Fraters Libertas

Coleman Spits On Wellstone's Grave

Well at least that's what one might believe after reading these comments:

Congresswoman Betty McCollum called the remarks inappropriate and disrespectful and said they were "an unnecessary attack on a leader our state continues to mourn."

Jim Farrell, Wellstone's former spokesman, called it a "shameful, self-serving assertion" from Coleman.

And Jay Howser, a former senior aide, called the remarks "sickening" and said they showed Coleman to be "a selfish, classless" man.

For Coleman to attack Wellstone less than six months after his death "is beyond the believable," he said. "One would think that no U.S. senator would ever stoop to such a disgusting level but today Norm Coleman has."

And just what were these horrible remarks that Senator Coleman had the gall to make?

"To be very blunt and God watch over Paul's soul, I am a 99 percent improvement over Paul Wellstone," Coleman said in a front-page story published in Roll Call. "Just about on every issue."

Coleman made the remark as he sought to stress his ties to President Bush. He told Roll Call that Wellstone "was never with the president."

How dare he say such things!

In a statement released by his office Monday night, Coleman said:

"[Mark] Twain said the problem with talking to the media is they're likely to print what you say. It was my responsibility to be more clear in my remarks to Roll Call. It was my understanding we were comparing my relationship to this White House to the relationship Senator Wellstone had with this White House. I would never want to diminish the legacy or memory of Senator Paul Wellstone, and I will accept full responsibility for not having been more accurate in my comments."

It's pretty clear that Coleman was not saying that he was 99% better than Wellstone as a senator overall (although I for one would have no problem with that claim) rather he was saying that in Bush's eyes he was a huge improvement over Wellstone. Can anyone disagree with that assessment? Other than voting against drilling in Anwar and being a little mushy on tax cuts Coleman has solidly backed the President since taking office while Wellstone opposed pretty much anything and everything that Bush supported.

Paul Wellstone tragically died in a plane crash in October 2002. It's been almost six months since his death. It's time for the Wellstone supporters to get over it and move on (I suspect many of them are already familiar with the concept since they belong to a group bearing that name). Take the green bumper stickers off your car. The lawn signs can come down. Now. It's over. He's gone. It's sad but it's life. Leave your fantasy world and come back to reality.

If Wellstone hadn't have died we still would have gone to war with Iraq. Stop pretending otherwise. If he was unable to stop the the Gulf War with his hysterical sobbing what would he have been able to this time around against an even more determined President? (Although you do have to hand it to the elder Bush for the C.S. label he gave Wellstone.)

There's nothing wrong with mourning a man who you respected and admired. But at some point you need to let him go and deal with a world that he's no longer a part of. That time is now. You might not like Norm Coleman but he is your senator and seizing upon any opportunity, no matter how trivial, to criticize him because "he's not Paul" is not a constructive way to live and certainly not the way for you to honor and remember Wellstone.