Regarding the Death of Senator Paul Wellstone
Selected & Annotated Article Briefs & Links
"Paul Wellstone, Fighter" by John Nichols 5/27/02:
"Paul Wellstone is a hunted man. Minnesota's senior senator is not just another Democrat on White House political czar Karl Rove's target list, in an election year when the Senate balance of power could be decided by the voters of a single state. Rather, getting rid of Wellstone is a passion for Rove, Dick Cheney, George W. Bush and the special-interest lobbies that fund the most sophisticated political operation ever assembled by a presidential administration. 'There are people in the White House who wake up in the morning thinking about how they will defeat Paul Wellstone,' a senior Republican aide confides. 'This one is political and personal for them.'
"Still, Wellstone has few rivals on the left side of the Senate aisle. Congressional Quarterly says no senator had a more consistent record of voting against Bush Administration proposals during the new President's first year..."
Political commentator, Bill Schneider, said, "Wellstone was admired because he stood on conviction. He was the voice of sixties idealism. He said the Democratic Party had lost his soul. He made a nationwide Trip Through Poor Areas In The Late 90s, Just Like Robert Kennedy Did." [Kennedy was assassinated during his campaign against Nixon. -David "Goodvibes7"]
Vermont Senator Patrick Leahy was asked to comment on Wellstone, in an interview on CNN, at 2:35 p.m. said, "Whether you agreed with him politically, you had to like him. He was honest. He was not interested in the trappings of the power. He was not self interested. He was concerned about Health Care, the Environment, the Minimum Wage. He was committed." Leahy was in tears, and had to pause, to collect himself. Blitzer said, I can see you are all choked up. We all are. (Blitzer did not appear to be at all choked up or emotional). Wolf Blitzer of CNN said, He was a committed man, who worked hard to advance his agenda. [Is that supposed to part of a eulogy? -David "Goodvibes7"]
«§» Most Interesting Contradictions in News Reporting on the death of Senator Wellstone: «§»
«§» It was reported that "a Sheriff, who claimed he visted the site. He said he saw the wreckage all contained in a narrow area. This Sheriff appeared to me to be very nervous," at seattlepi.nwsource.com; ...
whereas, at Reuters.Com it was, "The wreckage was scattered and fully engulfed in flames," Ulman said. "Just looking at it, it would take a miracle to survive it."
«§» From Indymedia article, Fox And Cnn Severely Limit Coverage Of Wellstone Crash Site: Greta Van Sustrand, during ON THE RECORD, said, of Wellstone, "They did not like his politics, but members of the House and Senate all agreed his was a class act." ... Sustrand introduced a correspondant on the scene of the crash, who she called Steve. For those who have not followed the story of the on-the-scene reporting, here is a review:
A CNN reporter who was on the scene just after the crash story broke during the afternoon, said, "THERE IS NO EVIDENCE THAT WEATHER HAD ANYTHING TO DO WITH THE CRASH."
Wolf Blitzer said, "But the plane was flying into some sort of ice storm, was it not?"
The reporter repeated the same assertion: "THERE IS NO EVIDENCE THAT WEATHER HAD ANYTHING TO DO WITH THE CRASH." CNN cut away from that reporter, who was not heard from again. Nor was any other reporter PRESENT AT THE SCENE OF THE CRASH heard from the rest of the evening on CNN. No photos of the site, no pictures, even though a reporter was there in daylight hours.
«§» From Indymedia articles, "SENATOR PAUL WELLSTONE KILLED IN PLANE CRASH; FOUL PLAY SUSPECTED" interesting changes in details in ABC news stories.
«§» ...69% of Public thinks GOP Killed Wellstone: A poll taken by an online edition of a St. Paul major daily newspaper shows that ALREADY - 69% of those polled believe that Wellstone was killed by the GOP. And that was out of choices that included bad weather, terrorists, act of God, etc. This may prove to be the worst mistake the GOP ever made...and the best thing to happen to the cause of justice. People will NOT stand for this.
«§» From Indymedia article, If there is NO investigation, then what should we conclude? If one of most important politicians in the US dies in a plane crash and there IS NO INDEPENDENT INVESTIGATION, then shame, shame, shame on the nation.
«§» More interesting questions at www.kron4.com, including, "What about photos and camera shots of the wreckage? Does anyone have any?... "I think there was total of about two minutes of live reporting from the crash scene in Minnesota on CNN between 3:30 and midnight. CNN has covered the Russian [Oct 26th killings] story live, on the scene, for almost an hour now... If the terrain is so difficult to examine, then why is he [FBI Agent Paul McCabe] so quick to jump to conclusions regarding the cause of the crash?"
