Paul Wellstone

From KeyWiki

Paul Wellstone was a Democratic Senator, representing Minnesota. He and his wife Sheila Wellstone died in a plane crash in 2002 (while still in office), but Wellstone Action! was created to emulate his policies.

"Community organizer"

Writing in the Huffington Post of September 8, 2008, in an article entitled "From Organizer To Elected Official" Democratic Socialists of America member Peter Dreier listed several former US politicians who had begun their careers as "community organizers". They were late Senator Paul Wellstone of Minnesota, the late Ed Roybal (California's first Latino member of Congress, elected in 1963), former mayors Tom Murphy of Pittsburgh and Andrew Young of Atlanta, Bev Stein, former chair of Multnomah County in greater Portland, Oregon, former Connecticut Secretary of State Miles Rapoport, former state legislators Gonzalo Barrientos of Texas and John McDonough of Massachusetts, and the late Sally Shipman, an Austin City Council member. ^[1]

New American Movement connection

In 1979 the New American Movement published a booklet entitled "Socialist working papers on energy".

Contributors included Paul Wellstone and Monty Tarbox who wrote "Dangerous Harvest: Tractor Power vs. Power Companies".^[2]

In These Times

Over the years, socialist journal In These Times has published the work of a wide range of noted writers, including fiction by Alice Walker and Kurt Vonnegut; reporting by Clinton speechwriter David Kusnet, former New Republic editor Andrew Sullivan, and current Salon Editor-in-Chief Joan Walsh; and political commentary by former presidential candidate George McGovern, environmentalist Sandra Steingraber, the late Democratic Sen. Paul Wellstone of Minnesota, novelists Barbara Kingsolver and Dorothy Allison, and a number of contemporary members of the House of Representatives who contribute to the magazine’s “House Call” column.

The late Sen. Paul Wellstone, one of the first subscribers to In These Times, put it this way: “Meaningful democracy cannot survive without the free flow of information, even (or especially) when that information threatens the privileged and the powerful. At a time of growing media concentration, In These Times is an invaluable source of news and information that the corporate media would too often prefer to ignore.”^[3]

Single-payer Bill

In 1994 Jim McDermott, John Conyers and Paul Wellstone promoted a "single-payer" health care bill (HR1200/S491).^[4]

Ellen Shaffer, a member of Wellstone's staff told the People's Weekly World that the authors had been "working closely" with Hillary Clinton. "She knows what they are doing" Shaffer said.^[5]

Back to Basics conference

A Back to Basics conference on the future of the American Left, was held in Chicago October 9-11, 1998. Speakers included: Sen. Paul Wellstone, Rep. Bernie Sanders, Rep. Cynthia McKinney, Barbara Dudley, Quentin Young and Jim Hightower. The conference was sponsored by Sponsored by In These Times^[6].

DSA connections

In 1990 Democratic Left, November/December issue, page 5 stated;

Twin cities DSA in Minnesota continues its resurgence with ongoing support of Paul Wellstone's campaign for the Senate seat currently held by Republican Rudy Boschwitz. Local activists are doing literature drops and helping to raise money for this watershed campaign...As a professor at Carlton College, Wellstone has mentored many DSA Youth Section activists...Contributions, made out to Wellstone for U.S. Senate, can be sent to the DSA national Office and will be forwarded to the campaign.

The Twin Cities DSA local put most of its time and energy in the Fall of 1990 into Paul1 Wellstone's successful campaign for the Senate and called him "explicitly democratic socialist in orientation."^[7]

In 1992 Twin Cities Democratic Socialists of America members Gene Martinez and Anita Martinez hosted a fundraiser for the Wellstone Alliance. Senator Paul Wellstone spoke to the DSAers and Democratic Farmer Laborites in attendance.^[8]

In 1996 Democratic Socialists of America sent six staff members into the field for the final weeks of the campaign. These staff and DSA volunteers "contributed to the re-election of Senator Paul Wellstone, Congressperson Maurice Hinchey (D-upstate NY) and aided in the narrow victory of pro-labor John Tierney (D-MA) over "moderate" Republican Pete Torkildsen in Massachusetts.

DSA leader Christine Riddiough was assigned to Wellstone's campaign;^[9]

Rudy Boschwitz, branded Wellstone "embarrassingly liberal." As the campaign intensified, Boschwitz became increasingly negative in his ads. In the last days before the election he claimed that Wellstone had burned the American flag in the '60s.

Before I got to Minnesota the race was neck and neck, but in that last week before the election-coinciding with DSA's active involvement-Wellstone pulled out to a strong lead, finally winning by nine percent. While I was there I worked with the campaign's superbly organized grassroots efforts. I concentrated on organizing DSA members and members of the gay and lesbian community to round up volunteers for Wellstone. Then I rolled up my sleeves for endless rounds of calls to Wellstone supporters to make sure they got out to vote.

In 2000 Minnesota Democratic Socialists of America decided^[10]to focus;

all of its efforts as a group the next two years on reelecting Senator Paul Wellstone, who is closest to DSA’s ideology. Although divided on Gore vs. Nader, they are 100% united behind Wellstone. Wellstone is being targeted by the Republicans and Bush administration for defeat...

In 2002 Chicago DSA member Bob Roman wrote^[11]of Paul Wellstone's link to Young Democratic Socialists;

There had been a Youth Section (YDS) chapter at Carleton College for which Wellstone had been the faculty adviser.

