Was Wellstone really the most principled progressive in the Senate

[Ardent15]

He seemed to be in a class of his own in standing up for the good of the nation.

[TygrBright]

1. Yes. n/t

[Captain Hilts]

2. Feingold. nt

[Ardent15]

4. He comes close

[rwheeler31]

3. Absolutely He was amazing.

[NashVegas]

5. I Don't Think So

But I'm not sure if Bernie was a Senator yet.

[Ardent15]

7. He wasn't

[seemslikeadream]

6. YES

[rurallib]

8. as noted above, the competition was not too deep

sadly. What did we have put forth? 4 names or so?
Hope Franken can fill at least a part of those shoes.

[Ardent15]

10. Feingold, Barbara Boxer, Ted Kennedy, Patrick Leahy....

[ogneopasno]

9. He was something else.

[Occam Bandage]

11. I think so, though I'm aware that nothing makes a politician look better

than an untimely death. Still, I think so.

[ogneopasno]

16. Trust me, he was that good before he died.

[Bozita]

12. Bernie Sanders

[tom_paine]

13. I think so. He is sorely missed.

:-(

[scarletwoman]

14. He was still growing and evolving. I spoke with him shortly before his death.

My impression was that he was still working on getting a grasp on how deep the corruption in our political system went. He was peeling away the layers of the onion.

He was an idealist. Sometimes it's hard for an idealist to accept the reality of the darkness and evil all around him.

I have never stopped missing him, I have never stopped mourning the loss of him. What must be said about Paul is that he had incredible courage, he was unafraid and true to his heart.

sw

[Ardent15]

19. Wow. I wish I could have spoke to him.

I would say "Thank You." that is all.

[book_worm]

15. there have been many outstanding progressives/liberals in the history of the senate

and he was one of them.

[No.23]

17. Wellstone on Nader and Gore

He was certainly more principled than most.

I had a lot of respect for him.

He certainly deserved it.

Still, I wish he would've followed his principles, in 2000, instead of party loyalty:

http://www.commondreams.org/headlines/071200-04.htm
Wellstone Torn Between, Gore, Nader

[book_worm]

18. So you wish Wellstone had endorsed Nader in 2000?

How would that have been different than Lieberman endorsing McCain? which caused many on DU to oust him from the Democratic caucus (me included)

[No.23]

21. I believe that the OP question has to do with...

whether Wellstone was a principled man.

Definitely more than most.

But his principles clearly aligned with those of Ralph's (by his own admission).

And principled people tend to follow their principles.

Not perfectly, mind you.

But, at least, consistently.

[OHdem10]

20. A "real" Democrat who is missed.

[Ardent15]

22. We don't have many in the Senate

Only in the House.

[peacetalksforall]

23. I believe he was. I want to bring up something that I've wondered about.

I remember a filibuster where he and Sen Byrd carried it all. I think he was close to Byrd. I can't think of any vote by Byrd that had made me fume and rant. Not being from WV, I didn't follow him all too closely. I think he is principled. I love the way he supports the Constitution - always carrying it his pocket - distributing it. Impassioned speeches. I think he's up there with Feingold.

None have a perfect record, but the ones we're talking about don't have the baggage of a Schumer, Feinstein and don't pull weird votes out of some dark place like Klobuchar, Stabenow, plus others, and don't crush us like the Nelsons, Landrieau, and don't betray us like Lieberman.

Any other thoughts about Byrd?

[Ardent15]

24. Byrd has come a long way from the KKK days...and he has transfromed WV for the better

Yes, I like Robert Byrd.

[No.23]

25. I agree that Sen. Byrd is more principled than most.

Which is why he took this recent position:

http://www.nytimes.com/gwire/2009/02/25/25greenwire-byrd-questions-obamas-use-of-policy-czars-9865.html
Sen. Byrd questions Obama's use of policy 'czars'

[jpgray]

29. DOMA.

[peacetalksforall]

30. Sorry, what is DOMA?

[MrsMatt]

31. yes, he voted for DOMA, but

regretted it.

from http://www.progressive.org/node/1439

It was this last vote that caused him some self-recrimination, which he relates in his autobiography, "The Conscience of a Liberal."

"What troubles me is that I may not have cast the right vote on DOMA," he writes. "I might have rationalized my vote by making myself believe that my honest position was opposition. This vote was an obvious trap for a senator like me, who was up for reelection. Did I convince myself that I could gleefully deny Republicans this opportunity? . . . When Sheila and I attended a Minnesota memorial service for Mathew Shepard, I thought to myself, 'Have I taken a position that contributed to a climate of hatred?' . . . I still wonder if I did the right thing."

[MinM]

26. Howard Metzenbaum was great too.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howard_Metzenbaum

[Ardent15]

27. Reading about him...great man

[Ardent15]

28. A new great-Sherrod Brown