Senator Paul Wellstone

On Friday, we learned that Senator Paul Wellstone and his wife, daughter and 5 others died in a plane crash in Minnesota. Senator Wellstone was the most liberal member of the United States Senate. He was also the most honest about it. At a time when most of his Democrat colleagues try to convince their constituents that they are conservative, Paul Wellstone was a proud liberal. In fact, he thought the Democratic Party needed to be more liberal. Maybe he was right.

Many phrases with be tossed around about Senator Wellstone over the next days and weeks. The most important is that he stuck up for what he believed in and he was willing to pay the price. He knew who he was and how to debate the issues without getting personal. I never met Senator Wellstone, but I read what he said about almost every issue. Even though, I rarely agreed with him, it was always well thought out and you could see where he was coming from on issues. He was consistent.

In the next days, the Democratic Party will have to decide who will replace Wellstone on the ballot. We will mourn, but there is an election to be won where the control of the policy of this country will hang in the balance.

Paul Wellstone left his mark on the United States Senate with conviction, dedication and commitment to liberal values in the model of Moynihan and Mitchell. He was a true liberal in the model of Hubert Humphrey. He was not a Clinton Democrat. He will be missed.

Let me know what you think about this and other opinions posted here. You can email me at [email protected]. Tune in every weekday just after nine to way in on the issues of the day on The Martha Zoller Show.