dynamic in action while in the Senate.

"Whenever we had a really tough fight," said Feingold, "we'd bring in the clergy. They seemed to just briefly lift us from our egos, our own infighting politics. They seemed to momentarily elevate us to talk more about fundamental values that underlie the political effort in this country."

39 comments:

ndspinelli said...

He's honest and correct.

YoungHegelian said...

Goddamn Christianists!

Can't they leave their silly superstitions out of the public sphere where the rest of us don't have to put up with it?

Oh, wait. These were liberals!

Forget I said anything, okay?

test said...

"He said over time, communities around the state have been manipulated into vilifying public workers.

"The idea was first to get cheap labor overseas and ship private jobs overseas through lousy trade agreements," Feingold said. "We were one of the great industrial states in the country," he added, but "much of that was gutted through this process." The next step, he said, was to "start complaining that public employees do get benefits and start blaming them."

Yeah, he's a healer. You'd think he'd not prove how useless trying to work across the aisle is while preaching about the importance of working across the aisle. But only if you're trying to make sense.

traditionalguy said...

Feingold is alert to nuances and uses them. He blamed Walker's decisive victory on an irritation among voters with use of a recall procedure and not on his huge and historic policy successs that started the whole bruhaha.

Feingold is great at nuancing his way aroung land mines. But no one wants to watch a useless tapdancer support Obama for all of the wrong reasons.

Eric said...

Unitarians? Why did you tag this one with "religion"?

Michael Haz said...

Dear Sen. Johnson: Thank you!

Original Mike said...

"The audience gasped."

These people really are out of touch.

edutcher said...

I thought it wasn't over until the Lefties say it's over.

Rocketeer said...

Young Heg, you may be the first person I ever saw that mistook a Unitarian for a Christian.

Scott said...

Does he have a combover in that picture?

Triangle Man said...

I came expecting a comment mocking Unitarians and Eric and Rocketeer delivered. Bravo!

Jason (the commenter) said...

"Heresy in the church!"

YoungHegelian said...

@Rocketeer,

Not so fast, my good man!

It was an interfaith convention, so there was no doubt a lively supply of real & actual Christianists.

It just happened to be held at a Unitarian house of non-worship.

Varlet, didist thou think that I, of all us here, would wax sloppy on Theological Niceties?

Rocketeer said...

Triangle Man, if you're going to play the offended Unitarian in this scenario, I'll need you to prove you bona fides by reciting the Unitarian Confession of Faith:

"Meh."

Rocketeer said...

Varlet, didist thou think that I, of all us here, would wax sloppy on Theological Niceties?

I confess, I was surprised. But really, varlet? Could be worse, I suppose.

YoungHegelian said...

@Rocketeer,

"But really, varlet?"

"Knave" had already been checked out....

tiger said...

What nonsense.

Walker won because people think he is doing the right things for Wisconsin, such as curtailing public unions.

And the unions deserve all the curtailing they get.

The duopoloy between Democrat politicians and unions, especially public unions is a disservice to the those of us who pay the bills.

And what's this rather nutty comment about religion helping to heal the state? Liberals HATE religion and only bring it up when they think they can score points by using it.

Hypocrites.

And fools. They can't understand that the majority of people don't like their ideas.

Rant over.

tiger said...

What nonsense.

Walker won because people think he is doing the right things for Wisconsin, such as curtailing public unions.

And the unions deserve all the curtailing they get.

The duopoloy between Democrat politicians and unions, especially public unions is a disservice to the those of us who pay the bills.

And what's this rather nutty comment about religion helping to heal the state? Liberals HATE religion and only bring it up when they think they can score points by using it.

Hypocrites.

And fools. They can't understand that the majority of people don't like their ideas.

Rant over.

tiger said...

As for the Unitarians:

An uncle attended the center in Madison for a while back in the 70s; his girl friend attended.

I asked him what it was like and he said that 'Unitarians pray to 'Whom it may concern' and that is the best description I've heard of their beliefs, such as they are.

To paraphrase 'The Incredibles (sp)': when you belive in everything you believe in nothing.

Peter said...

If he expects "healing" (i.e., reconciliation with the recall election results) to come from the First Unitarian Society or the Interfaith Coalition for Worker Justice of South Central Wisconsin he's sure to be disappointed.

