Burningbird: We Lost a Good One

October 25, 2002

We Lost a Good One

Senator Paul Wellstone and his wife and daughter and three staff members and two pilots died in a plane crash today.

Their deaths are horribly tragic and my sympathies go out to their families and friends. But in these times, the loss is made doubly worse when you realize Senator Wellstone was one of few senators that opposed the resolution that gave President Bush what amounts to war powers:

Anti-war activists were conducting a three-day sit-in at his St. Paul office, even as his Republican challenger was pummeling him as wobbly on national security. For Sen. Paul D. Wellstone (D-Minn.), the Iraq war resolution before Congress presented a lose-lose proposition likely to anger voters he needs in his tight reelection bid.

But to Wellstone there was never really much of a choice.

The 58-year-old professor-turned-senator had built a political career on standing by his convictions, which included a decided preference for international cooperation and diplomacy over war. He was not about to abandon them now, he said on a recent morning, as he put the finishing touches on a speech he was about to deliver opposing the resolution that would authorize President Bush to use force against Iraq, with or without a United Nations mandate.

"Just putting it in self-interest terms, how would I have had the enthusiasm and the fight if I had actually cast a vote I didn't believe in?" he asked. "I couldn't do that."

This man was a good one, and will be missed. As a person and as a senator.

From a purely political perspective, this tragedy puts the Democratic control of the Senate at risk. If the Republicans win control of the Senate, and they maintain control of the House, Bush will have unfettered access to as much power as he wants, to use as he wants. It will be next to impossible to control him and his cabinet at this point.

Serious, serious times.

Posted by Bb at October 25, 2002 04:29 PM

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http://whatdoiknow.org/archives/000490.php#000490

Here's his initial post on the topic, along with some helpful comments:

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Ryan

Posted by: Ryan on October 25, 2002 05:07 PM

Sorry Shelley, feel free to move this comment. I forgot which comments link I clicked.

But I also wanted to comment on this post.

Paul Wellstone was a graduate of the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill and the community is grieving the loss, as he was considered one of this areas most respected "sons".

Mr. Wellstone's political life will of course be missed is these important times of partisan politics.

Posted by: Ryan on October 25, 2002 05:11 PM

No problem on first comment, Ryan. Good to confuse people every once in a while.

And thanks for reminding me about Wellstone the person. I've liked this man for years, but became too caught up in the ramifications. He was a hell of a person, wasn't he? One of a kind.

Why is it always the good ones?

Posted by: Shelley aka Bb on October 25, 2002 07:50 PM

Would you like the honest answer or the Sunday School answer?

Posted by: Ryan on October 25, 2002 08:27 PM

This is an honest answer zone, as scary as that gets at times.

Posted by: Shelley aka Bb on October 25, 2002 09:05 PM

Wellstone was an authentic man, and a unfortunately very rare politician. He represented not just Minnesota, but 10's of millions of Americans who don't fit the bulge in the bell curve.

Posted by: Michael Webb on October 25, 2002 09:15 PM

The honest answer: I have no &*$% idea.

Posted by: Ryan on October 25, 2002 10:05 PM

Paul Wellstone was everywhere you looked at the anti-war march in SF this weekend. Every time you turned around, someone had "Wellstone Lives" or "Paul Wellstone marches with us" written on their signs and placards.

Posted by: The One True b!X on October 27, 2002 10:15 PM

This might be a bit darker than you were looking for but...

Why always the good ones? Because no one cares about the bad ones. You only hear about the good ones. Bad news is the only news people really seem to care about.

Posted by: Trickster on October 29, 2002 12:08 PM