Editor's note: This is the second of two articles in a series outlining the platforms of the candidates running for U.S. Senate in Wisconsin.
While Republican candidate Tim Michels is hard at work garnering support for his U.S. Senate bid, popular Democratic incumbent Russ Feingold is also busy attempting to defend his position. With Michels' recent political ad attack on Feingold followed by Feingold's subsequent renouncement of the ad, this election is shaping up to be as intense as the presidential election. The candidates' drastically differing views on issues will only add fuel to the fire.
Michels has said he would support the renewal of the USA Patriot Act, while Feingold was the only Senate member to oppose this controversial piece of legislation. According to spokesperson John Kraus, Feingold refused to support the Patriot Act because of its serious infringements on civil liberties.
\The Patriot Act grants government powers to obtain library records, to monitor personal computers, to find out what movies people are renting, to get at people's educational and business records, and it gives the government the power to obtain these records from innocent people who have no ties to terrorism,"" Kraus said.""The government has put our freedoms in jeopardy because of this.""
Kraus said Feingold has proposed a piece of legislation called the Safe Act that would re-work the flaws of the Patriot Act while simultaneously aiding the struggle with terrorism.
Despite his belief that terrorism is a problem, Feingold has been a staunch opponent of the war since President Bush first introduced the idea.
""[Feingold] asked tough questions of the administration on the war in Iraq, and the administration couldn't produce any answers. This is why he didn't support the war."" Kraus said.
Opposing candidate Michels has said he supports the Iraq war.
Michels has recently been accused of releasing attack ads that misrepresent one of Feingold's health-care issues. The ad claims Feingold does not support the purchase of prescription drugs from Canada, while the senator adamantly maintains this is false.
In a statement responding to the negative ads, Feingold stated, ""He's running TV ads falsely telling people that I haven't fought for drug re-importation. In fact, I've always been a leader in the fight to make drug re-importation legal...""
Whether these attack ads will help or hurt Michels is up for debate. UW-Madison political science Professor Virginia Sapiro said the attack ads will not severely affect the outcome of the election.
""Michels is running against an incumbent, so he really has to tell us what's wrong with Feingold. Therefore, he's bound to carry out negative advertising. Unless the people already have serious problems with Feingold, it's not likely to accomplish a whole lot,"" she said.
