Senator Paul Wellstone dead

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His family died in a plane crash today. This is terrible.

― Nate Patrin, Friday, 25 October 2002 18:03 (twenty-three years ago)

I agree. This is a sad day. There are too few like him in the Senate.

― o. nate (onate), Friday, 25 October 2002 18:21 (twenty-three years ago)

That's horrible! One of my ex-girlfriends was one of his aides; I've lost touch with her, so I don't know if she'd moved on to another job or not. God, I hope she had...

― Dan Perry (Dan Perry), Friday, 25 October 2002 18:25 (twenty-three years ago)

WTF I feel like crying and I never do that over a politician. Of all the senators. I'm sorry to say that, but of all of them...why???

― Kerry (dymaxia), Friday, 25 October 2002 18:27 (twenty-three years ago)

yeah this fucking sux - he was one of the few people you could call "principled" - i.e. he took stands on things, and on the right things more often than not. Our British readers may wonder why this is remarkable, but at the national level of American politics, it is.

There were several staffers on the plane with him Dan. I hope your ex is safe and sound.

― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Friday, 25 October 2002 18:32 (twenty-three years ago)

Our British readers may wonder why this is remarkable...

No, Tracer - it's about as rare here. I had never heard of this man before this, I'm sorry to say.

― Martin Skidmore (Martin Skidmore), Friday, 25 October 2002 19:02 (twenty-three years ago)

Just absolutely the most horrible thing imaginable. American politics have few people worth genuinely admiring; Wellstone is one of those few--one of the reasons I still call myself a Minnesotan even though I haven't lived there in three years. Just plain awful.

― M Matos (M Matos), Friday, 25 October 2002 19:16 (twenty-three years ago)

Sen. Wellstone was one of the good ones. This is very sad, and there's little I have to add to what has already been said on this thread.

― Tad (llamasfur), Friday, 25 October 2002 19:17 (twenty-three years ago)

this is awful awful awful. ugh.

― maura (maura), Friday, 25 October 2002 19:17 (twenty-three years ago)

i smell a conspiracy (theory)...

― g (graysonlane), Friday, 25 October 2002 19:35 (twenty-three years ago)

um, yeah so do i. a good politician killed. and in a plane crash. thanx to g for giving me the licence for this englishamn to give this uninformed opinion.

― Julio Desouza (jdesouza), Friday, 25 October 2002 19:38 (twenty-three years ago)

Yeah, it's already all over the web - there's stuff coming out of Minnesota about an eyewitness seeing smoke when the plane was still in the air, etc. I don't want to promote this stuff, and I don't think it's the right time for it. It's hard to not feel angry, though, because it truly is the wrong man and it feels so unfair and ill-timed. It just feels so cruel.

― Kerry (dymaxia), Friday, 25 October 2002 19:40 (twenty-three years ago)

no more uninformed than mine...

― g (graysonlane), Friday, 25 October 2002 19:42 (twenty-three years ago)

It's churlish to think "Why not Trent Lott?" but then I've always been a churl.

― Nicole (Nicole), Friday, 25 October 2002 19:43 (twenty-three years ago)

Believe me, I think that was a lot of people's second thought, right after, "oh my god, how awful."

― Kerry (dymaxia), Friday, 25 October 2002 19:46 (twenty-three years ago)

*wince* Terrible. About the only senator I think worthy of the office -- ie, one of 100 people who can collectively help determine the fate of the whole nation. A damn, damn shame.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Friday, 25 October 2002 19:49 (twenty-three years ago)

let's not be too crazy, there are some other good senators. Still, it's a terrible loss.

― g (graysonlane), Friday, 25 October 2002 19:51 (twenty-three years ago)

Horrible. Really one of the only conscientious voices from the left in the Senate, and a guy whose humor and personality made him stand out from the mob of egotists and hacks.

Ugh, I feel sick.

― Benjamin, Friday, 25 October 2002 19:54 (twenty-three years ago)

It's an interesting thread for someone who doesn't follow american politics *that* closely. so can ppl tell me what he actually *did* to earn all this respect.

