November 24, 2006 7:04 PM

Remembering a politician who truly made a difference

Senator, family members killed in Minnesota plane crash

End Discrimination - Pass the Wellstone Act!

I miss Paul Wellstone. As someone who grew up in Minnesota and still pays attention to Minnesota politics, it was difficult to underestimate the impact that Wellstone had upon the North Star State. It was impossible to be ambivalent about the man. He was a lightning rod, a politician who engendered either abject disgust or almost zealous support and devotion. Paul Wellstone never played politics by the conventional rules. You always knew where he stood, because wore his passion for progressive politics and his devotion to the people of Minnesota on his sleeve. Few people have come to Congress with more passion or a greater sense of devotion to the work he felt needed to be done.

When Wellstone, his wife Sheila, and his daughter Marcia died in a plane crash outside Eveleth, MN on October 25, 2002, the people and Minnesota lost perhaps the most effective and certainly the most passionate representative they’ve ever had. It’s hard to believe that it’s been over four years since Wellstone’s death, but the fact that he’s being so fondly remembered is an indication of the impact he made during a life that was far too short.

Perhaps the biggest and most appropriate tribute to the impact Paul Wellstone made on his home state of Minnesota and on progressive politics is that his work is still being carried on by his sons David and Mark. Sen. Wellstone may have departed the scene far too early, but his work, his passion, and his impact are far from forgotten.

One of my favorite Wellstone stories goes back to when he first met President George H.W. Bush. Wellstone, never much for small talk, immediately launched into a harangue that left Bush feeling somewhat ambushed. His response to making Wellstone’s acquaintance?

“Who was that chickenshit?”

And you wonder why Paul Wellstone was one of my heroes….

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This page contains a single entry by Jack Cluth published on November 24, 2006 7:04 PM.

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