«§» and at the Star-Herald: "It is normal procedure for aircraft of that type to use IFR approach procedures, but visibility of 2 to 2 1/2 miles do not define IFR conditions. With the crash site two miles out [from Eveleth-Virginia airport], the pilot would have been in view of the field, particularly given the high- or medium-intensity approach lights mandated for IFR equipped airports. ...It's being reported the aircraft was quite a bit off-course for the runway approach. Given that the pilot was following an IFR approach, this suggests either that the plane's approach navigation equipment wasn't working, or that it was following a phony glideslope signal being transmitted from a vehicle parked in the woods somewhere. This was the technique used about ten years ago, as I recall, to bring down a jumbo jet in the far east. Can't recall all the details now, but if I remember correctly, there was a high-ranking official on that plane too. ..."
«§» Most Interesting Contradictions in Reporting at MSN News.
«§» «§» And Finally, in case you haven't seen this real shaker yet: Eerie Parallels Between Crashes That Killed Wellstone, Carnahan By Scott Charton, Associated Press Writer
by David Morris
Published October 7, 2006 by the Minneapolis Star Tribune (Minnesota)
He Would Have Fought. The Geneva Conventions. The writ of habeas corpus. Presidential power. Torture.
Four years ago this month Paul Wellstone was taken from us. (Murdered?) Today, more than ever, American politics suffers from his absence. Just days ago, Senate Democrats agreed not to filibuster a bill allowing the president to detain indefinitely, even for life, any alien, whether in the United States or abroad, whether a foreign resident or a lawful permanent resident. The bill denies prisoners the right to challenge their detention in court.
Why would Democrats allow 51 senators to eliminate one of the fundamental pillars of free societies? I imagine it was because their pollsters told them a vigorous opposition would lose them votes in the coming election as Republicans pummeled them for being soft on terrorism.
Paul would have filibustered. That would almost certainly have delayed a Senate vote until after the election, enabling Americans to more clearly demonstrate how they stand on the 800-year-old right of habeas corpus.
Three weeks before he died, Paul voted against war in Iraq. At the time, his opponent was aggressively accusing Paul of being weak on national security. Polls told Paul a vote against war would lose him the election. But as he told the Washington Post two days after the vote, "I think people want you to do what you think is right ... ." And added, in typical Wellstone fashion, "how would I have had the enthusiasm and the fight if I had actually cast a vote I didn't believe in? I couldn't do that."
A few days later Paul delighted in the fact that his vote resulted in a surge of support among Minnesotans, a surge that almost certainly would have led to his reelection.
Paul knew how to filibuster. Singlehandedly, his filibusters prevented a remarkably inequitable bankruptcy bill from being passed while he was in the Senate.
And he knew how to speak truth to power. When Exxon, the No. 1 oil company, gobbled up No. 2 Mobil, and the No. 1 grain company, Cargill, devoured runner-up Continental Grain, and the No. 1 bank, Citicorp, snapped up Travelers Insurance, the silence from Washington was deafening.
The New York Times, commenting about the Exxon-Mobil merger, observed, "scarcely a politician of any stripe headed for the cameras" to question "whether the $76 billion deal was good for the country, for workers or for consumers." Except one: "Senator Paul Wellstone, the Minnesota Democrat who is among the few in Congress still exercised about the concentration of corporate power ... ."
In 1996, Paul was among the very few who voted against the Telecommunications Act. He argued it would lead to concentrated ownership. He was right. Over the next 22 months, more than 1,000 radio stations were sold. Some 450 owners left the field. Single companies now dominate local radio broadcasting.
In 1996, Paul bravely voted against ending the nation's commitment to the poor. Again, he was the only politician running for reelection who did so. "If you want to reduce poverty, stop scapegoating people," he said. "Start focusing on a good education and a good job."
Paul Wellstone proposed as well as opposed. For example, when the United States tried one more time to join the rest of the industrialized world in making access to medical care a right, not a privilege, Wellstone helped organize a grass-roots coalition that gained considerable support in Congress in favor of a system similar to Canada's 30-year-old program: a single insurer, local control, and private suppliers.
But it was in his opposition that he most clearly demonstrated both his character and his uniqueness. Four years after his death, we sorely miss his courage and leadership.
David Morris is vice president of the Institute for Local Self- Reliance, based in Minneapolis and Washington, D.C.
Thanks to Charles Coughlan
Wellstone .Org, Wellstone Action Fund
Founded by David Wellstone, Paul's son, "to bring about the social and economic change my parents worked for their entire lives." Just received a mailer for this organization in May of '08. Seems to be a useful organization (at the least). -cp.
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