Breaks my heart.
I believe he was done in.

I had no idea that today was the anniversary of his most unfortunate death. Thank you Teddy.

I remember the day as vividly as the day Kennedy was shot.

And from that sad day in history…… it was a warning for any progressive Democrat to stay out of light aircraft…….

sad, but perhaps true.

His words sound so eminently sensible now, but he was brave and lonely to say them at the time.

Dugg, if you’d like to join in

I remarked at the time that crash-oft was an anagram of Ashcroft. In retrospect, it was probably unfair, Ashcroft having been the only high-ranking member of the Bush cabinet who actually had the backbone to oppose some of their policies, albeit privately.

I wonder sometimes when I hear a Senator making a well reasoned statement like that if anyone in the chamber that day was listening. Probably very few of his colleagues and none of those who most needed to hear it, the majority that had already leapt aboard Bush’s rush to war-wagon.

thers upstairs

That was a sad day indeed. I have never lived in Minnesota but I knew about his stance against the war and I agreed with him and admired him for it. He was truly a brave man, and a American hero.

Another victim of the Bush family modus operandi.
Paul would never have let this administration go as far as it has without talking non-stop on the floor of the Senate and letting people know how wrong it all is.

There is a problem getting information to the public. Those of us who read the internet sites have such a different view that those who only get their news from the MSM.

A fitting memorial would be for sites like FDL to team up with Wellstone Action! to get information out to the public. The power of one multiplied over and over.

Imagine the power of many progressive websites sending quick action letters all at once. Hey, Waxman sure didn’t like FDL doing it! He would like 50 websites doing it all at once even less. http://www.wellstone.org/

Fuck Norm Coleman .. and the horse he rode in on.

Yes, but remember Paul would have loved every minute of what seems to be happening this year, the months when the stuffing is spilling out of the Republican turkey.

Everytime I see a post from an Obama volunteer about doing a very well organized canvas, or signing on to hang doorhangers on Election Eve, my own personal video in my head goes back to that wild campaign in 1990 when literally no money, and no belief in the possibility of “doing it” didn’t stand in the way of getting it done. I remember having a van full of volunteers and two elected officials doing doorhangers in Elderly Housing at 11:30 or so at night, and pulling up in front, handing out the packages of door hangers, assigning floors in 22 story buildings, and then making it a race to see who could get done first so we could take on the next building. One elected official confided it was “hopeless” — I said no, prove it, and he took his packet and shook his head saying “true believers — gads.”

The next night I was sitting on the floor next to a pillar in the hotel with the victory party, and the CBS Reporter was shaking his head and saying, “If these returns hold up, Minnesota will have just elected the most PROGRESSIVE Senator in years.” Said it on National TV mind you while I was squatting almost under his camera position. And then the local news was turned up, and said that while Rudy Boschwitz was not conceding quite yet, he had phoned Paul, etc, etc., and then Paul showed up and said if the returns held up in January that “Green Bus would Deliver to Washington a New Senator….” and just thinking about it makes me cry all over again, remembering all those conversations over that year with state legislators who really didn’t want to carry Paul’s card with their literature, even though I was in a position to offer them two vans full of charged up volunteers to carry THEIR LITERATURE as a trade for getting Paul’s stuff all over the place.

He had a good run, nearly 12 years at a time when the best of his Progressive Agenda could not prevail, but it didn’t stop him from offering amendments of that nature and being the only Senator to vote for them. I just hope this year Franken takes back the Wellstone Seat, and moves the ideas forward in what should be a much better climate in DC. And since it was initially Molly Ivins idea that Franken should move home to Minnesota and go for the seat this year — yea, if it works, we will also remember Molly.

But the more I see of the roll out of the last act of Obama’s campaign, the more I just imagine Paul loving every blessed detail of it.

Just in case no one was paying attention to just what tools Repiglicans are, Wellstone’s memorial service served as the wakeup call. They used a tribute to a great American as an opportunity to demonize those of us who believed that Paul Wellstone represented what is best among us. That Norm Coleman took over Wellstone’s seat was a travesty.

Go Al Franken — make Paul proud, make us all proud.

Does anyone know if Wellstone’s family has endorsed Franken? I mean in a public way.

He is sorely missed.

Here he is on the 1999 Financial Services Modernization Act (responsible, in large part, for our current crisis):

“This bill, S. 900, would aggravate a trend toward economic concentration that endangers not only our economy, but, I think, more importantly, it endangers our democracy. S. 900 would make it easier for banks, securities firms, insurance companies, and, in some cases, commercial firms, to merge into gigantic new conglomerates that would dominate the financial industry.
[…]
This is the wrong kind of modernization because it fails to put in place adequate regulatory safeguards for these new financial giants whose failure could jeopardize the entire economy. It is the wrong kind of modernization because taxpayers could be stuck with the bill if these conglomerates become “too big to fail.” We have heard that before–“too big to fail.”
[…]
I think we are flirting with disaster. We are strolling casually along the upper decks of the Titanic, oblivious to the dangers ahead of us.”

I don’t know , but they have Darcy Burner. Wellstone Action says that they have 300 members running for office all over the country. If they have a list, I can’t figure out how to access it.

Paul’s speeches are on the web site. For those who don’t know, Wellstone Action is run by Mark and David Wellstone..Paul’s sons.

yes…Paul’s son David
http://blog.alfranken.com/2008…..wellstone/

http://blog.alfranken.com/?200…..wellstone/

I give up..a short letter from David Wellstone is at Al Franken For US Senate…

(((((TEDDY)))))

Thank you for your splendid memorial post of a much lamented and desperately missed Senator Paul Wellstone, and your own great heart for honoring his leadership, fearless courage speaking truth to power on behalf of all Americans past, present and future.

Thank you all for your stories of Paul. I miss him.

I remember that well. And then to see the Republicans go into Hissy Kabuki Mode over a small section of the memorial event at Williams Arena, and use that to get Norm Coleman elected, was triply sickening.

The lies the Republicans told about the Williams Arena event, and how they parlayed that into a win for Coleman, are what got Al Franken to decide that he had to come back to Minnesota and take out Coleman once and for all.

Thank you, Teddy, for posting this. Six years later, and it’s still too raw for me to contemplate easily — especially how the Republicans made slimy misuse of the Williams Arena memorial event for him and his family.