Senators Honored By JFK Group
Two senators who crossed party lines to propose campaign finance reform legislation were named Thursday as winners of the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award.
Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Russell Feingold, D-Wis., were recognized for addressing fund-raising excesses and trying to regulate the flow of special interest money to campaigns. The McCain-Feingold bill was ultimately defeated last year because it failed to gain the 60 votes needed to overcome an opposition filibuster.
"In a time when politics and government have been marked by incivility and partisanship, these senators distinguished themselves by their political courage and by their vision of what was right for the country," said Caroline Kennedy, president of the JFK Library Foundation and the late president's daughter.
The award, which comes with a $25,000 stipend, is presented to elected officials who fight for what they believe is right, despite opposition from constituents, interest groups or adversaries.
It is named for President Kennedy's 1957 Pulitzer prize-winning book, "Profiles in Courage," about eight senators who risked their careers to fight for their beliefs.
This is the 10th Profile in Courage Award and the first to be shared by two elected American politicians.
McCain, one of the most vocal supporters of campaign finance reform, approached Feingold in 1994 and asked him to join in drafting legislation to limit the influence of private money in politics, thereby leveling the political playing field between political incumbents and challengers.
McCain is considered a likely candidate for the presidency.
Their bill would have banned "soft money," unregulated contributions that flow freely to political parties from corporations, labor unions and individual donors.
McCain's campaign for finance reform put him in direct conflict with his party's leadership, particularly Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott.
Feingold nearly lost re-election because of his stance. Even after the legislation failed, he refused to take "soft money" during his 1998 re-election bid. He narrowly won over his conservative opponent, Rep. Mark Neumann.
The two senators reintroduced another campaign finance act in January.
The award will be presented May 24 at the John F. Kennedy Library and Museum. It was created in 1989 and is presented annually on or near May 29, the late president's birthday.
Past winners include former U.S. Rep. Carl Elliott of Alabama; former U.S. Rep. Charles Weltner of Georgia; former Connecticut Gov. Lowell Weicker; and former New Jersey Gov. James Florio.
Last year, eight negotiators who brokered peace in Northern Ireland received a special version of the award, the first time it was given to non-Americans.