D'oh! Dopey Feingold Violates NFL Copyright in Ad

Twenty-eight days from political extinction, Wisconsin Senator Russ McCain-Feingold has been flagged for copyright infringement.

Sen. Russ Feingold's (D-Wis.) reelection campaign is changing a television ad after a complaint from the NFL.

Feingold's ad shows a series of football players celebrating after scores, and then accuses Republican Ron Johnson of engaging in "excessive celebration" because he leads Feingold in polls.

Feingold accuses his opponent of siding with special interests, and says the game between them is not done yet.

Most of the players in the ad are unrecognizable and do not seem to be from the NFL, but there is one notable exception sure to draw attention in football-mad Wisconsin.

The ad clearly uses 2005 footage of then-Minnesota Vikings receiver Randy Moss pretending to moon the crowd after a crucial score in a playoff game at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wis. Fox NFL commentator Joe Buck can also be heard stating "that is a disgusting act."

That apparently drew a complaint from the NFL, which careful monitors how images from the league are used.

"We are making an edit to the ad to accommodate the NFL’s concerns," Feingold campaign spokesman John Kraus told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

According to the Journal Sentinel, NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said the league did not license the footage and that it requested that Feingold remove the clip.

You'd think the man who co-authored legislation restricting campaign advertising would know better. But I guess a guy trailing so badly hasn't got the time to worry about legalities. At the same time, I find it hilarious the NFL wants to protect an image of Randy Moss pretending to moon a bunch of cheeseheads.

Here's the Feingold spot:



I noticed in the video a clip of the USFL Houston Gamblers dancing in the end zone. Perhaps former USFL honcho and aspiring 2012 presidential candidate Donald Trump owns the rights to that image. He could sue Feingold and win $1 in court for his troubles.

Speaking of Moss, in a deal that makes sense for both teams, he may actually be headed back to the Vikings.

Feingold Again Flees Obama Appearance

I'm noticing a trend here. Earlier this month endangered Democrat Russ Feingold conveniently slipped out of town when the deeply unpopular Barack Obama showed up in Wisconsin, ostensibly to campaign for him. Now Obama returns to Wisconsin with his typical bad timing and the three-term incumbent Feingold is nowhere to be found.

Democratic Party Chairman Timothy Kaine says he sees no slight in Wisconsin Democratic Sen. Russ Feingold skipping a campaign rally tonight where President Barack Obama is appearing on his behalf.

Kaine tells CBS's "The Early Show" that candidates "make their own decisions about these things." And Kaine, a former Virginia governor, says Feingold understands that Obama can energize the party's base.

So why is he not there? Might it be because Obama is radioactive?

Obama's standing in public opinion polls has been falling in recent months, and some Democratic candidates have been reluctant to appear with him.

Obama, meanwhile, is already questioning his own supporters.

Admonishing his own party, President Barack Obama says it would be "inexcusable" and "irresponsible" for unenthusiastic Democratic voters to sit out the midterm elections, warning that the consequences could be a squandered agenda for years.

"People need to shake off this lethargy. People need to buck up," Mr. Obama told Rolling Stone in an interview to be published Friday. The president told Democrats that making change happen is hard and "if people now want to take their ball and go home, that tells me folks weren't serious in the first place."

Feingold Now Trailing by 7 in New Poll

How bad is the carnage going to be for Democrats in November? Here you have a three-term incumbent in a Democrat state now staring at the abyss.

After a decisive win in Tuesday’s Republican Primary, businessman Ron Johnson now holds a seven-point lead over incumbent Democrat Russ Feingold in Wisconsin’s U.S. Senate race.

The latest Rasmussen Reports statewide telephone survey of Likely Voters shows Johnson picking up 51% support, while Feingold earns the vote from 44%. One percent (1%) of voters prefer some other candidate, and four percent (4%) remain undecided.

How bad of a drag is Obama across the country? Feingold made sure to head for the hills when he showed up last week and it still didn't help him.

Let's hope Obama campaigns across the country for endangered Democrats.

'I Will Stand With the President of the United States Anywhere, Anytime, No Hesitation'

Sure, he'll stand with Obama anytime, anytime without hesitation. Except when Obama shows up in his state and the endangered Democrat heads for the hills. C'mon, Russ, man up.

When President Barack Obama visits Milwaukee on Labor Day to talk to working families and members of dozens of labor unions, one prominent politician won't be there.

A Labor Day schedule released by the staff of U.S. Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wis.) indicates that while Feingold will be in Milwaukee for a Laborfest pre-parade on Monday morning, he will not be in town when Obama is expected to arrive.

Obama is scheduled to arrive in Milwaukee early in the afternoon. Laborfest is open to the public, but a ticket will be needed to enter the area where the president is scheduled to speak. That ticket procedure has not yet been announced.

Laborfest will be open from noon to 7 p.m. at Henry Maier Festival Park.

On Labor Day, Feingold has two other commitments - in Janesville, his hometown, and Kenosha. Both cities have strong union ties.

When Obama was in Menomonee Falls and Milwaukee last month, Feingold greeted the president in Milwaukee and stayed with him the entire day.

"I will stand with the president of the United States anywhere, anytime, no hesitation. I'm proud of what this president has tried to do," Feingold told the Journal Sentinel in an interview last month prior to Obama's visit.

You can bet your ass if Obama were actually popular this guy would be front and center for any photo op. But since the Golfer-in-Chief is radioactive and is dragging down Democrats across the nation they're too cowardly to come out and support their man.

