#BrokenPromises

Senator Feingold Continues to Turn His Back on Promises to Wisconsin

The Ron Johnson for Senate campaign released the following statement on news that Senator Feingold continues to violate his principles while raising money with Hollywood moguls and taking money on the paid-speech circuit, after flip-flopping on a series of campaign finance positions he held for much of his nearly 30 years in elected office:

 “The only real mark Senator Feingold has made since parachuting back in from Stanford is that he’s gone back on the promises he made to the people of this state,” said Brian Reisinger, spokesman for the Ron Johnson for Senate campaign. “Not only has he broken his promises – he’s doing it to raise more money with Hollywood big shots and collect speaking fees from charitable organizations and libraries. If he’ll violate his principles on the issue that matters to him most, he’ll do the same on the issues that matter to Wisconsin – particularly when he’s back in California with his Hollywood pals.”

Background:

  • On Tuesday, news broke that Feingold was raising big bucks from Hollywood moguls while no longer honoring a pledge he made to the people of Wisconsin to raise a majority of his money from within Wisconsin.
  • Also on Tuesday, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that Feingold made more than $100,000 on the paid-speech circuit, despite criticizing public officials who did so in the past.
  • On Aug. 14, the Washington Free Beacon reported that Feingold had received $35,000 in contributions from a lobbyist bundler, despite supposedly building his career on limiting the influence of lobbyists and pushing for tighter restrictions on lobbyist bundlers.
  • This follows a report by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that Senator Feingold’s own soft money group, Progressives United, only gave 5 percent of the money it raised to candidates and political parties.