Wisconsin Senator Herb Kohl won't run in 2012! Should Russ Feingold run for his seat in 2012?

Kohl won't seek re-election in 2012
By Mark Murray

A high-placed Democratic source tells First Read that Wisconsin Sen. Herb Kohl (D) will announce he won't seek re-election in 2012.

Kohl, a four-term senator who was first elected in 1988, is holding a press conference in Milwaukee at noon ET.

Kohl's announcement means that we'll see yet another competitive open-seat Senate race in a presidential battleground state next year, joining Nevada and Virginia.

http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/05/13/6636876-kohl-wont-seek-re-election-in-2012

I think there's enough remorse there to get him back in..

:shrug:

ugh.

:hug:

A man who understands the needs of common people and at the same time grasps the importance of Democracy.

I'd work my ASS off for him if he decided to try for it.

If I were from Wisconsin I'd like to see a menu before ordering. There may be some tasty entrees available that I hadn't even considered before ordering the blue plate special off the sign out front. It may well be that Russ Feingold is still the best deal, but the process could reveal a sleeper candidate that no one even thought of yet.

Never walk past a good pun.

Pocket change for Kohl. Feingold can raise it. The KKKoch bros can fund the Republican candidiate.

Now who is this rich sleeper Democrat you were talking about?

Nothing brings out candidates like an empty senate seat though.

The idiot who beat Feingold is a millionaire with zero public experience. The price tag is going up every single election cycle, and if we want our side to be corporation free- that means we have to find someone independently wealthy with Democratic values (fairly rare) or someone well known enough to raise a lot of money quickly- maybe a media type.

The people who have built political careers don't always do well with the fundraising requirements. There are only a handful in the whole country who can run for president... many more could do it if elections were publicly funded.

Lena, John or Chris to be specific.

all much greater statewide visibility. You mean Jon Erpenbach? I also think Mark Miller would be good. But I am biased, because he is my State Senator.

And I even used first names cuz I would botch last name and posting from phone. :D

I often posit that only Democrats know how to raise money at the grass level. Working class Democrats are always ready to dip into pocket or purse to send a little in for a favorite candidate. It's never a fortune on a teacher's or fire fighter's salary, but it adds up fast. The same goes for DU when it's fund raising time.

Free Republic, like the rest of their party, believe in themselves first and struggle to find donors. Getting a donation from a barstool Republican is like pulling teeth from a rabid badger because he sternly feels that charity begins (and ends) in the home. I've found that my friends who are Republicans even refuse to check the box on their tax return that gives $3.00 to the presidential campaign fund, even though it doesn't affect their tax payment.

I think this is why republicans are more beholden to industry than working stiff Republicans who worry only that someone is going to take their gun or not force their kid to say the Lord's Prayer in school.

Having said all that, I don't think Wisconsin will have a dearth of candidates willing to raise the money for the seat. As Blogojevich said: "It's a valuable fucking thing".

then Democracy is basically dead.

I don't believe that myself. Feingold started out as a State Senator and won. In a Presidential year any Democrat should have a chance and the average state senator has a) a home district, b) some statewide name recognition and c) a base of donors.

Finally, why can't Russ use his names and connections to raise money for somebody else? He's had 3 terms in the Senate already. No matter how good he is, I don't believe elected offices should be lifetime positions. It's time to promote issues instead of just people. The things Feingold stands for need to get more attention than just the name Feingold.

HELL YES!

Russ is one of the best true progressives we have got. Love to see him back in the Senate.