Political: Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wisconsin)

Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wisconsin)
Interview With The Fix's Chris Cillizza and The Post's Dan Balz

washingtonpost.com
Monday, June 5, 2006; 7:25 AM

washingtonpost.com's Chris Cillizza and Washington Post reporter Dan Balz interviewed Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wisconsin) on May 24 as part of an ongoing series of conversations with potential 2008 presidential candidates. A transcript of the interview is below:

And what are the other domestic issues that really move you?

The issue of jobs, the fact that we have lost tens of thousands of manufacturing jobs in Wisconsin and the upper Midwest in recent years I think, in large part, because of trade agreements that were not properly negotiated. They're not sufficiently protective of American jobs and foreign jobs -- jobs of the people in the other countries and their workers' rights.

That has to stop. We should have defeated CAFTA. We should defeat other agreements that, I think, are not properly negotiated. And there are really very few issues that are more important than -- in fact no other issue is more important than the devastation this has caused in many traditional communities in Wisconsin.

We need to have workforce training programs very substantially beefed up to make sure that all the states are working to train people so that when opportunities come, they are ready for them.

You know the other issue that comes up all the time at these town meetings that I do? It's no surprise now, but I want to say that this comes up in my state not just when the gas prices are high but all the time. People don't understand why we don't have a real alternative energy program. They know this is the real win-win situation of all times.

If we go with biodiesel, if we go with ethanol, if we go with fuel cells, if we go with renewable energy portfolios, if we go with wind energy, if we put resources behind it, they know you can get away from dependence on a number of countries that are not necessarily our best friends, that it would be great for the environment, and it would be great for jobs.

The other day I got to visit a biodiesel plant that was just beginning outside of a place called Mauston, Wisconsin, whose Main Street is not doing very well right now. And these folks were so excited from a business development point of view about this use of soybeans and what it could mean but it also was great for the agricultural people in the community and, of course, the environmental community is very excited about it.

So if I were to tell Democrats what should I focus on in my speeches, well, you should eventually get to the issue of accountability and the Iraq War and the whole international issue. You have to. You have to be strong on that. But any speech that does not include health care guarantee for all Americans, doing something differently about protecting American jobs and independence from foreign oil, those three are absolutely central.