NEWS

Sens. Johnson, Graham talk politics in Oshkosh

Nathaniel Shuda

USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin

OSHKOSH - Identifying a problem and working to build consensus on how to solve it is the hallmark of Ron Johnson in the U.S. Senate.

He's also not afraid to tell it like it is.

Those are among the reasons why Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina says he supports the Oshkosh Republican in his re-election bid against former Democratic Sen. Russ Feingold. The two GOP senators sat down with USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin Thursday after a visit to Oshkosh Corp., where they got the chance to see first-hand the equipment they say has saved countless lives in the war on terror.

"Ron will work with anybody, and he will tell anybody they're full of crap," Graham said. "I have seen him stand up in our conference and tell our leadership they were full of crap — and they were. That's what I like.

"He is the closest thing I've seen to 'Mr. Smith Goes to Washington' in a very long time."

Democrats were quick to point out Thursday one primary difference between Johnson and the former presidential hopeful who disavowed Donald Trump as the party's nominee back in May and reaffirmed his lack of support during Thursday's visit.

"Senator Johnson and Lindsey Graham may share the same reckless plan for a ground invasion of the Middle East, but the difference between them is clear: while Sen. Graham had the courage to speak out against Trump, Sen. Johnson has endorsed him," Democratic Party spokesman Harry Hartfield said in a statement.

"The two men do have some 'areas of agreement' as Johnson likes to say. Both favor another ground invasion of the Middle East with 25,000 American troops."

While Johnson has said he does not support the entirety of Trump's campaign, they agree on some key issues, such as bolstering the economy, supporting military spending, securing the borders and not appointing judges who he says try to legislate from the bench.

"I obviously support our nominee's positions on those things," Johnson said.

"I'm trying to find areas of agreement and accentuate the positive," he said, pointing to his bipartisan efforts to help address the national debt. "No matter who is president, I'll work with whoever."

Feingold said he, too, knows how to work with members of both major parties, even citing Graham as one of several Republican lawmakers he said were "actually very willing to work on the other side" during his tenure in Washington.

"I believe in bipartisanship. I believe in trying to work with people on the other side, and that's the way I've always conducted myself," Feingold said in a Sept. 15 interview with USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin. "We need to get back to a time where people can work together."

Meanwhile, Johnson attacked Feingold's involvement in the former senator's Progressives United PAC, a political action committee Feingold helped set up after losing to Johnson in 2010, calling it a "legalized slush fund" used to bankroll Feingold's re-election campaign.

Johnson's camp also released a new TV advertisement Thursday on the issue — in large part a retread of an online ad the campaign launched in August when the Republican Party of Wisconsin filed a complaint against Feingold surrounding his involvement with the group.

"Senator Johnson is saying things he knows not to be true," Feingold said last week during the pair's second and final televised debate, adding that Progressives United "was created to fight the corporate domination of our system that Senator Johnson supports."

Nathaniel Shuda: 920-426-6632 or nshuda@thenorthwestern.com; on Twitter: @onwnshuda. Madeleine Behr and Bill Glauber contributed to this report.