Democrat Russ Feingold with big lead over incumbent Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI)

By Richard K. Barry

Russ Feingold

A poll released yesterday by Marquette University Law School showed Wisconsin Republican U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson significantly behind former Democratic U.S. Sen. Russ Feingold. Johnson had 38% and Feingold had 54%.

Johnson unseated Feingold in 2010. Feingold hasn't announced his plans but is widely expected to run again.

Johnson's lag behind Feingold is a sign "that (Feingold's) not been forgotten, nor has the public seemingly turned against him in his time away from the state," said Charles Franklin, director of the poll.

Jessie Opoien at The Cap Times writes that "while Democrats are aggressively targeting Johnson," considered by many one of the most vulnerable senators up for reelection, "Republicans have already started going after Feingold as the presumed challenger, painting him as an out-of-touch Washington insider."

Ah, yes, the out-of-touch-Washington-insider card. An oldie but goodie. 

You want out-of-touch?  Here's what Johnson said back in 2010 about climate change

A global warming skeptic, Johnson said extreme weather phenomena were better explained by sunspots than an overload of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, as many scientists believe.

"I absolutely do not believe in the science of man-caused climate change," Johnson said. "It's not proven by any stretch of the imagination."

Johnson, in an interview last month, described believers in manmade causes of climate change as "crazy" and the theory as "lunacy."

There are a number of other reasons to show this guy the door, but this is a good one.