According to Twin Cities Democratic Socialists of America leader Dan Frankot, the Social Democratic Action Caucus of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, founded by DSA, "is organizing around various issues and will work to reelect Paul Wellstone for a third term to the Senate."^[12]

DSA youth drive

DSA’s national electoral project in 2002 was the the Minnesota Senate Election. According to Democratic Left Fall 2002, page 5;^[13]

Together with YDS, DSA’s Youth Section,we are mobilizing to bring young people to Minnesota. Minnesota is one of the few states that allow same day voter registration.We will focus our energy on registering young people. Wellstone will need a high percentage of young people to register and vote for him if he is to stave off the campaign that Bush and the Republicans have orchestrated against him. He is the right’s number one electoral target.

Because we are focusing on issue based voter registration, this electoral work can be supported by tax deductible contributions and the DSA FUND is soliciting such contributions to support this project.

Contributions are needed to underwrite the costs of transportation as well as to provide stipends for expenses. DSA members wishing to contribute should make their check payable to DSAFund and return it to 180 Varick St., 12th fl., NY, NY10014. Contributions can also be made on-line at www.dsausa.org.

Consequent IRS controversy

A non-partisan voter registration drive organized by the Democratic Socialists of America Fund in Minnesota during their fall 2002 Senate race was included in an IRS investigation.

Both DSA and the DSA Fund received letters that indicated their tax-exempt status might be threatened. A finding that either organization had engaged in improper partisan activity could have led to fines and penalties that could have included loss of their tax-exempt status.^[14]

In our case, the right-wing Minnesota Tax Payers League charged that the small non-partisan voter registration drive we organized actually consisted of an attempt to bring out-of state students to Minnesota to illegally vote for Democratic Senate candidate Paul Wellstone. The Drudge Report ran with the charge, and Fox News spread it further, even though the the Tax Payers League backed away from that ludicrous charge two days after they made the allegation. Other right-wingers then tried to stir up more controversy, charging that we organizednan illegal partisan voter registration drive.

DSA members around the country contributed thousands of dollars to defray the legal expenses incurred in defending the organization from these charges. We retained the firm of Harmon, Curren, Spielberg & Eisenberg, a Washington, DC firm that specializes in this area of the law.

"After more than a year of filing, responding and waiting, we finally have received our closure letters. The IRS has accepted our 2002 returns and our explanation of the voter registration project. They also said formally that our tax-exempt status was not in jeopardy.

"The Progressive Challenge: Capitol Hill Forum"

On January 9, 1997, over 600 people attended "The Progressive Challenge: Capitol Hill Forum" sponsored by the House Progressive Caucus, Democratic Socialists of America, and a host of other progressive organizations.

The primary goal of this day-long "kick-off" forum was to "identify the unifying values shared by progressives at this point in US history, to help define core elements of a forward-looking progressive agenda, and to pinpoint ways to connect that agenda with the concerns of millions of disillusioned people who lack voices in present politics and policy-making."

After a welcome by Representative Bernie Sanders, an impressive array of legislators, activists, and thinkers offered their insights. Senator Paul Wellstone, Reverend Jesse Jackson, Patricia Ireland of NOW, Richard Trumka of the AFL-CIO, Noam Chomsky, William Greider of Rolling Stone, and DSA Honorary Chair Barbara Ehrenreich were among the many who spoke.

Some emphasized the importance of the conventional, if difficult, process of progressive candidates building grassroots campaigns that treat voters with intelligence and challenge prevailing wisdom regarding what values and issues motivate ordinary Americans struggling to make ends meet-as opposed to using polls and focus groups to concoct "designer" campaigns to appeal to upscale "soccer moms." Other speakers reminded those present that great changes are made by people acting outside of the corridors of power to define justice and "political reality," and the electoral and legislative processes are not the only arenas worthy of activists' attention.^[15]

Opposed Iraq War

Six of the eight U.S. Senators from the four upper Midwest states voted against the resolution to authorize force against Iraq, all of them Democrats or progressive Democrats: Mark Dayton and Paul Wellstone (Minn.), Russ Feingold (Wis.), Dick Durbin (Ill.), and Carl Levin and Debbie Stabenow (Mich.).

Sen. Wellstone, the only member of the Senate voting "Nay" who was facing election that fall, died in a plane crash just prior to the 2002 election; his seat was taken by Republican Norm Coleman. But Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin, a Democrat, joined the war resistance a year later by voting against the $87 billion supplemental appropriation for the Iraq War.^[16]

Supported by Council for a Livable World

The Council for a Livable World, founded in 1962 by long-time socialist activist and alleged Soviet agent, Leo Szilard, is a non-profit advocacy organization that seeks to "reduce the danger of nuclear weapons and increase national security", primarily through supporting progressive, congressional candidates who support their policies. The Council supported Paul Wellstone in his successful Senate run as candidate for Minnesota.^[17]

Borosage on Board

Institute for Policy Studies leader Robert Borosage has served as an issues adviser to several progressive political campaigns, including those of Senators Carol Moseley Braun, Barbara Boxer and Paul Wellstone. In 1988, he was Senior Issues Advisor to the presidential campaign of Reverend Jesse Jackson.^[18]

The Progressive

Wellstone has been a contributor to the liberal magazine, The Progressive.

Plane crash

Staff

The following have worked as staff members for Paul Wellstone:^[19]

External links

• Wellstone Action! website
• The Progressive website

References