Without saying he'll run for anything again, in an interview with John Nichols, Russ Feingold, the Senate's go-to guy on civil-liberties issues, indicates an intention to stay involved with politics:
"Up in the air" for you, perhaps, but a lot of progressives got excited when, at the close of your concession speech on election night, you shouted, "On to 2012!"
All right, I'll tell you what I meant. This is a serious answer; it is my true intention: I'm only one guy in a long, beautiful sweeping tradition of Wisconsin and American progressives. I was looking on election night at a crowd of people in that room, and thinking about people listening from across the country, who had fought these battles, these incredible battles we've been involved in to defend civil liberties, to oppose wars that just don't make sense. I just wanted to say to them: Despite the disappointments of the evening, including the result in my race, "It's on to 2012!" That means that our collective effort together to turn things around, to do this as progressives, continues.
The reference to 2012 had nothing to do with me in particular, other than that I am a progressive. I am one of the people who recognize that we have to go on to the next fight. It wasn't egocentric; it simply wasn't about me or my intentions. I'm very aware that the only reason I ever got to have this privilege is because of progressives in [Wisconsin] and around the country who saw me as a worthy example. That's what I meant: that the broader struggle goes on. I am happy, I am proud, to be a part of it. But it's not about me. It's about this movement, this tradition.
In explaining his loss, Feingold says Wisconsin voters "wanted to send a message, particularly to anybody who was an incumbent, particularly to anybody who had supported the president's policies on some high-profile issues. So I think that was more important to ... people than looking at the actual record."
