councilor.org
| Source | Dave Anderson |
| Date | 99/05/01/21:24 |
| /* Written 7:04 AM Apr 20, 1998 by jshell@netcom.com in igc:labr.all */ /* ---------- "paul wellstone..." ---------- */ Forwarded message: > From andersd@spot.colorado.edu Sun Apr 19 14:40:42 1998 > Date: Sun, 19 Apr 1998 15:38:47 -0600 (MDT) > From: ANDERSON DAVID > Subject: paul wellstone... > > Sen. Wellstone Returns to Liberal Roots > > By MIKE GLOVER > The Associated Press > > DES MOINES, Iowa (April 18) - Tom Glenn says he felt a stirring ''deep down in > my soul'' as he listened to Minnesota Sen. Paul Wellstone plead with Democrats > to return to the party's traditional liberal roots. > > A union activist and unabashed Kennedy Democrat, Glenn is a perfect target for > Wellstone's maverick campaign. But times, it seems, have changed. > > ''I'm just being sort of a realist,'' Glenn said. ''I'm not sure that anybody > way off to the left can get elected anywhere.'' > > Undeterred, Wellstone is plunging ahead, seeking to assemble a grassroots, > under-financed campaign for a Democratic presidential nomination that many are > already conceding to Vice President Al Gore. > > ''I'm serious about pulling this off,'' said Wellstone during yet another > swing through Iowa, where precinct caucuses open the presidential nominating > season. ''It's time for the Democratic Party to reassert itself.'' > > Wellstone says Democrats have sacrificed their identity in a shift to the > political center, leaving the party indistinguishable from Republicans. > > ''I appreciate what the vice president has done, but I happen to believe that > a lot of issues that are important to people have been taken off the table,'' > Wellstone said. ''They are not even on the political debate screen any > longer.'' > > Wellstone vows to change all that and has formed an exploratory committee to > look into seeking the presidential nomination. He is spending time in key > early states like Iowa and New Hampshire and vowing to focus on ''the kitchen > table issues'' like health care and education spending. > > ''I'm representing the Democratic wing of the Democratic Party. I get a > twinkle in my eye every time I say that, and people seem to understand it > right away,'' he said. > > Before he was elected to the Senate in 1990, Wellstone was a college professor > who led student protests and picketed with striking meatpackers. Although his > political style has mellowed in office, he remains known for championing > losing liberal causes, like a national health insurance plan. > > Some argue that Wellstone, 53, has an opportunity in Iowa because he is from a > neighboring state and practices the sort of grassroots, retail politics that > work well here. > > ''We have to do it door to door,'' Wellstone said. ''I won't have as much > money and I won't have the heavy hitters in my corner.'' > > Some strategists see Wellstone as helpful to Gore, by giving the vice > president a chance to move to the political center during the primary season. > That is precisely at a time when Republicans likely will be headed right to > capture the party's conservative wing. > > ''I think there is a point of view in the Gore camp that Paul Wellstone coming > in from the left is good for Gore,'' said Iowa Democratic Chairman Michael > Peterson. ''It's going to make Al Gore look like the classic moderate.'' > > The key will be whether Wellstone can generate enough early backing to > threaten Gore and force him to counter. There are precious few early signs of > such a threat. > > Peggy Huppert is a traditional liberal activist who was a Jesse Jackson > delegate 10 years ago. She confessed to enjoying Wellstone's message. It is > Gore, however, who has her respect. > > ''He's our sitting vice president,'' Huppert said. ''He's got organization, > he's got money. He's built a lot of loyalty.'' > > Peterson argued that President Clinton has altered the dynamics of the > Democratic struggle between liberals and moderates. > > ''There's been a shift in activist politics,'' Peterson said. ''The muscle of > the left, while still present, is not as strong as it was.'' > > There are still those likely to respond to Wellstone's message. Former state > legislator David Osterberg is mounting his own long-shot campaign, seeking to > oust Republican Sen. Charles Grassley, and he likes what he hears. > > ''I think the things Wellstone's talking about work in Minnesota, and > Minnesota's not that different from Iowa,'' Osterberg said. > > The power, however, appears to be elsewhere. While enthusiasm for Gore appears > to be restrained, there is a sense of inevitability. > > ''What I would really like to see is Al Gore in the White House,'' Glenn said. > ''Gore is OK on the issues.'' > > Wellstone says he is undeterred. > > ''The decision the party regulars have to make is what is the purpose of the > Democratic Party,'' Wellstone said. ''How can the Democratic Party excite > people again?'' |
Copyright (c) 1998, Joongpil Cho