SHOT: Sen. Russ Feingold’s response to charges that he broke his signature campaign finance pledge:
“This guy’s lecturing me on pledges I made going back to 1992? It’s ridiculous.”
CHASER 1: Sen. Feingold in 1992, promising his pledge was “for the future”:
Asked at the time whether such a model was self-serving, since the young Senate candidate lacked his opponent’s national donor base, Feingold doubled down.
“It’s not just self-serving, because I’m promising it for the future. I’m saying that’s a pledge that I’m going to keep,” Feingold said then. “I’m not going to get in there and say, OK, where are the PACs and where are the out-of-state contributions? I’m making a pledge for the future.”
CHASER 2: Sen. Feingold making his famous pledge the cornerstone of his 2010 campaign: