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BACK TO BASICS
Wellstone’s legacy
BY ADAM REILLY
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Sorting through the multitude of Democratic Convention–related lectures and forums is no easy task. But for liberal Democrats dissatisfied with Democratic Leadership Council–style centrism, one event — a roundtable discussion commemorating the late Minnesota senator Paul Wellstone — should be a major priority. Before he was killed in a plane crash in October 2002, Wellstone made a name for himself as an aggressive, unrepentant liberal (see "Gauging a Terrible Loss," News and Features, November 1, 2002). Back when the Democratic nomination was still up for grabs, former front-runner Howard Dean scored points with lefties by co-opting Wellstone’s classic line about representing the Democratic wing of the Democratic Party. Compared to Wellstone, though, Dean was almost a right-winger — and the same can be said of John Kerry and John Edwards. So it’s only fitting that, the day before the convention begins, a panel including Al Franken, Barbara Ehrenreich, Jim Hightower, and Arianna Huffington will meet to ponder this question: "What must the Democratic Party do to live up to the progressive vision of Paul Wellstone?" The event, which doubles as a fundraiser for the Union of Minority Neighborhoods (UMN) and Massachusetts Jobs with Justice, was organized by UMN director Horace Small, who got to know Wellstone in the early 1980s when both men organized striking workers at a meatpacking plant in Austin, Minnesota. "The presidential nominee we have right now wanted to put a conservative Republican as his running mate," Small says, referring to John Kerry’s flirtation with putting John McCain on the ticket. "That’s not the Democratic Party I know. Paul cared about poor working people, and the Democratic Party has got to prove it still cares about poor working people. This is an opportunity to remind ourselves just what being a Democrat is about. It’s about having government in people’s lives in a positive, fruitful way that doesn’t tear down society, but builds it up." Advance tickets for the event are priced at $50 and $100, but any remaining tickets will be sold at the door for $25. Showtime is 4 to 6 p.m. on Sunday, July 25; Old West Church is located at 131 Cambridge Street, in Boston. For more information, go to www.massjwj.net or call (617) 524-8778.
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