Paul Wellstone
Links to Facts & Commentaries about the plane crash
of Senator Paul Wellstone and his family
Remembering Paul Wellstone
By David Moberg
Everyone devoted to greater social justice
suffered a deep loss when the plane carrying Sen. Paul Wellstone
and members of his family and campaign staff crashed in northern Minnesota.
Paul—to nearly everyone, he was
Paul, not Senator Wellstone—was an energetic, joyful, good-humored crusader
whose passions triggered hope
and commitment in others. While he showed unwavering dedication to empowering
average citizens and using
government to improve their lives, he maintained an open-minded, respectful
dialogue with both his constituents
and the social movements with which he proudly identified. But he was also a
doggedly tough fighter against his
antagonists, whatever the odds.
It understates his virtue to say that he had a
common touch. He had unmistakable empathy for “ordinary people,”
especially those most in need of the compassion of others, but he also treated
them with the dignity they
deserved. He was a fundamentally decent, likeable, and trustworthy individual
with a great talent to
communicate persuasively his arguments for justice, equality, democracy, and
solidarity. His loss is a
reminder that individuals, with their distinct personal attributes, make a big
difference in the struggle for a
better world, despite the importance of movements, organizations, ideas, and
broader forces of social change.
But Paul would want his legacy to be not just
an appreciation of his own contributions or personal
merits, but a call to arms. He was above all an organizer. He worked with
grassroots movements in
Minnesota, while writing about them and encouraging his students at Carleton
College to participate
(to the consternation of administrators). But his distinctive accomplishment was
linking the movements
of workers, farmers, environmentalists, feminists and many others with each
other and with electoral politics.
Paul worked to frame issues and policies that would realize the aims of these
movement constituencies and
also create a basis for unity among them, forging not just a “blue-green”
coalition, but a broader, more unified
progressive movement.
At the same time, he transformed electoral
politics with his reliance on a modernized version of the vanishing
political tradition of person-to-person mobilization by an army of volunteers.
While he used TV ads (often cleverly)
and could raise money, his margin of victory—despite theoretical vulnerability
for his progressive stands—came
from the troops on the ground. By linking electoral and non-electoral politics,
he strengthened both.
As an organizer, he was interested in changing
people’s ideas, not in being a weathervane of public opinion.
After his death, Paul was widely praised for his principled politics. He showed
that most famously in his solitary
vote against a harsh version of welfare reform and in opposition to new war
powers for Bush, but he was also a
lonely fighter against a draconian, bipartisan bankruptcy bill that he
persistently delayed. Equally important,
however, he demonstrated to the mass of timid and calculating politicians, whose
ambition is mainly getting
themselves elected, that it was possible to be principled and win.
People do respect leaders who have the courage
of their convictions, but the great majority of people also
respected Paul, even if they disagreed with some of his votes, because of what
those principles were. Phil Gramm
and Dick Armey might also be principled, as the Wall Street Journal
editorialized in its perverse appreciation of
Wellstone, but their devotion to free markets, private property and the rights
of the rich doesn’t resonate with the
great majority of citizens as deeply as Paul’s aspirations for fairness,
compassion, equality and a peaceful world,
where the well-being of both nature and humans, in all their variation, are
nurtured and protected. Paul inspired
not just because he was principled, but because of the nature of his principles,
which appealed to the
transcendent dimensions of human nature.
Paul could lash out fervently against
corporate greed and political misdeeds, and he was one of the Senate’s
harshest critics of the way corporate globalization has reshaped our lives. But
he always brought a hopeful
message, based on the belief that politics could be ennobling, that most people
really cared about their
neighbors (even those on the other side of the globe) and that a new world could
be born out of this flawed but
still vital nation. It will be hard to find messengers that will match him. It
is imperative to keep his message alive.
From -
Remembering
Paul Wellstone - Very good reading from 'In These Times' online magazine
(3 Comments from
angrydems.com)
Someone here said it, "Paul
Wellstone was assassinated!" Don't you think it's odd that 2 key Democrats were
killed in mysterious plane crashes--Carnahan last election and Wellstone this
time. Not only are Republipuppies
buying elections, they are rigging them with murder. This is what were up
against--the end of the American Bill of
Rights and the rest of the Constitution.
KENNEDY, KING, KENNEDY WITH
BULLETS- CARNAHAN WITH A PLANE, ATTEMPT ON LEAHY AND DASCHLE
WITH ANTHRAX, WELLSTONE AND WIFE WITH A PLANE.... WHO'S NEXT?
May God have mercy on what
little is left of this American democracy. The people of Florida prefer a
criminal; the
people of Colorado, a racist; the people of Minnesota, the opposing candidate to
an assassinated (let's be honest
folks, it was assassination) senator and hero.
Updated Nov. 21, 2002
*The
Co-incidence Theory - The strongest article yet by R B Ham on Print Think at
Truth & Consequences
*Assassinated
by Covert US Terror Group - Heavy duty article on voxnyc.com, 121 Viewer
Commentaries
*Paul
Wellstone Murder - Good summary, remote control takeover and simultaneous
radio blackout
*How
Very Convenient - Good Commentary by John Bottoms on strike the root.com
*Terror
on the Hill - Very Good November 10 online article by Marc Ash of
Truthout.com
*Jackson Thoreau
Commentary - Did the CIA or the Right-Wing tamper with the plane?
*How the assassin did it -
Also 'Plane gave no indication of trouble' on Rense.com
*Do
Not Let the Murder of Paul Wellstone be the Murder of America - By Cheryl
Seal, Nov. 1 News Insider.org
*Wellstone
plane crash media survey good summary from Scoop in New Zealand, Nov. 7
*Some of the
best Analyses of the Plane Crash and possibilities
Was Wellstone Assassinated?
- Very thorough article, many details, Center for an Informed America
Connecting the Dots - By David Spring on Liberal Slant (archives)
Why
Wellstone? - By David Spring on Liberal Slant (archives)
The
Reverberating Mystery of Paul Wellstone's Death - By Lisa Walsh Thomas on
Liberal Slant (archives)
Good commentary
by Dr. Michael I. Niman on Alternet
Good commentary by Jackson
Thoreau on Liberal Slant
Was Wellstone Murdered? - Commentary by Kellia Ramares on Online Journal.com
Assassinations, Phony Wars, Stolen Elections - Article by Bev Conover in
Online Journal
Brief statement
by Marc Ash of Truthout.com
Media Survey
by Scoop of New Zealand - Several good articles
Commentary by Cheryl Seals
on Unknown News
Commentary by Ted Rall on Yahoo! News
*Cirisi's
law firm looking into Wellstone plane crash - Star Tribune story on Nov. 14
Possible Assassination of Wellstone - Thorough article on the latest
evidence at Twin Cities Indymedia
Short
article about NTSB findings
Initial Crash
Facts - An eye witness to the crash said he heard "a loud gunshot".
Plane Pointing Away from Airport - Story of Oct. 26 on CNN.com
Wellstone's
Co-Pilot - Michael Guess played minor role in Moussaoui involvement -His
link to Flying School
Details of
pilot's felony record - Message on wnyc.com forum
Wellstone Pilot
Exaggerated His Airline Experience - Story in Nov. 10 Star-Tribune
Wellstone Pilot
had Felony Record - Served time for mail fraud, Story in Nov. 1 issue of
Star-Tribune