― Julio Desouza (jdesouza), Friday, 25 October 2002 19:59 (twenty-three years ago)

He was a leftish academic who won office in 1990 with a avowedly left platform (socialized medicine was one of several issues) and a charming set of "Roger and Me"-derived commercials. Off the top of my head: voted against the use of force in Iraq a couple weeks ago, voted against the Clinton welfare "reform" bill, voted against the wishy-washy Democratic "alternative" to the estate tax repeal, against national missle defense and other arms-rate escalations. I'm listing examples of places where he bucked the tide, and not his own legislative achievements, but in an environment where practically all his fellow Democrats "triangulated" their way into irrelevance, he stayed the course.

― Benjamin, Friday, 25 October 2002 20:10 (twenty-three years ago)

OK. thanks.

― Julio Desouza (jdesouza), Friday, 25 October 2002 20:13 (twenty-three years ago)

he's a real lefty in otherwords, not moderate as everyone is trying to be these days (or was before 9/11)

― g (graysonlane), Friday, 25 October 2002 20:19 (twenty-three years ago)

Here, this should give you a good idea.

― Kerry (dymaxia), Friday, 25 October 2002 20:40 (twenty-three years ago)

This is awful, he's one of the few politicians that I admired because he stood up for the right things.

― Micheline Gros-Jean (Micheline), Friday, 25 October 2002 21:04 (twenty-three years ago)

So which of you yanks is actually going to *do* something to express your sadness?

― Mark C (Mark C), Friday, 25 October 2002 22:31 (twenty-three years ago)

If just one of you makes an extra efort as a result, etc.

― Mark C (Mark C), Friday, 25 October 2002 22:31 (twenty-three years ago)

Bloody hell Mark, what the fuck brought that on?

― RickyT (RickyT), Friday, 25 October 2002 22:33 (twenty-three years ago)

*sighs* Ok, fine, I'll run for senate. You talked me into it.

― ch. (synkro), Friday, 25 October 2002 22:35 (twenty-three years ago)

his politics stunk but he was rare among democrats in that he chose not to demonize anyone who disagreed with him. he thought his ideas were better, he didn't believe he had somehow reached enlightenment because of his political opinions. the anti-daschle.

― keith (keithmcl), Friday, 25 October 2002 23:20 (twenty-three years ago)

It's really sad. I no longer tend to think that other politicians have no conscience b/c they're not on the far left, but still, he stood for ideals that the Democrats as a whole seem to have distanced themselves from.
the crash was right by my father's hometown too (I didn't think any flights even went there..), so I'll see if I hear any more info, as far as I know it was weather, the plane icing up etc.

― daria g, Saturday, 26 October 2002 02:29 (twenty-three years ago)

This is really tragic. As it goes he was the prof of a friend who did Political Science at Carleton.

I'm kinda with Matos on being proud of being Minnesotan on account of Wellstone. I'm now very worried about the D/R ratios as a result, and have found out Jesse Ventura will have to appoint his replacement (traditionally the wives step in, but Wellstone's was also killed in the crash).

― suzy (suzy), Saturday, 26 October 2002 16:01 (twenty-three years ago)

what does 'his politics stunk' mean? I am genuinely curious.

― Josh (Josh), Sunday, 27 October 2002 04:53 (twenty-three years ago)

I think he's talking about how Wellstone supposedly 'sold out' to politics: played the game, voted for things that were blatantly not in step with his beliefs, broke that self-imposed term limit promise. Remember how a couple of months ago you couldn't turn around without seeing articles to that effect? They were all over, and not just locally either: city pages, but also Tom Paine, and, especially, Salon. Basically hate notes from jaded and estranged Greens. I always thought those articles were overstated, and certainly in the wrong spirit, seeing as how it's not like the Green party had/has anyone viable running against Wellstone specifically...

― Dan I., Sunday, 27 October 2002 06:17 (twenty-three years ago)

maybe he's just very right-wing and disagrees with Wellstone's politics in principle.

