Feingold blasts Bush's priorities: Expanding power is an obsession, senator says.

Byline: Craig Gilbert

Sep. 26--Philadelphia -- Sen. Russ Feingold contended Monday that the Bush administration was more preoccupied with expanding executive power than finding the "best way to stop the terrorists." "This administration and this president have had two obsessions, and it has not been stopping those who attacked us on 9-11," the Democrat from Middleton told members of MoveOn.org, a group that organizes liberals and pro- gressives online and claims more than 3 million members. "One of them is justifying this tremendous mistake of our intervention in Iraq," said Feingold, whose speech was broadcast on the Internet to MoveOn members. "The second obsession is expanding executive power. They're obsessed with it. They're not interested in trying to figure out the best way to stop the terrorists when they do these things," Feingold said, referring to the Bush administration's push for broader police and surveill- ance powers. "They want to use that as a cover to justify changing our system of government." A potential presidential candidate in 2008, Feingold has been a sharp critic of the administration's conduct in the war on terrorism, saying it infringes on constitutional rights. This year, he proposed censuring President Bush over wiretapping.

Asked for a response to Feingold's comments Monday, Ann Marie Hauser of the Republican National Com- mittee said: "Pandering to the left fringe of the Democrat Party has become Russ Feingold's calling card. But by suggesting that this administration isn't con- cerned with stopping the terrorists, Feingold has moved from far-left to completely off the charts." Feingold's appearance was part of a series of speeches by Democratic politicians hosted by MoveOn. Feingold's criticisms weren't aimed solely at Republicans. Asked by an audience member why "more Democrats in Washington don't stand up like you do," Feingold blamed (but did not name) Democratic insiders and operatives. "There is this cadre of consultants, frankly people that are from the previous administration, who are bright people, who always urge caution: 'Be careful, or they'll say you don't support the troops. Be careful, the censure issue is a loser. Be careful, you can't really talk about a timeline' " for getting out of Iraq, Feingold said. "There is too much timidity encouraged by these consultants." Speaking in a small auditorium at the National Constitution Center, Feingold was received enthusiastically by the audience, which numbered 150 to 200 people. Talking to reporters beforehand, Feingold criti- cized administration-backed legislation coming before Congress this week on both detainees and warrantless surveillance. He said talk of a filibuster was "premature" but didn't rule it out. Congress is due to adjourn at week's end and not return until after the Nov. 7 election. "I'm in no hurry to get out of town . . . I am not going to just stand by and not use some of my rights to slow this down if I think it continues to be unacceptable," Feingold said. "This is legislating on the fly on some of the most fun- damental questions that we've ever addressed as a govern- ment . . . The way this is being done to jam it through because the Republicans see this as 'National Security Month' is irresponsible. And it's my job to put the brakes on it, and I hope other senators feel the same way. We need to get these bills right."

Copyright (c) 2006, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business

News.

For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.