Six years ago today, Sen. Paul Wellstone, DFL-Minn., died, along with his wife, daughter, three campaign staffers, and two pilots, when his airplane crashed en route to Eveleth, Minn., for the funeral of Martin Rukavina, father of State Rep. Tom Rukavina, DFL-Eveleth.
Wellstone was in the middle of a difficult re-election campaign against a formidable opponent, former St. Paul Mayor Norm Coleman. Wellstone had made himself vulnerable earlier in the month by choosing to vote against the Authorization for the Use of Military Force against Iraq. His statement against the war was his last statement on the floor of the U.S. Senate.
Wellstone was never afraid to be a liberal. He was truly willing to sacrifice his seat in the Senate to do what was right — indeed, on the eve of the vote, he told his friend, Rep. Jim Ramstad, R-Minn., that he thought his vote would cost him the election. But he was unwilling to send American troops to die to save his seat, and in his speech, he expressed more concern for his staff than he did himself.
I wish that I was voting to re-elect Paul Wellstone in ten days; our country would be the better for it. And I think Paul would be proud to see his once-lonely vigil vindicated. In the darkest hours for progressives, when everyone — myself included — was writing off liberalism, Paul Wellstone stood proudly for those themes liberals are supposed to. He fought for those who needed help, fought for equality, for human decency, fought for peace and justice. He was among the finest public servants ever to represent my state, and he is sorely missed.
Thanks for noting this anniversary.
I will never forget that day. Thanks for writing about it; I didn’t have it in me this year. Have you been to the memorial?
Yeah, thanks. Minnesota politics would look so much different today, even if his voting against the war had lost him the election then.
Thank you, Jeff. My boyfriend and I visited the memorial this summer. We both admired him as a politician and as a human being, and I wish he could have been around to see the Senate finally pass his mental health parity bill.
The assassination of Wellstone was made even more traumatic by the social pressure in the media to pretend it wasn’t an assassination.
The lonely vigil goes on.
Many gathered at Lakewood Cemetery to lay Paul and Sheila to rest. And we’re still there, the last shovelful of dirt still clinging to the spade.
His chair has stood cold these past six years. Occupied, yes – and cold.
For Paul patiently bore the burden of fighting for the mentally ill, and for the soldier, and against the war. And he yet patiently waits for someone, for anyone – for us – to relieve him of these burdens.
When we finally lay to rest our last soldier from this Iraqi occupation, Paul may finally find his rest as well. We’ll pat down the last shovelful, wipe the dirt from our hands, and go home.
When we have peace, we may at long last have peace.
Thank you for remembering a real American hero, a prophet. Let us hope that Barack Obama will be a president in the mold of Paul Wellstone.