What would another Russ Feingold U.S. Senate term look like? Taxing

Wisconsiin Watchdog ^ | 11-6-15 | M. D. Kittle

[afraidfortherepublic]

MADISON, Wisconsin — Oftentimes the best way to know where you’re heading is by looking back to see where you’ve been.

The same holds for politicians.

A review of Russ Feingold’s voting record shows a politician who built his U.S. Senate career on raising taxes and growing government.

Based on his campaign to return to the seat he lost to Republican U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson in 2010, it’s clear that ultra-liberal Russ Feingold hasn’t had an epiphany-driven conversion on slowing growth of government.

During his tenure, from 1993 to 2011, Feingold voted to raise taxes nearly 290 times, costing American taxpayers hundreds of billions of dollars.

He cast votes for two of the bigger tax hikes in U.S. history.

As a freshman senator in 1993, Feingold voted for the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act, which raised taxes by $241 billion over five years.

There’s some argument over just how big the President Bill Clinton-backed tax increase was. Republicans have labeled it the “largest in U.S. history.” It may be, based on raw dollar amount, but it falls down the list a few notches when measured in inflationary terms and against percentage of Gross Domestic Product. FDR’s tax hikes to pay for World War II win that contest.

Feingold at the time argued that he supported the tax hike in large part for its goal of pushing down the national deficit. Indeed, proponents billed Clinton’s first budget as the Deficit Reduction Act. It was supposed to cut federal spending, too. But the proposal included lots of spending on government programs, from education to infrastructure.

The budget called for boosting the corporate income tax rate from 34 percent to 36 percent for corporations with income greater than $10 million, taxes on Social Security benefits for higher income earners and earned income tax credits for earnings under $30,000.

Ultimately, the act launched a new 36 percent tax bracket for taxpayers who earned more than $115,000, and 39.6 percent for those who making more than $250,000.

It narrowly passed the Senate, 50-49.

Feingold cast a vote — and arguably the deciding vote — for another massive tax increase: Obamacare. President Barack Obama’s signature health care initiative, also known as the Affordable Care Act, will cost taxpayers, conservatively, north of a half-trillion dollars through 2019.

Feingold, who billed himself as a debt fighter, along with his colleagues, lost the battle of the bulge. The U.S. debt exploded over his tenure, climbing nearly $10 trillion — from $3.66 trillion in 1991 to $13.56 trillion in 2010.

In fairness, the debt has soared more than $3.5 trillion over the past five years, to $18.15 trillion while Johnson, Feingold’s opponent in the 2016 rematch, has been in office.

While Johnson voted for the so-called fiscal cliff compromise, which raised tax rates on the highest income levels, the agreement did make permanent most of the tax cuts under President George W. Bush.

Johnson has called for a constitutional amendment requiring a balanced federal budget and mandating a two-thirds majority for any tax hike.

And the conservative supports imposing a statutory cap limiting the annual increase in federal spending to the sum of the inflation rate plus the percentage of population growth.

During their 2010 Senate debate, Feingold blasted Johnson for not having specific plans on debt and deficit reduction. Johnson shot back that Feingold’s so-called 41-point plan to curb federal spending would trim $25 billion per year, a fragment of the $1.4 trillion federal deficit at the time.

“That doesn’t cut it,” Johnson said.

Feingold has routinely voted for spending increases, helping to fuel the crippling U.S. debt. Exhibit A: his support of the $814 billion stimulus bill.

Among other proposed budget cuts, Feingold voted against slicing $40 billion in overall federal spending. The measure called for cutting funding for Medicaid, Medicare, agriculture, employee pensions, conservation and student loans.

Feingold’s voting record includes nay votes for spending initiatives but, in the case of his vote against Emergency Supplemental Appropriations for fiscal 2010, he did so because the proposal took funds from his prized American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

In many cases, he voted against tax cuts, as he did just before leaving office in 2010. He voted against extending tax cuts for those earning less than $250,000 annually.

During the opening years of the great recession, Feingold voted with then-Sen. Hillary Clinton 89 percent of the time.

Feingold’s campaign did not return Wisconsin Watchdog’s request for comment.

The Wisconsin GOP this week has focused on an anniversary of sorts, noting it has been 24 years since Feingold began his run for U.S. Senate. While much has changed over the past quarter century, the Republican Party asserts Feingold remains the “consummate Washington insider.”

“Like many Washington insiders, Senator Feingold would rather raise taxes on hardworking Wisconsin families than make the tough decisions to keep government fiscally responsible,” Pat Garrett, spokesman for the Republican Party of Wisconsin, said in a statement. “Feingold’s record on taxes hurts working-class families here in Wisconsin — their money belongs in Wisconsin not Washington DC.”

[afraidfortherepublic]

TAX MAN: Russ Feingold had a taxing 18 years in the U.S. Senate, voting to raise taxes nearly 290 times.

RELATED: Feingold’s legacy is leaving veterans ‘high and dry,’ says Afghanistan war vet

[afraidfortherepublic]

Feingold voted to raise taxes 290 times and was deciding vote on Obamacare (without him, Biden’s vote wouldn’t have counted).

FReep Mail me if you want on, or off, this Wisconsin interest ping list.

[Buckeye McFrog]

Is he running again?

Old Democrats never die. They just get some plastic surgery and take another stab at it.

[afraidfortherepublic]

Not only is he running, he’s creaming Johnson in the polls.

[Theodore R.]

A lot of people in WI like high taxes so long as someone else is paying the tab.

[Theodore R.]

Sounds like Johnson’s prospects are as bleak of those of Senator Vitter, running for governor of LA, on Nov. 21

[seeker7_dj]

All the Feingold adds are running in Milwaukee and Madison (I’m guessing)where the libs hang out. I live outside of Green Bay and haven’t seen a one. It’s always up to the rest of the state to offset the idiocy of the voters in the “M” cities.

I can’t stand Feingold...

[Diana in Wisconsin]

Madistan and Milwaukeestan LOVE Rusty. More free stuff! More free stuff!

This guy is a Class A Putz. But, Johnson isn’t doing all that we elected him to do, so we’ll probably be stuck with Rusty, again.

Some you win, some you lose...