Carrying on the Movement: A Tribute to Paul Wellstone

“In the last analysis, politics is not predictions and politics is not observations. Politics is what we do. Politics is what we do, politics is what we create, by what we work for, by what we hope for and what we dare to imagine.”
-Fm. Senator Paul Wellstone, 1944-2002

I recently finshed a book called Paul Wellstone: the Life of a Passionate Progressive by Bill Lofy. Let me first say it was one of the greatest books I have ever read. I knew little to nothing about Paul Wellstone previous to reading this book. However, through reading this fantastic book, I have gained a new hero in Paul Wellstone. Paul Wellstone was our nation's last great progressive. He was extremely committed to the progressive movement in this country. He worked his entire life to give a voice to the voiceless. He stood with working families, minorities, and those left behind by government and big companies. He was someone who stood with everybody. He fought corruption and was able to work accross the asile. He had this ability to make friends in the senate even with those who are his polar opposite. LIke Roberty Kennedy before him, he took a tour around the country, going to the poorest areas in the nation. He put a public face on poverty. He cared about everybody in this nation. He loved this country. He was one of the last men or women in Washington who was truly and utterly a good person. He stood for what he believed in, no matter what. Sadly, he was killed in a plane crash in 2002 a few days short of election day. So I am writing this post simply to tell all those reading this, that we must carry on Paul Wellstone's work and keep the progressive movement in America going. We must stand for the progressive ideals we love. So lets stand up for the poor, the working family, and the little guy. Lets go back to the days of Roosevelt, Kennedy, and Wellstone. Lets kick that conservative movement and the Reagan Revolution and replace it with the progressive movement and the Wellstone Revolution. Wellstone was a strong believer in community organizing and grassroots politics. He believed you could make a national difference through the grassroots. Let's continue his legacy. Wellstone might be gone, but his message lives on. As John F. Kennedy said, "A man may die, nations may rise and fall, but an idea lives on."