Suzy: I heard Ventura put St. Paul mayor Norm Coleman in to replace Wellstone. Ugh.

― M Matos (M Matos), Sunday, 27 October 2002 07:32 (twenty-three years ago)

I think Keith is pretty right wing - this isn't the first thread where I've got that impression.

― Martin Skidmore (Martin Skidmore), Sunday, 27 October 2002 12:07 (twenty-three years ago)

While Democrats considered that question, Gov. Jesse Ventura met with legal advisers to discuss appointing a temporary replacement for Wellstone to finish the final months of the congressman's second term. He said he likely would appoint a Democrat.

"To me, that's only fair," Ventura said. He said Minnesotans elected a Democrat for a term that runs through January so the seat should stay with the party for now. He also said he would favor someone who doesn't plan to run for the office.

"I don't want it to become political," he said.

Ventura said he is concerned about leaving the seat open until election results are certified.

"What if something happens? We have to have a senator," he said. "If terrorism hits and they call a special session, we have to have someone to go out there."

― J (Jay), Sunday, 27 October 2002 13:58 (twenty-three years ago)

The national Green Party did not offer support for the state Green Party candidate, and officials stated that they did not want to see Green opposition to Wellstone. Some Minnesota Greens pushed through a crankcase opponent, who was expected to do poorly (even more poorly than Greens usually do).

Michaelangelo: Norm Coleman is the Republican candidate in this Senatorial election (hand-picked by Karl Rove, who is paid to do the thinking for Bush), and none of this morning's papers suggest that Ventura has selected or will select him to replace Wellstone in a temporary capacity. In fact, Ventura stated that he would prefer to pick a Democrat, noting that choosing a different candidate would make the Senate 50 R's, 49 D's, and 1 I, changing the power balance of the Senate.

― Benjamin, Sunday, 27 October 2002 18:44 (twenty-three years ago)

JV's reasoning looks sound (to this foreigner). Perhaps you should put more wrestlers in charge of your states.

― Martin Skidmore (Martin Skidmore), Sunday, 27 October 2002 18:57 (twenty-three years ago)

Jesse Ventura for the most part rocks. I wonder if you can still get the shirts that say Minnesota: My Governor Can Beat Up Your Governor.

― suzy (suzy), Monday, 28 October 2002 05:01 (twenty-three years ago)

Nicole: It's churlish to think "Why not Trent Lott?" but then I've always been a churl.

Haha, I wonder what would happen if you churled a little harder.

― donut bitch (donut), Tuesday, 29 October 2002 19:00 (twenty-three years ago)

churl - v. Simultaneously choking and hurling. "Whenever I think of Trent Lott, I churl buckets."

― Dan Perry (Dan Perry), Tuesday, 29 October 2002 20:09 (twenty-three years ago)

five years pass...

I still wish I could be voting for Wellstone for President

― Elvis Telecom, Tuesday, 15 April 2008 23:32 (eighteen years ago)

me too :(

― J.D., Tuesday, 15 April 2008 23:37 (eighteen years ago)

btw my ex was not on this plane

― HI DERE, Wednesday, 16 April 2008 02:16 (eighteen years ago)

two years pass...

MPR has been posting "The Wellstone Files" - FOIA documents which detail how the FBI had been tracking Wellstone for most of his political life (starting in 1970!)

― Stockhausen's Helicopter Quartet (Elvis Telecom), Tuesday, 26 October 2010 19:25 (fifteen years ago)

one year passes...

I wish he was still around...

― Elvis Telecom, Wednesday, 27 June 2012 02:18 (thirteen years ago)

nine years pass...

A couple weeks go, the Flight Safety Detectives podcast looked back at the Wellstone crash and details that weren't made available at the time of the original NTSB report. Basically, you're totally on your own if you think that inexpensive airplane charter is legit. Also, it takes a significant number of deaths in a charter accident for the FAA to really do anything about it.
https://flightsafetydetectives.com/wellstone-crash-report-misses-important-safety-findings-episode-102/

― Elvis Telecom, Friday, 18 February 2022 00:43 (four years ago)

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