Feingold: I'm the Original Tea Partier!

[WestVirginiaRebel]

Wall Street Journal:

The increasingly strained efforts by Wisconsin Democratic Sen. Russ Feingold to ingratiate himself with conservative voters don't appear to be having much effect. His GOP challenger Ron Johnson has led in every major published poll since July, and currently has a lead of seven points in the RealClearPolitics average of recent polls.

That hasn't stopped Mr. Feingold from trying to reinvent himself as the original Tea Partier. He plugged away again in this week's debate between the candidates, calling himself the authentic "maverick" in the race. "I have actually done the things, most of the things, [Tea Party supporters] are concerned about," he said, noting his votes against bank bailouts and the Patriot Act. "They should vote for me."

Mr. Feingold returned to the theme: "The Tea Party thinks all kinds of people should be in the U.S. Senate, and not just millionaires." Mr. Johnson, the prosperous owner of an Oshkosh plastics factory, shot back that he was "a job creator" and that Mr. Feingold's entire life had been spent in politics.

Mr. Feingold has also been trying to play to Tea Party sentiment with radio ads that claim Mr. Johnson is soft on gun rights. "I have been one of the true leaders in fighting for a greater right to bear arms," Mr. Feingold told reporters recently. The National Rifle Association begs to disagree, having given Mr. Feingold an "F" and "D" during his last two re-election efforts. This year, the NRA has endorsed Mr. Johnson.

Mr. Feingold looks to be the Democratic equivalent of Pennsylvania GOP Senator Rick Santorum in 2006, an incumbent who fell out of touch with the sentiments of his electorate and never regained the initiative in his campaign.
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Somewhere, Rick Santorum is laughing.