Pat, there's already some folks grumbling about his age (74), stating that someone younger and more energetic deserves the job. Hell, wasn't ole STrom like 94 last time they elected him?

I'm going to support whoever the DFL picks, in honor of Paul and his family. It would be wonderful to see this tragedy not give control of the Senate to King W. I'm worried though that as tight as it is, many Wellstone votes will be split by the Green and Independance candidates, neither of who impress me.

I heard one national commentator say he thinks Mondale will actually do better than Wellstone, because more oldsters are comfortable with him, and because of a "sympathy" vote.

I still can't believe we're having this conversation. It is SO surreal around here. Without Paul's energy, the local political scene is just.....quiet.

I've heard that Mondale might have a better chance, too, for similar reasons, and because in some quarters, Wellstone's vote against war might have cost him. Of course, it would have cut both ways - losing him some, gaining others. I hope Mondale runs and wins. I'm pretty worried about this whole election. But in the long term, I hope someone can step up and fill Wellstone's role on the national scene, not just his seat. At this point, I don't know who it might be. The only thing that gives me any comfort on that score is that years ago, watching Wellstone on CSPAN, I was rooting for the things he was fighting for, but wouldn't have pictured him as emerging as the kind of figure that he had in more recent years. He seemed unpreposessing, nice, intelligent, but uncharismatic and he turned out to be quite a leader. So maybe someone will step up. On the other hand, we had quite a few years without someone like that on the left liberal side of things. We really can't afford a dry stretch like that again.

Paul Wellstone
7/21/44 - 10/25/02

America has lost a true hero.

Senator Paul Wellstone was more than a Progressive Democrat.
More than the most outspoken Liberal in Congress. He was the embodiment of what our nation's founding fathers envisioned for its political leadership.

* A passionate scholar of public policy;
* A champion of working families and living wages;
* A staunch protector of the environment;
* A defender of civil rights and civil liberties;
* An outspoken advocate of a single-payer healthcare system;
* A fighter for Fair Trade; and
* A tireless voice for peace.

Paul and his wife, Sheila, were among the earliest supporters of the Rolling Thunder Down-Home Democracy Tour, and we were fortunate to have spent many days together going down the road, most recently at the Labor Day Picnic in September on Harriet Island and at the Fair Trade Rally on Oct. 5 in Duluth.

We have been blessed with their friendship. We will carry on their battles with conviction and determination. And we will fight with dignity and honor to fulfill America's promise, inspired by the examples of their lives, which they ultimately gave while campaigning for the issues they believed in.

Regardless of the political party, race, gender, ethnicity or creed, Paul Wellstone represented each and everyone of us, and, no doubt, the world will be a little bit worse off in his absence. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the Wellstone family and to his many supporters in this difficult time.

-- Jim Hightower


<FONT size="1">(from the homepage of jimhightower.com)</FONT s>

http://www.wellstone.org/
http://www.votedfl.org/

Thanks lcj. Whatever would have happened, it's even clearer now that he's someone we couldn't afford to lose. That always seems to be the way, though.

Wasn't it Joe Hill who said "Stop mourning and organize!" ???

Sure is hard to do though when the loss is so close to home. I just wish there were some other "Pauls" out there to pick up the torch. There are plenty of reasonable Dem voices, plenty of radical left voices, but not too many who merged the two as successfully as Paul.

By the way, the guy who wrote that piece is a local TV host/attorney/Dem activist named David Lillehaug. He's a good man. I wish you could see their TV show Face to Face. It's a debate show where David takes on a hard-right Rand-worshipper every week. I don't know how he does it. But it's a great show, wish you could see it.

Anyone like "The McLaughlin Group?"

<center><FONT COLOR="#000080">--- Edited 1 times, lastly by lcj on Feb 20, 2003 ---</FONT></center>