Paul Wellstone & the Greens

Northfield, Minn.

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.

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