An Unapologetic Liberal

Senators Mourn 'Fearless Public Servant and Tireless Advocate for Justice'

Sen. Paul D. Wellstone (D-Minn.), who died yesterday in a plane crash in the middle of a tough reelection campaign, was a leading champion of liberal causes in the "happy warrior" tradition of Minnesota Democratic politics.

In keeping with his maverick politics, the 58-year-old former political science professor and community organizer was a lonely dissenter in one of the last votes he cast before Congress went home to campaign last week. He was the only senator facing a tough reelection fight to vote against empowering President Bush to use military force against Iraq. To have done otherwise, he said, would have violated the principles that guided his career.

In his 12 years in the Senate, Wellstone, often described as one of Congress's last unabashed liberals, rejected the notion that government had grown too big. He stood as a rarely wavering advocate of its use to help ordinary people, especially the poor.

"Paul Wellstone was the soul of the Senate," Senate Majority Leader Thomas A. Daschle (D-S.D.) said. "He was one of the most noble and courageous men I have ever known. The nation has lost a fearless public servant and tireless advocate for justice."

"He was always willing to stand up for the little guy, even if it meant taking on the political goliaths," Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said.

Even in his own party, Wellstone was often in the minority, sometimes a lone dissenter. He made long speeches -- too long in the view of some colleagues. But his speeches, frequently delivered after most senators had gone home, nearly always conveyed a personal passion and sense of commitment that stood out from the scripted rhetoric so common in Congress.

His causes were legion: universal health care, more federal spending for education, safeguards for human and civil rights, ethics in government, worker protections and better mental health care. He cast one of the few Senate votes against the 1996 welfare reform law, which trimmed benefits, and voted in 1991 against authorizing the Persian Gulf War. In one of his last fights, he held out against bankruptcy law changes that were widely supported in Congress, arguing they would benefit banks and credit card companies at the expense of financially strapped consumers.

Wellstone was the antithesis of a grim-faced ideologue. Quick to laugh and joke, he took his causes seriously but not himself, often telling stories at his own expense and kidding his foes .

He worked extensively across the Senate's political and ideological divide to pass bills on an array of issues, including a ban on gifts to lawmakers, domestic violence legislation, insurance coverage for mental illness and agricultural issues. He was widely liked and admired for his principled positions, even by his political foes.

"For the entire Senate, this is a death in the family," Minority Leader Trent Lott (R-Miss.) said. Former Senate Republican leader Robert J. Dole described Wellstone in a television interview as "a good, decent guy with different views from mine."

"You couldn't find a senator who gave more heart to his causes," said Sen. Pete V. Domenici (R-N.M.), who worked with Wellstone on mental health legislation and who, like many of his colleagues, choked up as he talked about Wellstone.

Wellstone had back pain and a slight limp from an old wrestling injury. Earlier this year, he announced he had a mild case of multiple sclerosis, which appeared to slow him down only a little.