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Wellstone's legacy remains vibrant five years after his death
Memorials, awards, political-action campaigns -- even a bill in Congress -- bear his name, and politicians claim that they are the rightful heirs to his philosophy.
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Five years ago today, a small airplane fell from the sky in northern Minnesota.
Paul Wellstone, his wife, Sheila, their daughter, Marcia, three aides and two pilots were killed.
The death of the senator, in the final days of a furious re-election battle, convulsed the state's politics. And reverberations continue.
A memorial
The fifth anniversary will be marked at the College of St. Catherine in St. Paul with a "gathering of remembrance," to begin at 7:30 p.m. The public event is free.
More memorials
The names of Paul and Sheila Wellstone have been attached to buildings, awards and legislation.
No fewer than three schools, three community centers, two affordable housing developments, two gardens and a hospital now carry the name Wellstone.
Awards in their names are granted by the Campaign for America's Future, Freedom Network USA, the American Public Health Association and Families USA.
And years after Wellstone introduced a bill in Congress that would grant parity for mental health in health insurance, legislation toward that end and bearing his name remains pending in Congress
Political action
Wellstone Action, launched by the Wellstones' sons in 2003, provides political grass-roots training at sessions dubbed "Camp Wellstone."
The group says it has trained 15,314 people in 36 states to become candidates, campaign workers and activists. Ninety-eight of those candidates won elections, including Minnesota Secretary of State Mark Ritchie and First District U.S. Rep. Tim Walz, D-Minn.
Mass media
Four books about Wellstone (two by Wellstone Action) have been published. Three documentaries and a play, staged by the Minnesota History Theater, have been produced.
Political legacy
Wellstone recorded his best-known political aphorism in his 2001 autobiography, "The Conscience of a Liberal."I will represent the Democratic wing of the Democratic Party," he wrote.
Democratic presidential candidates Howard Dean and Chris Dodd have borrowed the phrase, and GOP hopeful Mitt Romney has adapted it, saying he represents "the Republican wing of the Republican Party."
The Senate seat
In an indirect way, Wellstone hovers over the 2008 race for the Senate seat he held for two terms.
Republican incumbent Norm Coleman, who beat former Vice President Walter Mondale after Wellstone's death, rarely mentions his late rival's name.
But on the Democratic side, Al Franken often invokes Wellstone as his political hero.
Mike Ciresi notes that Wellstone's family was prudent to hire his law firm in the wake of the plane crash.
And professor Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer explicitly alludes to Wellstone's grass-roots style and policy positions while aping the motif of Wellstone's green-and-white campaign materials.
Bob von Sternberg • 612-673-7184
Bob Von Sternberg • vonste@startribune.com
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