The Conscience of a Liberal: Reclaiming the Compassionate Agenda

by Paul Wellstone

Book Overview

A true "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" story, this wise and heartfelt meditation explores the value of doing what you believe in, written by one of the most outspoken liberals in the United States Senate.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 081664179X
• ISBN13: 9780816641796
• Release Date: September 2002
• Publisher: University of Minnesota Press
• Length: 216 Pages
• Weight: 0.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.5" x 8.4"

Customer Reviews

10 stars Buy for every Democrat elected or running for office and for yourself!

Great book that begins where he was in college and how he and his wife met and how they became the activists they were and what a real progressive is or at least should be. And that being a liberal is nothing to be ashamed of! Sadly the Senator died in 2002 just before he would have been reelected to the Senate. Some of us still believe it wasn't the innocent accident some say that killed him when the plane he was on went down. Having said that let me rave about this book. I go to Chapter 9 titled A Winning Progressive Politics, where the author notes 'A progressive politics is a winning politics, as long as it is not organized in a way that is top-down and elitist. It must respect the capacity of ordinary citizens and focus on workaday majority issues. I have never understood arguments for the need for politicians to 'move to the center' to get elected. What is the operational definition of 'the center'? If what is meant is that you need to have more votes than your opponent, then I am all for being in the center. But this is too obvious. If what is meant by the center is the dominant mood of the populace -- the issues that are important issues to Americans and what they hope for--then I would again argue for the need to occupy the center. A politics that is not sensitive to the concerns and circumstance of peoples lives, a politics that does not speak to include people is an intellectually arrogant politics that deserves to fail.' Page 206 of the same chapter 'Clearly, there is a forgotten American majority. It is precisely this America that our politics today fails to serve fully and fairly. This America faces major challenges: low wages, insufficient health care, nonexistent pension coverage (the majority if private sector workers have no pension coverage), daunting child care expenses, rising college expenses, and exorbitant housing costs. These Americans can't hire lobbyists. They can't fly senators and congressmen to resorts. They don't fill the campaign coffers of political candidates. Only when these Americans are given proportional voice in politics can we claim to live in a truly representative democracy.' Page 208 'Not only do Democrats have too timid and downsized an agenda, we also have failed to confront conservatives on core value questions. I call the Republicans' philosophy the 'New Isolationism.' Not as in foreign affairs, but in human affairs. It is a 'Buddy, your're on your own' philosophy. If you are losing your family farm, if you can't afford prescription drugs, if you have no health insurance, if you are working forty hours a week but are still poor and unable to support your children, if you are a homeless Vietnam veteran struggling with mental problems, you're on your own. Whatever happened to 'There but for the grace if God go I'? Or 'Love they neighbor as thyself'? We need to replace isolationism with fellowship. We need to talk about community, about justice, about the goodness of America. People are ready fo

An inspiring book

I was never really interested in politics before I read this book. But I've admired and respected Paul Wellstone for a long time, and after his death I was very interested in what he had done in his political life before I became aware of politics (I didn't start really listening until a couple years ago, just before I grew old enough to vote). This book caught my attention and got me interested in the political world and how the laws that are made in Washington DC affect people like me and those around me here in Minnesota. It really does make me want to be active in supporting change for the better. Paul Wellstone will always be a personal hero of mine.

If Only......

As a longtime Wellstone supporter, I was truly devastated at his passing this last fall. I had purchased this book quite a bit earlier, and, regrettably, never pulled it off the shelf to read until after the Senator's death. "The Conscience of a Liberal" provides a detailed description of the author's life and how his political ideals were shaped by his own personal history. It is rare in American politics today to find a politician who actually believes what he says; and rarer still to find one who backs up his words with action. Paul Wellstone did both, and we will forever miss him. Reading this book will give you a short glimpse into the heart and mind of a genuine "Mr. Smith."

remembering Paul

The other morning on one of the Sunday chat shows, a so-called "objective" political pundit referred to the late Senator as "a far-out liberal" with "extreme ideas." Is this how far we have fallen under Bush II? Is it "far-out" to believe that people are more important than profits? Is it "extreme" to feel that the American government should belong to the American people and not multinational corporations? Is the belief that, to quote populist commentator Jim Hightower, "everybody does better when everybody does better" just a naive, "liberal" pipe dream? Wellstone understood, as perhaps no other U.S. Senator does, that the main reason why the 2000 presidential election was so close was that voters accurately failed to discern much difference between centrist Bush and centrist Gore. Senator Wellstone was different, God bless him. Not only did he actually believe what he said, he acted on those beliefs, opinion polls be damned. The greatest tribute those of us who still believe in a just and fair American can pay to him is not just to read this book--although it's a start. We must now organize and run for office ourselves in order to restore democratic ideals to the Democratic party and to the White House. May this be Paul Wellstone's legacy.

Politically Refreshing

It is nice to know that some decency still exists among all of the greed and power in Washington. Paul Wellstone has made it a priority to fight for those who can't afford to hire a lobbyist. This book demonstrates his uphill fight against the money and the power brokers in DC. Even if you disagree with Wellstone politically, it would be difficult not to welcome his honest and sincere attitude towards the process. This is a must read for any progressive.