"Mr. Clean" Russ Feingold wishes he had a Magic Eraser for yet another week filled with embarrassing campaign finance hypocrisy.
Monday’s Milwaukee Journal Sentinel report revealed that Senator Feingold – a critic of speaking fees before Wisconsinites fired him as senator, cashed in out of office:
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"During his nearly two decades in Washington, D.C., former U.S. Sen. Russ Feingold fashioned himself as Mr. Clean — a lawmaker not interested in the perks of public office. Feingold, for instance, was a regular critic of honorariums, fees paid by special interests in exchange for speeches to the group’s members."
- "From February 2012 to June 2013 — a window during which he was out of public office — Feingold collected $103,117 to make appearances on or give speeches to universities, think tanks and a liberal TV talk show, "Real Time with Bill Maher," according to federal filings."
Feingold even accepted honoraria from a YMCA and the McMillan Memorial Library.
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September 14, 2012, Feingold Was Paid $6,000 In Honoraria From University YMCA In Urbana, IL. (Russell D. Feingold, Executive Branch Personnel Public Financial Disclosure Report, Filed 7/11/13)
- June 14, 2012, Feingold Was Paid $1,600 In Honoraria From McMillan Memorial Library In Wisconsin Rapids, WI. (Russell D. Feingold, Executive Branch Personnel Public Financial Disclosure Report, Filed 7/11/13)
As the State Department disclosures only cover 2012 and 2013, Wisconsinites are still unsure as to how quickly Senator Feingold abandoned his principles after they fired him. Watchdog.org notes that Feingold is still refusing to disclose the paid speeches he gave in 2011.
- "Former U.S. Sen. Russ Feingold, one of the louder critics of speaking fees for government officials, still hasn’t answered his critics’ calls to release the full amount of honoraria the Democrat has pocketed… But did Feingold pocket speaking fees during the first couple of years of his political exile?"
While Wisconsinites wait for Senator Feingold to release any additional honoraria, it’s important to consider his commitment to making "so many dollars":
- In A 2002 Interview, Feingold Said When He Left The Senate, There Would Be “So Many Dollars To Make So I Can Pay The Bills.” Q: “Do you see life after politics?” Feingold: “Yes. And if it happens to me by choice, or by the decision of the people of Wisconsin, I’m going to enjoy my life a great deal. I don’t know what I’d do, but there are so many books to read, so many golf courses to play, so many dollars to make so I can pay the bills. So being a judge, or a professor, or a lawyer . . .” (Matthew Rothschild, “Russ Feingold Interview,” The Progressive, May 2002)