Cheeseheads Have Had Enough

Maybe it was the defection of Brett Favre to Minnesota that did it or maybe the ghost of Vince Lombardi paid them a visit; or maybe, just maybe people everywhere are fed up with the Democrats. It seems the party in disarray--the Republicans as depicted by the dinosaur media--is set to make an impact in the elections in Wisconsin this year. How big an impact is yet to be determined, but the fact that some folks are taking notice is enough to surely send another thrill up Chrissy's leg.

Until recently, Wisconsin seemed to be a Democratic strategist's dream — a blue state getting bluer. Its two U.S. senators were well-established liberal Democrats. The governor's office and both houses of the Legislature were in Democratic control after years of divided government. And President Barack Obama won the state in 2008 by 14 percentage points, one of his largest victory margins anywhere.

But something went awry on the way to Democratic hegemony.

A conservative insurgency — headed by a Republican candidate who actively courts, of all things, the tea party — is now making a strong bid for governor. And across the state, Democrats suddenly find themselves fighting to hold seats they once took for granted.

Of course, I'm sure the Dems will continue to tell us it is because their message is not getting out, which is what they always seem to say when they get in trouble in the polls.

The narrative conveyed in the reporting of this election cycle of which political party it is that is in trouble is not matching the reality on the ground. This, of course, means that the media will have to work overtime to drive home the point that conservatives are losers while they work on the articles for the post-election apocalypse that the Dems appear headed for is somehow a win for them.

Do I really expect Feingold to lose? No, but I hope he drains money from other contested campaigns that the Dems are hoping to win.

Thompson Has Big Lead Over Feingold

Maybe Tommy Thompson should seriously consider running against Russ Feingold.

A new poll suggests that if Republican Tommy Thompson decides to get into the U.S. Senate race, he would defeat Democratic incumbent Russ Feingold.

The St. Norbert College Survey Center Poll released Tuesday shows Thompson with 45 percent support compared with 33 percent for Feingold.

Thompson fares much better than a generic Republican Feingold opponent. Feingold captures 40 percent compared with 37 percent for an unnamed Republican challenger.

Terrence Wall and Dave Westlake are running as Republicans but Thompson has flirted with getting into the race.

Since Thompson didn't vote against ObamaCare he apparently doesn't have to worry about the mythical backlash brewing against the GOP.

This poll is starkly at odds with a Daily Kos poll from last week.

Resounding Defeat for Iraq Cut Off Bill

Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama suffered a humiliating defeat today as the Iraq funding cut off bill went down to defeat by a margin of 67-29.

The Washington Post account, however, buries those two way at the bottom of the second page, preferring to note it's a loss for Russ Feingold instead.

Feingold's measure, co-sponsored by Reid and Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., proved divisive for Democrats. On the final vote, 19 Democrats joined 47 Republicans and Connecticut Independent Joseph Lieberman in opposing the measure. Of the 29 supporting were 28 Democrats and Vermont Independent Bernard Sanders.

Sen. Carl Levin, chairman of the Armed Services Committee, said he opposes any measure that cuts off money for the war.

"We don't want to send the message to the troops" that Congress does not support them, said Levin, D-Mich. "We're going to support those troops."

Harry Reid's Bloody Hands

Harry Reid seems quite determined to drive over the cliff and take his party with him. While I'm all for the Democrats self-destructing, by denying the troops the necessary funds for the war, he's endangering both their lives and ours. If the Democrats are so naive to think our enemies will just lay down their arms if we bug out of Iraq, they're even more dangerous that I ever imagined.

To be sure, Reid won't risk calling for an immediate pullout. He cautioned his party's bug-out-now wing to be patient, despite "the restlessness" of those who "voted for change in November [and] anticipated dramatic and immediate results in January."

The problem, said Reid, is that "George W. Bush is still the commander-in-chief - and this is his war."

And there's the real problem: From the start, Reid and the Democrats have seen the war in Iraq as a partisan opportunity.

They refuse to present a unified front to the rest of the world - especially to America's enemies - because, in their pinched view, to do so would be to weaken their own prospects for retaking the White House in 2008.

No, Reid didn't repeat his declaration of defeat during yesterday's speech from the Senate floor.

It probably has dawned on him just how big a political blunder he committed - witness Sen. Chuck Schumer's gentle contradiction of the majority leader over the weekend, insisting that "the war is not lost."

Meanwhile, Michael Barone examines the quandary the Democrats find themselves in, having to deal with the lunatics like CodePink while trying to straddle the fine line of public opinion: pandering to those who want out while not wanting to be blamed for cutting off funding. Good luck with that.

We witness here a division in the Democratic Party -- its politicians and its voters -- we have seen ever since military action started to be considered in 2002. Then, most House Democrats voted against the Iraq war resolution, most Senate Democrats for it. The lineup today is not necessarily the same: Mr. Levin, who voted against the war resolution, insists the troops must be funded; Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, who voted for the war resolution and said last November that of course the troops will be funded, now says he's for Sen. Russ Feingold's March 2008 deadline.

What's curious is that congressional Democrats don't seem much interested in what is actually happening in Iraq. The commander in Iraq, Gen. David Petraeus, returns to Washington this week, but last week Mrs. Pelosi's office said "scheduling conflicts" prevented him from briefing House members. Two days later, the members-only meeting was scheduled, but that brings to mind the fact Mrs. Pelosi and other top House Democrats skipped a March 8 Pentagon videoconference with Gen. Petraeus.

How long this fight will go on is unclear. Some Democrats predict it will continue for months. But their dilemma remains the same. They want to be seen as acting to end the war. But they dare not be seen as not funding the troops.

Check out AJ Strata for more.

UPDATE: Hard to fathom, but Reid is getting dumber by the day. Check out the latest at Hot Air. More also at Michelle Malkin, Riehl World View, Protein Wisdom, Jules Crittenden.