Shuddup and eat your pine cone

On Monday of this week, the Star Tribune reported on "Camp Wellstone":

As the Democratic National Convention opens today in Boston, Camp Wellstone is capitalizing on the new political energy on the left. As delegates and hordes of media and lobbyists began overtaking the city Sunday, Camp Wellstone concluded its 34th camp in a downtown hotel, seeking to shape a new generation of politicians and citizen-activists.

Since the camp went national last year, nearly 4,000 people have graduated, including about 50 who, like Pulkrabek, are running for office this year. The camps often have waiting lists, as was the case in Boston.

"We weren't sure if there was going to be a huge demand or market outside of Minnesota," said Jeff Blodgett, Wellstone's former campaign manager and now the executive director of Wellstone Action, which puts on the camps. "We thought it was the right thing to do, and the right way to pay tribute to Paul, but it turns out there was a huge market for this."

Funded by:

Students pay $50 ($35 for those with low incomes) to attend the three-day training camps.

Blodgett said 15 of the camps have been underwritten by America Coming Together (ACT), a pro-Democrat group that's working to defeat President Bush in 17 battleground states. Wellstone Action received $372,500 from ACT and organized camps in several swing states, including Ohio, Florida, Wisconsin and Michigan.

Around these parts it is not uncommon to see cars sporting bumper stickers asking "What Would Wellstone Do?". The answer apparently is run Camp Wellstone:

He said the camps are not about "worshipping Wellstone," but rather advancing the model of political action that Wellstone taught and practiced.

"I also feel like this is what he would want us to do," he said.

It is impossible for me to read this story and not think of The Simpson's Kamp Krusty. Especially the Kamp Krusty song.

Hail to thee, Kamp Krusty,
By the shores of Big Snake Lake.
Though your swings are rusty,
We know they'll never break.

From your gleaming mess hall,
To our hallowed baseball field,
Your spic-and-span infirmary,
Where all our wounds are healed.

Hail to thee, Kamp Krusty,
Below Mount Avalanche.
We will always love Kamp Krusty,
A registered trademark of the Krusty Corporation,
All rights reserved!

And since we all know how much the Wellstone crowd loves songs, I figured I'd work up one for Camp Wellstone based on the Kamp Krusty ditty:

Hail to thee, Kamp Wellstone,
By the shores of High Tax Lake.
Though Paul's ashes are sown,
The Green Bus has no brake.

From your smoke-free co-op,
To our hallowed children's school,
We follow Paul's true mission,
One world under socialist rule.

Hail to thee, Kamp Wellstone,
Below Mount Airplane Crash.
We will always love Kamp Wellstone,
A never-ending fantasy of the Democratic Party,
Unhinged from reality!