Feingold seeks caucus support for censure

Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wis.), undaunted by Democratic leaders’ reluctance to embrace his effort to censure President Bush, plans to begin enlisting cosponsors in the caucus this week and to draft language that may target other senior administration officials.

{mosads}Feingold is seeking input from colleagues on two censure resolutions, one chastising the White House for mismanagement of the war in Iraq and another taking aim at what he called the administration’s “repeated assaults on the rule of law.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) threw cold water on the censure push soon after Feingold announced it on Sunday’s “Meet the Press.” Yet Feingold, who informed leadership of his plans the night before his appearance, said on CNN yesterday that he would work to sway the Democratic leader.

“He was not for my bill having to do with ending the Iraq war and getting us to cut off the funding after we bring the troops home, but now it’s called Feingold-Reid,” Feingold pointed out. “So I’ve got convincing to do.”

The three senators who cosponsored Feingold’s 2006 censure resolution, which focused on the National Security Agency’s warrantless surveillance program, all said through spokesmen that they would look at the language before deciding whether to sign on to their colleague’s new resolution.

Feingold noted yesterday that Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) spoke positively of considering a presidential censure last weekend on CNN.

“I think it’s appropriate for us to take the censure resolution up. It’s short of impeachment, but it’s an important debate,” Durbin said.