Rusty said...

leslyn said...
They must have a shortage of clergy these days.

Yeah, that's it



Or an overabundance of Unitarians. Lets face it. They're one molestation away from a mail order divinity school.

Anonymous said...

"healing the current partisan divide"

Without "partisan divide", we will have a one party system in fact, if not in name, i.e we will be China light, politicians will only look out for themselves. A very revolting idea that no self-respecting American should believe in.

Oso Negro said...

I think an interfaith group based on the fundamental legitimacy of 2 Thessalonians 3 would go a long way toward healing the rift.

Blue@9 said...

I asked him what it was like and he said that 'Unitarians pray to 'Whom it may concern' and that is the best description I've heard of their beliefs, such as they are.

I dunno, but as an atheist that kind of makes sense to me. If one sect is correct, all the others are wrong and most of us are going to hell. Unitarian's are basically taking Pascal's Wager and hedging their bets even further.

Blue@9 said...

d'oh -- rogue apostrophe above: unitarian's = unitarians

I'm Full of Soup said...

Careful when bashing Russ, Althouse once had a pretty serious crush on him.

wildswan said...

Feingold and others think that they can use religion on behalf of the Democratic party. But I just saw a story about how the Episcopalians just spent their last conference debating whether they can do pet funerals. (Yes.) The churches need reform at intervals and this is such an interval. It's a sign of blind desperation to appeal to the churches when they are in the midst of reforming or collapsing.

Anonymous said...

I'm baffled why all these so-called men of God think there is some sort of theological justification for making sure nothing gets in the way of an ever-expanding army of government loafers living large on the taxes paid by working people making far less money than they do.

ken in tx said...

Back in the 70s I thought I might be interested in the Unitarian Church. Then I read an article about how Unitarians were working on a statement of faith and could not agree on whether to refer to God as He or She. Because they could not agree, they dropped the statement of faith altogether, saying it was not necessary to believe in God to be a Unitarian anyway. I am a Presbyterian.

Eric said...

I dunno, but as an atheist that kind of makes sense to me.

That's sort of the point people are making about Unitarians, isn't it?

Curious George said...

"That election, unfortunately, was about one thing. It wasn't even about money," Feingold said. "[Voters] didn't think a recall was appropriate. [People] weren't against collective bargaining, it's just the recall mechanism was the problem."

Whatever gets you through the night. Why don't you give it a shot in 2014. You'll look back at the Johnson drubbing as "the good old days"

Joe Schmoe said...

I used to live in a town where the local Unitarian church hosted a Wiccan summer camp for kids. No joke.

Mr. Forward said...

When Feingold told them he was no longer their senator they rendered their garments and spoke in tongues.

Quaestor said...

Occupation: Unitarian clergyman (or is it clergyperson?)

Job Description: well, eh... I help the parishioners with... I facilitate spiritual awareness among... eh, by discussion... wait, I'll come in again... In the vast and diverse community of religious confession the Unitarian clergy stand united behind... uh... Spirituality in the light... atmosphere of... modern American society must... .... NOBODY EXPECTS THE SPANISH INQUISITION!

lemondog said...

Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part.

WOW! Such foresight.......prepared for the Internet decades before its advent

Impressive!

lemondog said...

Adopted in 1960, the full Principles, Purposes and Sources can be found in the article on the Unitarian Universalist Association

Sounds UNish. Is UUA the driving force behind the UN.

Is the letter 'U' covert code?

Phil 314 said...

Mr. Forward,

Its "rent" not "rendered "

lemondog said...

What does this MEAN?!!!

Meade said...

ndspinelli said...
"He's honest and correct."

Exactly wrong.

Feingold is a liar telling a big lie.

Deliberately, he falsely reframes the fact that in less than two years, Wisconsin twice elected Scott Walker governor because Walker promised and delivered structural change to a corrupt system of extortion and payback by the public sector unions through their abuse of collective bargaining.

As with Barrett, Falk, or any other candidate, the reason Feingold would have lost to Walker in the ill-advised recall election is that the voters making up the democratic majority in Wisconsin could no longer rationalize the costs of giving special rights to public employee unions.

If Feingold truly believes "it's just the recall mechanism was the problem" then, for the sake of Wisconsin, and considering his expertise in law and political science, Feingold should lead a movement to repair the purportedly flawed constitutional recall mechanism.