Senator Paul Wellstone
NAMI advocates throughout the nation are shocked and saddened to learn that
the lives of Senator Paul Wellstone (D-MN), his wife and daughter were
tragically cut short today in the crash of a small plane in northern
Minnesota.
Our members have loved and admired Senator Wellstone for his tireless advocacy
on behalf of people with mental illnesses. Whether fighting for passage of
mental health insurance parity legislation or conducting an unannounced visit
to a juvenile justice facility, he brought a rare passion and energy to
fighting discrimination against people with mental illnesses as part of a
broader commitment to individual dignity, freedom, and bonds of justice that
bring our nation together as a community.
One of the most liberal members of the Senate, Senator Wellstone formed what
to some seemed like an unlikely partnership with Senator Pete Domenici (R-NM)
to work on a cause that flowed from the heart: equal coverage of mental
illnesses in health insurance plans-which President Bush also endorsed this
year. Although Senator Wellstone frequently gave no quarter when fighting for
a cause he believed in, his commitment to principle, intellect, and profound
depth of compassion earned the respect and affection of millions of Americans.
Senator Wellstone has died with much of his work still unfinished. NAMI will
honor his memory by continuing to fight for many of the causes he believed in.
We also will miss him greatly. He was a member of the NAMI family. He was a
friend.
- NAMI E-News
Loss of a Great Senator and Disability Rights Supporter
The death of Senator Paul Wellstone last Friday has shaken up
the political landscape for next week's election and dominated the media. It's
been great to see so much positive commentary on a politician at a time when
so many people are disenchanted with politics. One aspect of Wellstone's life
that has been less evident, however, is his relationship to the disability
rights community.
Wellstone had recently announced that he had Multiple Sclerosis - the cause of
a noticeable limp. His identification of his disability became somewhat of a
campaign issue, as some critics questioned his ability to continue service as
a Senator. But Wellstone addressed the issue forthrightly and lived the
disability rights philosophy that a physical or mental disability need not
interfere with one's ability to contribute to our society and economy.
Wellstone in recent years became more directly supportive of people with
disabilities. Wellstone backed important legislation such as the Ticket to
Work and Work Incentives Improvement Act of 1999 and the currently-pending
Medicaid Community Attendant Services and Supports Act (MiCASSA). He also made
a point to lend his physical presence to many disability-related events. And
he was one of but a handful of Members of Congress who attended Justin Dart's
Memorial Service. It's hard to know what role Wellstone would have played in
coming years, but he was clearly becoming more and more of a disability rights
advocate. His personal experience with MS was no doubt leading him to view
disability rights as one of the populist causes he championed. And Senator Tom
Harkin was helping to mentor him about disability rights. Wellstone's death is
truly a tremendous loss for the disability community.
Senator Wellstone was a man of extraordinary conviction -- a true populist, as
described by Paul Krugman in the attached op-ed column. Whatever our
respective political persuasions, each of us should be inspired by the example
Wellstone lived; we should work to find ways we can live out our own
convictions. Next week offers one opportunity. VOTE! Wellstone fought to have
the voice of ordinary Americans heard in our Nation's capital. We can carry on
one aspect of his leadership by making our voices heard in next week's
elections. If under-represented groups, including people with disabilities,
vote in force, they could transform the political landscape. Few actions could
better pay tribute to Wellstone's legacy.
If you'd like to send a message of support for Wellstone and his legacy,
please email remember@Wellstone.org.
A copy of AAPD President and CEO Andy Imparato's message follows.
Jonathan Young, PhD
JFA Editor, AAPD
October 29, 2002
To the Family, Friends, Staff and Supporters of Senator Wellstone:
On behalf of the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD), I
write to express my deepest sympathy and condolences to the many people who
gather today in Minnesota to remember a great champion for human rights and
human dignity. Paul Wellstone fought hard for people who did not have easy
access to the political process, including the more than 56 million children
and adults with disabilities in the United States. He set an important example
of a politician who unabashedly did what was right, rather than what was
politically expedient. He made time for and took a real interest in ordinary
people, and he sought out opportunities to join forces with disability
activists when we gathered to challenge oppression, paternalism, and
discrimination.
As you gather to remember a great man, know that disabled people and our
families around the country are mourning with you today. Working closely with
his good friend Tom Harkin, Paul Wellstone was someone we could count on to
champion our civil rights and fight for our ability to live with dignity and
independence in the community. We will never forget his leadership, and we
look forward to working with all of you to carry on his important work.
