Feingold, an 18-year political veteran, is in a surprisingly tough battle against GOP newcomer Ron Johnson, with the latest polling showing the senator down anywhere from 6 to 11 percentage points.
One of the pending tragedies of the midterms is the possible loss of Russ Feingold. The situation has gotten desperate. This shoo-in Wisconsin Democrat appears to be losing his Senate seat. His supporters (this blogger included) have been sending what they can. Now the world of films and TV is offering support.
Among Feingold's contributors are filmmakers Steven Spielberg and Harvey Weinstein, actors Michael Douglas and Edie Falco, as well as music executive David Geffen, and producer Jeffrey Katzenberg and his wife, Marilyn, according to CQMoneyLine.com.
Writer and producer Tom Fontana, creator of the television series “Homicide: Life on the Street” and “Oz,” also ponied up for Feingold, as did actress Kathryn Erbe, who has appeared in "Law and Order" and "Oz."
But it's not as though Feingold has been falling behind in financial support. The problem is his link, as a Democratic senator, to the stimulus bill. That makes him a target of angry tea partyers.
A champion of greater limits on campaign-finance, Feingold had spent nearly $16 million as of Aug. 26, compared to Johnson’s nearly $11 million.
Johnson, an owner of a plastics manufacturing plant, has the backing of several Tea Party groups, and has been running ads linking Feingold to job losses in the state; he says 82,000 jobs have disappeared since Feingold voted for President Obama’s stimulus bill. ...The Hill
Actually, Wisconsin saw considerable job growth in the months when the stimulus kicked in, with some fall-off since then. Overall, and with some variations and the usual undercount of "discouraged workers," Wisconsin has manage to achieve an unemployment rate of under 8% , a rate many other states would love to have in this long recession.
It's fair to admire the energy of the tea party. But energy directed towards lies and the destruction of a respected senator is hardly admirable.
