You are here

Home

Paul Wellstone: 10 Years After His Death, He Still Sets the Bar for a Politics of Conviction

Mon, 10/15/2012 - 19:10 — Dave Culver
Section(s): 
Books & Liturature
Government & Politics


He cast his last vote against a resolution authorizing President George W. Bush to use force against Iraq. Soon after he died, cars in Minnesota and elsewhere began sporting green bumper stickers that read, “W.W.W.D. What would Wellstone do?"

Peter Dreier, In These Times

This article is made possible with the generous contributions of all reader supported Evergreene Digest readers like you. Thank you!

US Senator Paul Wellstone from Minnesota was killed in a plane crash on October 25, 2002.

Shortly before he died in a plane crash on October 25, 2002, Paul Wellstone explained why he was in the Senate: “I don’t represent the big oil companies, the big pharmaceuticals, or the big insurance industry. They already have great representation in Washington. It’s the rest of the people that need representation.”

A college professor turned politician, the Minnesota senator’s fiery speeches and dogged campaigning for progressive reform earned him the title “the conscience of the Senate.” The first Senate vote he cast, in 1991, was to oppose U.S. military action in the Persian Gulf. Eleven years later, he cast his last vote against a resolution authorizing President George W. Bush to use force against Iraq.

Full story...

Fair Use Notice

This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.