Paul Wellstone & the Greens

I was shocked to open my Nation and read the ill-informed and
superficial June 17 "Beat the Devil" column, "The Future Wellstone
Deserves," by Alexander Cockburn, who isn't generally ill-informed or
superficial.

To begin, there is no one--no one--in Washington more efficient than
Wellstone in supporting green issues. Why is there no drilling in ANWR
today? The answer: Paul Wellstone. As a freshman senator on the Energy
Committee he made a scathing attack on the Johnston-Wallop bill, put
forth by chairman Bennett Johnston on behalf of the oil companies. Of
course, Wellstone didn't win many of his points against the powerful
Johnston then, but he stood firm on ANWR and won that one, and that
victory has given us a dozen years of no drilling.

As for healthcare, it is simply not true that he has abandoned support
of single-payer health. But insurance is not the only health issue:
Wellstone has worked for several years to gain parity for mental health
insurance, and this year the Wellstone-Domenici bill finally passed in
the Senate; and what about his success on the domestic violence bill? As
for campaign reform, Wellstone is working on Clean Money-Clean Elections
Bills, which promise reform far better than the swiss-cheese bans on
soft money.

As for the statement about "some timid Greens...backstabbing McGaa": If
Cockburn were in Minnesota, he'd realize that no backstabbing is
necessary; McGaa is already self-destructing with progressives.

SY SCHUSTER

Sequim, Wash.

"The suggestion that progressive politics will now stand or fall in
sync with Wellstone's future is offensive," says Alexander Cockburn, who
apparently has not realized that the principal sequitur of the election
is control of the Senate. If the Democrats lose a single seat, control
will pass to the Republicans. George W. Bush could, as he has promised,
appoint Supreme Court Justices in the image of Clarence Thomas or
Antonin Scalia. Progressive politics would have to cope with a
reactionary Court for the next quarter-century. Like Cockburn, I have
differences with Wellstone and every other Senate Democrat. Unlike
Cockburn, I realize the price we would all pay for handing the Senate to
the GOP.

D.C. MOORE

Bentonville, Ark.

Yes, Minnesota Greens may mess up Paul Wellstone's chances for
re-election and end up electing a Republican in his place. But Wellstone
needs to realize something--he's clinging to a party that doesn't
represent the same things he does. Jim Jeffords jumped ship, and
Wellstone can do the same. Why not ask the Minnesota Greens if he can
join them and if Ed McGaa would graciously step aside and let him run as
their candidate? Let's abandon the Democratic Party the same way they've
abandoned us and stand behind a party that cares about the things that
matter most in our lives.

TROY JUZELER

Kelso, Wash.

Our warmongering Administration appears to have both barrels aimed at
Paul Wellstone, a senator who stands up with the courage of his
convictions. Why don't we dig into our wallets and send our $5, $10 or
$50 to Wellstone's campaign and give him and the Administration of
sleaze an overwhelming message that we're not going to take it
anymore?

LOLA VESTAL

Keene, NH

On my desk I had a check for $50 for the Wellstone Senate campaign.
Then I read Alexander Cockburn's column, and I ripped it up. Wellstone
may be a liberal, but unlike Abourezk, Metzenbaum and Feingold, he's no
fighting liberal! No one wants to see the Senate go Republican,
but perhaps we in New Hampshire can send Jeanne Shaheen. She has never
advertised herself as the savior of the left, but if in one stroke she
can get rid of the troglodyte Bob Smith and prevent the possibility of a
"Senator Sununu" her value to the left will far exceed Wellstone's.

FRANK MORIARTY

Tempe, Ariz.

Like Cockburn, I'm disappointed that Wellstone didn't stay firm in his
commitment to a single-payer national health program, but as a
Congressional contender once told me: "The only way you can be sure a
candidate agrees with you on every issue is to run yourself." As a
result of Cockburn's column I'm sending Wellstone another
contribution.

GAIL GIANASI NATALE

Manchester, NJ

So, Alexander Cockburn thinks that Minnesota voters should deny
Senator Wellstone a third term because he isn't perfect. Well, who is?
Senator Feingold, of whom Cockburn seems to approve, voted to confirm
Ashcroft as Attorney General! In 2000, while I voted Green for President
and Representative, I voted for Jon Corzine, a Democrat, for senator.
Perhaps he isn't perfect either, but if I and others in New Jersey
hadn't done that, we might now have a Republican Senate and twins of
Rehnquist, Scalia and Thomas on the Supreme Court.

DANIEL D. SCHECHTER

Minneapolis

The future Paul Wellstone deserves is to retire after two terms, as he
promised Minnesotans when he first ran for office. In 1996 Wellstone
voted for the Defense of Marriage Act, nullifying the chance for
same-gender couples to have their marriages (or civil ceremonies)
recognized by the federal government. Wellstone boasts of his advocacy
for working families. But his voting record indicates that he is not
willing to give legal recognition to working families headed by
same-gender couples.

JOHN R. YOAKAM

Lynnwood, Wash.

Senator Wellstone says, "I am a civil rights senator." If and when
Wellstone takes a more honest and humane stance on US foreign
policy--i.e., even Iraqi and Palestinian civilians have civil rights,
and Israel does not deserve full support for its inhumane
policies--I might believe some of the rest of his rhetoric. Until then,
I will believe he is for civil rights for some (in this country) but not
others (not in this country, particularly if Arab).

MARY ELYNNE TAPPERO

Salem, Ore.

Alexander Cockburn didn't point out Wellstone's greatest failing: a
no-show as the Congressional Black Caucus needed just one senator to
challenge the Florida "election" results. How progressive is it to
ignore the voting rights of African-Americans, much less stand silent as
this coup went forward?

MICHAEL DONNELLY

Minneapolis

I find it odd how cannibalistic some in the progressive left can be.
Before Alexander Cockburn was so quick to highlight Wellstone's
"failures" he should have read John Nichols's May 27 Nation
article, which accurately highlighted Wellstone's role as one of the
few true fighters against the regressive legislation continually
proposed by the Bush White House. And there is nothing "supposed" about
the irresponsibility of Minnesota Greens in this race. It's one thing to
vote for Ralph Nader over Al Gore but entirely another to say a Green is
needed in Wellstone's Senate race. Cockburn and those like him need to
end the cannibalism. If the left can't come together behind Wellstone,
one of our strongest leaders, then maybe we do deserve to be
marginalized. Minnesota Greens should remember that, as Winona LaDuke
said, Paul Wellstone is your friend.

KATIE CONNOLLY

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