# Senator Paul Wellstone (D) MN dead **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 26, 2002, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senator-paul-wellstone-d-mn-dead/133943 "2002-10-26T04:17:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Lorenzo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4da419/32.png) [@Lorenzo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lorenzo)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2002, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senator-paul-wellstone-d-mn-dead/133943/1 "2002-10-26T04:17:49Z")
I really liked this guy. He was a former college professor who ran for US Senate in his first ever political campaign and won, defeating the incumbent Rudy Boschowitz, the only one to defeat a Senate incumbent in '90. He was a liberal as they come, probably the most liberal Senator of his day but it wasn’t an act; the guy really was a liberal, 24X7, and didn’t seem to ever compromise on his convictions. He proposed some pretty far-out stuff sometimes (45 miles per gallon average for cars sold in the US may have been one of them) but he earned the respect of his colleagues and could never be accused of using a wind sock. After his first election, he promised to limit himself to two terms but changed his mind and was in the midst of a whirlwind campaign today in a tight race for his third term when the small jet he was aboard crashed, killing all eight aboard including his wife and daughter. The Senate has lost a good one. ---
**Author:** ![ruadh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d2c977/32.png) [@ruadh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ruadh)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2002, 10:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senator-paul-wellstone-d-mn-dead/133943/2 "2002-10-26T10:13:07Z")
The only Senator whose campaign I ever gave money to. It is sad. As for not compromising his convictions though, am I wrong or did he vote for DOMA? ---
**Author:** ![lno](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a8b319/32.png) [@lno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lno)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2002, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senator-paul-wellstone-d-mn-dead/133943/3 "2002-10-26T13:46:27Z")
He did, **ruadh**. [Here’s a 1998 article](http://www.princeton.edu/~progrev/98-99/n3_td.html) on him regarding this, including his quote: > [@](#): > > Wellstone is also an intelligent and thoughtful legislator; despite his decidedly leftist leanings, he does not blindly vote for the liberal position on every bill that comes his way. Consider the Defense of Marriage Act. Prior to this bill, the Senator had consistently voted in favor of gay rights legislation, including the rights of gays to serve in the military. He was so well loved by Minnesota’s gay community that special Wellstone campaign buttons were crafted that bore the pink triangle of the gay rights movement. Wellstone, however, voted for the DoMA. Explains Wellstone: “I just viewed changing the legal definition of marriage as of a different order. It raised a whole bunch of questions in my mind, and I wasn’t prepared to vote for it.” ---
**Author:** ![RTA](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b4bc9f/32.png) [@RTA](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTA)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2002, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senator-paul-wellstone-d-mn-dead/133943/4 "2002-10-26T15:23:22Z")
Reminds me of the Carnahan death - another liberal senator killed in a plane crash a few weeks before cruising to victory in an election vital to control of the Senate. Hell of a coincidence to have such a thing happen in consecutive election years. Even dead, the Missouri voters still found Carnahan a better candidate than his opponent John Ashcroft. Hopefully the voters of Minnesota will not allow the GOP to ultimately profit from this recent tragedy, and continue to assert Democratic control of that seat. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2002, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senator-paul-wellstone-d-mn-dead/133943/5 "2002-10-26T15:29:19Z")
Since this is not a poll, and there is already a thread on this subject in MPSIMS, I think I’ll just lock this off.