The Conscience of a Liberal: Reclaiming the Compassionate Agenda - Softcover

Wellstone, Senator Paul

Softcover

ISBN 10: 081664179X ISBN 13: 9780816641796

Publisher: Univ Of Minnesota Press, 2002

Synopsis

From his earliest childhood memories to the college classroom, from rural Minnesota farm fields and the defense of workers' rights to his 1990 election campaign promises of politics for the benefit of the people, The Conscience of a Liberal candidly discusses Wellstone's life experiences and the coming-of-age of his political views. What emerges is an intriguing inside look at Wellstone's crusade to assert an unabashedly liberal agenda.

From the moment he was elected, Wellstone has passionately articulated a path to economic and social justice for all citizens, justice not contingent on the size of a person's bank account or their political influence. A call for personal politics and deep commitment to beliefs, Wellstone's tenure as a U.S. senator has been a vigorous, at times outraged, and always active fight for support for farmers, working families, and other Minnesotans; for decent jobs, improved health care, a good education, and retirement security. At once responding to the conservative hijacking of compassion as a political yardstick and explaining his own political record, Wellstone engagingly elucidates what contrasts conservative and liberal interests and, as always, rouses progressives to influence the future of American politics.

About this title

Review

When senators think about running for president, they write books like The Conscience of a Liberal. Indeed, Senator Paul Wellstone of Minnesota thought about pursuing the Democratic presidential nomination in 2000, but ultimately backed off. Unfortunately, his death in an October 2002 plane crash ended both a promising political career and all speculation about where it might lead.

The first part of the book explains Wellstone's unlikely ascension to the Senate (he was once a college professor), and some of his campaign war stories are fun reading for political junkies. One of the most amusing passages describes how he once nearly clocked New York Republican Alfonse D'Amato over a disagreement: "When the train reached the Senate chamber, I jumped out and lunged forward, intending to catch D'Amato and deck him. My body was shaking with uncontrollable anger." Another senator held him back, and Wellstone calmed down.

The bulk of The Conscience of a Liberal, however, is given over to laying out a political agenda that includes universal health care, reversing welfare reforms, prekindergarten education, raising the minimum wage, and campaign-finance reform. He closes with a call for a new politics: "This is not a conservative America.... There is a huge leadership void in this country that the Democratic Party, emboldened by political courage and a commitment to the issues that made our party great, can fill." Sadly, one of the politicians who helped fill that void is now gone himself. Still, his ideas live on. --John J. Miller

From the Back Cover

"The Conscience of a Liberal is an absolutely fascinating and compelling work, rich in humor and with unexpected revelations of the backstage machinations that take place within the corridors of power, by a deeply moral man whose private decency and public courage render him unique in civic life. A hero to the young, a reproach to the cynical, a living symbol of clean politics and unadulterated liberal conviction, Wellstone is also a superb gut-fighter and — unlike too many jaded liberals — he fights to win. It is all here in this vitally exciting story of a man whose anger at injustice never wavers and whose innocence remains untarnished by the exercise of power."
— Jonathan Kozol, author of Ordinary Resurrections

"Vivid, readable, and grittily honest about how the influence of the money power undermines the liberal agenda. Wellstone's populist commitments shine through. So does his skill and his guts in this account of how one Senator can make a difference. "
— Frances Fox-Priven, author of Why Americans Still Don't Vote

Edition details

• Publisher: Univ Of Minnesota Press
• Publication date: 2002
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 081664179X
• ISBN 13: 9780816641796
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 216