Who Would Paul Wellstone Vote For?

[senz]

61. Some strong parallels between Paul Wellstone and Bernie Sanders.

Paul Wellstone’s Legacy -- In These Times, 10-12-12

Shortly before he died in a plane crash on October 25, 2002, Paul Wellstone explained why he was in the Senate: “I don’t represent the big oil companies, the big pharmaceuticals, or the big insurance industry. They already have great representation in Washington. It’s the rest of the people that need representation.”

He cast his last vote against the Iraq War Resolution.

His parents were Ukrainian Jewish immigrants and he was criticized for not being religious.

He had set the standard for what Jeff Blodgett, Wellstone’s campaign manager in his three Senate races, calls “conviction politics.” “Paul based his political leadership and career on the idea [that] you say that you believe, you believe what you say, you put that out there for voters,” explained Blodgett.

When the Democrats were in the majority in 1993–1994, Wellstone pushed for a Canadian-style single-payer healthcare system, in contrast to President Bill Clinton’s more modest reform proposal.

He opposed NAFTA in 1993.

He fought for campaign finance reform.

He was the only Senate Democrat to oppose his party’s version of lowering the inheritance tax. He virtually single-handedly stalled proposed bankruptcy legislation that would have imposed onerous new burdens on the poor while benefitting banks, credit card and car finance companies, and retailers.

In 1996, Wellstone was the only senator up for re-election to vote against an overhaul of the nation’s welfare system, which Clinton signed that year. In a speech on the Senate floor, Wellstone predicted that the law would hurt low-income children. “They don’t have the lobbyists, they don’t have the PACs,” Wellstone said.

http://inthesetimes.com/article/14009/paul_wellstones_legacy

Wellstone had huge appeal for young people:

Wellstone's upset victory in 1990 and reelection in 1996 were also credited to a grassroots campaign, which inspired college students, poor people, and minorities to get involved in politics, many for the first time. In 1990, the number of young people involved in the campaign was so notable that shortly after the election, Walter Mondale told Wellstone that "the kids won it for you"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Wellstone