If Wellstone were alive would he have been in the VP mix?

[WI_DEM]

If the great late Paul Welstone were still alive and had he won re-election to the senate in '02 (and I think he would have)would he be on John Kerry's short list for VP? great Senator, liberal icon, from a midwestern dairy state which was narrowly won in '00 and as a buffer for those thinking of voting Green or for Nader.

[JI7]

1. not sure, but Kerry unlike the greens and nader had no trouble endorsing

and campaigning for wellstone.

[no name no slogan]

15. Not totally true. There were many Greens for Wellstone

The main reason the Greens ran a candidate against him in MN was because of their party status.

After the 2000 election (where they got over 5% on a statewide race), the Greens "officially" became a major party in Minnesota, which allows them access to state matching funds, and a checkoff box on the state income tax form that lets taxpayers give $$ directly to political parties via their tax returns.

To maintain this major-party status in MN, they needed to get at least 5% in a statewide race (governor, senator, or other state-level office). If they don't they lose it, and the benefits that go with it. Consequently, we have four major parties in MN today: the Repubs, the DFL, the Independence Party (Jesse Ventura's party) and the Green Party.

Most of the Greens I know were not enthused about running somebody against Wellstone, and there was a strong "Greens for Wellstone" movement at their endorsing convention. But in order to maintain their status, they had no other choice but to run candidates for governor AND US Senate.

Besides, Paul was ±10% ahead of Coleman when he died-- he would easily have won re-election, Green or no Green vote.

[in_cog_ni_to]

2. I think he'd be our nominee.

A true Progressive. I just adored that man. I miss him. :cry:

[no name no slogan]

16. He almost ran in 2000, but decided not to because of his MS

He was diagnosed with MS in either 1999 or 2000 (can't remember which one), and consequently decided not to run for president, because of the health risk.

He had an exploratory committee together, and was raising $$, but after the MS announcement he ditched it.

IMHO with Wellstone on the ballot in 2000, we wouldn't have HAD a Nader vote to worry about, or a lackluster Gore campaign, or a Dubya for president.

[mzmolly]

3. Boy, good question.

:shrug:

[JI7]

4. they will probably call him anti gay and complain about patriot act vote

the fact is they did not support him when he ran for re-election as senator so i don't believe any who say the greens or nader will support democrats if you put this person on the ticket. kerry had no problem supporting wellstone and campaigning for him. he worked with sheila wellstone on many things also.

as for kerry he probably would not have picked wellstone to be vp since kerry already has a liberal record and he needs to add some balance to the ticket.

[BayCityProgressive]

5. I wish Fiengold could be VP

he is th eclosest to Wellstone we have.

[Dinger]

6. I Miss Wellstone

Just seeing his name makes me sad. I think bu$h knows how he died too.
Norm coldman is the ultimate asshole. It will be nice seeing him get voted out-resoundingly!

[JohnKleeb]

7. he could be

him and Kerry worked a lot on stuff together.

[dansolo]

8. Kerry is afraid of the liberal label

There is no way he would have picked Paul Wellstone.

[goodhue]

9. no

Health issues.

[PVnRT]

10. No

Kerry is viewed as liberal enough, to have added Wellstone to the ticket would just have caused Rove to break his face smiling.

[Name removed]

11. Deleted message

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[DFLforever]

12. No. Much too progressive and much too much a champion of the little

guy for this corporate-laced party.

Although I have no doubt he would have supported Kerry all the way.

edit: typo

[JI7]

13. of course he would have, Kerry supported him all the way

unlike nader and the greens.

[Padraig18]

14. God rest Paul Wellstone's good soul.

It makes me sad, just seeing his name and refecting on what could have been. I think he might have been our nominee, but I don't think he would have been Kerry's VP, because Kerry is probably seeking to add a regional/ideological balance to the ticket, which Wellstone would not have accomplished.

We miss you, Paul...

:cry:

[no name no slogan]

17. What makes me saddest of all

is all the people EVERYWHERE (even in MN's DFL party) who praise Paul to the heavens now that he's dead, but who wrote him off as a "nut" when he was alive, and didn't back him up when he spoke of for progressive values.

It's really kind of disgusting, in a way. The DFL (and the national party) likes to invoke the Wellstone name everywhere, yet it's like they don't truly give a damn about what he fought for.

Paul Wellstone favored single-payer universal healthcare, just like most Democrats AND most Americans. He also favored restrictions on corporate power. He was against our imperialist foreign policy, and was against the bloated Pentagon budget. He knew damn well that we couldn't fix this country unless we CUT the war budget and used the money to educate our workforce, create good jobs, and give people greater control of their lives.

Unlike a lot of folks, I knew Paul Wellstone when he was just a PoliSci professor at a small college in southern MN. He actually helped me and a bunch of other students work on a campaign that got rid of our home-grown version of John Ashcroft from the state leg in 1988. He was a true inspiration to a lot of people, and was the reason I decided to get involved in the DFL in the first place.

He was the most non-political politician I'd ever met. He didn't give a damn about what "looked good" or how the focus groups regarded him, he stood up for what he believed was RIGHT, REGARDLESS of what the mushball DLCers and the rabid right-wing attack machine thought of him. He had integrity-- something most of our politicians lack today.

If Paul were alive, he would certainly be supporting Kerry. However, he would also be hectoring Kerry at every turn to drop the "centrist" BS facade his DNC handlers are forcing on him, and tell him to stand up for REAL Democratic values, and to not be afraid to do so, too.

[JI7]

18. unlike the greens and nader , John Kerry endorsed and campaigned for him

john kerry had no trouble supporting wellstone. he was fully behind wellstone and endorsed him and campaigned with him. it was the greens who opposed wellstone. and it took nader a hard time supporting wellstone.

and i don't know anyone on here who who praising wellstone now but called him a nut then. i do know the greens and nader did not fully support him as john kerry did.

[Ell09]

19. He should have been in the mix

Wellstone stood up for what he believed in when many Dems in Congress didn't have the g(n)uts to. The too liberal label is something I'd love to address in a full post, but I am not allowed to yet. The Republican Party due to their association with the Christian Right has moved farther Right. Dubya is much further Right than his father was. Why does the Democratic Party need to move to the right as well? We don't. A President could not have a worse four years than George Dubya Bush has had... AND HE'S STILL GETTING 48% OF THE VOTE! That 48% isn't going to vote for a person with a (D) by their name even if it was Joe Lieberman or Zell Miller. We need to have our own principles and our own platforms and be proud to stand for them. What we need to realize is that the Right has the Church vote, and it has the Southern White Male vote. We're not getting those votes. I don't care if Wellstone offends Billy Joe Tobacco or Missy "I wear a huge Cross to show I am better than you" Johnson. He would help witth the 18-30 crowd who doesn't vote (that would be my age group) and he'd help with the single female vote. If Wellstone were alive his fire and passion would have been the perfect counter to that of Dick Cheney. Can someone explain how Gore picked Lieberman over Kerry and Edwards last time? In my opinion this years Lieberman is Dick Gephardt (though I like Dick much better than Joe).