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Military and homeland security issues dominated the U.S. Senate campaign Tuesday.
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Russ Feingold speaks to supporters and veterans in Riverside Park.
Erik Daily |
U.S. Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., campaigned in La Crosse with veterans who support his re-election.
Republican Tim Michels is running new TV ads showing images of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on New York City, criticizing Feingold for his vote against the USA Patriot Act.
Feingold launched his own ad featuring veterans supporting his lone vote against the Patriot Act.
During a rally at Riverside Park, retired U.S. Army Col. Bill Anderson called Feingold "a true patriot in the finest Wisconsin tradition."
Iraq war veteran Joe Kotecki of La Crosse said he admires Feingold's "courage in not voting for the Patriot Act."
Kotecki said that his job in Iraq was to work with local mayors to set up democratic institutions in Iraq. But he said he wondered "why they were sending us over there to set up a democracy when they're not willing to maintain one at home."
Feingold said he "supports the troops" in Iraq and elsewhere, but that "no political party gets to have that phrase for themselves."
Feingold said he voted for the war in Afghanistan, but "wasn't persuaded" about the need to invade Iraq. But when he heard about the needs of soldiers in Iraq, he voted for the $87 billion appropriation for the war in Iraq.
Asked later about Sen. John Kerry's vote against the $87 billion, Feingold said Kerry "had his own reasons" related to "aspects of accountability."
The $87 billion "made sense to me."
"We had to make absolutely certain they had the necessary equipment" in Iraq, Feingold said.
In a statement, a Michels spokesman said, "Sen. Feingold is proud of his lone vote against the Patriot Act. What he fails to mention is that 98 Senators, including Sen. Herb Kohl, supported the Patriot Act because they believed it was a necessary tool in fighting the war on terror."
Reid Magney can be reached
at (608) 791-8211 or rmagney
@lacrossetribune.com.
