Appleton Post-Crescent: Your Fox Cities News Source - Presidential politics, war in Iraq top Feingold listening session

Appleton Post-Crescent: Your Fox Cities News Source - Presidential politics, war in Iraq top Feingold listening session: "Posted May 6, 2007 Presidential politics, war in Iraq top Feingold listening session By J.E. Espino Post-Crescent staff writer " FREEDOM — As far as environmental issues go, it won't just be global warming that shapes the 2008 presidential run for the White House, says U.S. Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis. It's what the candidates promise to do with the Kyoto Protocol in which nations pledge to reduce carbon dioxide and greenhouse gases emissions, he says. The Bush administration has not ratified the protocol, citing that its measures could be detrimental to the economy. "Depending on who is elected president, one of the first things the new president will do will be to re-engage in some dialogues," Feingold said Saturday during his annual Outagamie County listening session, which was attended by about 50 people. Concerns voiced at the one-hour session ranged from the war in Iraq and pending legislation to farming in the state. Feingold continued his call for the withdrawal of U.S. troops in Iraq. Given President Bush's veto Tuesday of the Iraq supplemental spending bill, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., has said he will ensure Feingold's bill, of which he is a co-sponsor, gets a vote in the Senate before Memorial Day. The bill would force Bush to redeploy troops by March 31, 2008. Feingold also told constituents he would not support Ohio Rep. Dennis Kucinich's resolution to impeach Vice President Dick Cheney. "Clearly he (Cheney) is not telling the truth, over and over in Iraq. There's got to be something in the general category of high crimes. I don't think it would be very good in terms of our ability to move this country in the right direction of health care and other issues, if we become consumed by impeachment procedures," Feingold said. Kucinich, who is seeking the Democratic presidential nomination, introduced the bill last month. The measure claims Cheney manipulated intelligence to deceive the American public and Congress to justify the use of armed forces in Iraq. "Given the fact that they have no regard for the will of the people, and they seem to think that the November elections were some kind of a joke it makes you tempted," Feingold said. Fox Valley Peace Coalition activists attending the meeting raised concerns about veterans' benefits and the psychological needs of troops returning from Iraq. "We want to end this war," said Ronna Swift of Appleton, a coalition member. "They are going to have memory loss problems, concentration problems, anger management problems, suicide rates are going to up. It's just like Vietnam." Feingold said he has introduced legislation that creates a process to evaluate the mental and physical health of the troops coming home so a baseline is established for each man's and woman's condition. J.E. Espino can be reached at 920-993-1000, ext. 426, or jespino@postcrescent.com.