With warmest regards and best wishes,
Andrew J. Imparato
President and CEO
American Association of People with Disabilities
Washington, D.C.
For the People
October 29, 2002
By PAUL KRUGMAN
The New York Times
Ghoulish but true: as Minnesota mourns the death of Senator Paul Wellstone,
many of the state's residents have been receiving fliers bearing a picture of
a tombstone. The fliers, sent out by a conservative business group, denounce
the late senator's support for maintaining the estate tax. Under the
tombstone, the text reads in part: "Paul Wellstone not only wants to tax you
and your business to death . . . he wants to tax you in the hereafter."
To be fair, the people who mailed out those fliers - which are carefully
worded so that the cost of the mailing doesn't officially count as a campaign
contribution - didn't know how tasteless they would now appear. Yet in a sense
the mass mailing is a fitting epitaph; it reminds us what Paul Wellstone stood
for, and how brave he was to take that stand.
Sometimes it seems as if Americans have forgotten what courage means. Here's a
hint: talking tough doesn't make you a hero; you have to take personal risks.
And I'm not just talking about physical risks - though it's striking how few
of our biggest flag wavers have ever put themselves in harm's way. What we
should demand of our representatives in Washington is the willingness to take
political risks - to make a stand on principle, even if it means taking on
powerful interest groups.
Paul Wellstone took risks. He was, everyone acknowledges, a politician who
truly voted his convictions, who supported what he thought was right, not what
he thought would help him get re-elected. He took risky stands on many issues:
agree or disagree, you have to admit that his vote against authorization for
an Iraq war was a singularly brave act. Yet the most consistent theme in his
record was economic - his courageous support for the interests of ordinary
Americans against the growing power of our emerging plutocracy.
In our money-dominated politics, that's a dangerous position to take. When Mr.
Wellstone first ran for the Senate, his opponent outspent him seven to one.
According to one of his advisers, the success of that ramshackle campaign, run
from a rickety green school bus, "made politics safe for populists again."
If only. Almost every politician in modern America pretends to be a populist;
indeed, it's a general rule that the more slavishly a politician supports the
interests of wealthy individuals and big corporations, the folksier his
manner. But being a genuine populist, someone who really tries to stand up
against what Mr. Wellstone called "Robin Hood in reverse" policies, isn't
easy: you must face the power not just of money, but of sustained and
shameless hypocrisy.
And that's why those fliers are a perfect illustration of what Paul Wellstone
was fighting.
On one side, the inclusion of estate tax repeal in last year's federal tax cut
is the most striking example to date of how our political system serves the
interests of the wealthy. After all, the estate tax affects only a small
minority of families; the bulk of the tax is paid by a tiny elite. In fact,
estate tax repeal favors the wealthy to such an extent that defenders of last
year's tax cut - like Senator Charles Grassley, who published a misleading
letter in last Friday's Times - always carefully omit it from calculations of
who benefits. (The letter talked only about the income tax; had he included
the effects of estate tax repeal, he would have been forced to admit that more
than 40 percent of the benefits of that tax cut go to the wealthiest 1 percent
of the population.) To eliminate the estate tax in the face of budget deficits
means making the rich richer even as we slash essential services for the
middle class and the poor.
On the other side, the estate tax debate illustrates the pervasive hypocrisy
of our politics. For repeal of the "death tax" has been cast, incredibly, as a
populist issue. Thanks to sustained, lavishly financed propaganda - of which
that anti-Wellstone flier was a classic example - millions of Americans
imagine, wrongly, that the estate tax mainly affects small businesses and
farms, and that its repeal will help ordinary people. And who pays for the
propaganda? Guess. It's amazing what money can buy.
In an age of fake populists, Paul Wellstone was the real thing. Now he's gone.
Will others have the courage to carry on?
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/10/29/opinion/29KRUG.html?ex=1036869018&ei=1&en=b212157aaaecc032
Copyright 2002 The New York Times Company
# # #
=====================
November 5, 2002, is Election Day!
Vote!
Vote for a strong ADA!
Vote for disability rights!
Tell your friends and family to vote!
=====================
JUSTICE FOR ALL -- A Service of the American Association of People with
Disabilities
www.aapd-dc.org
www.jfanow.org
There's strength in numbers! Be a part of a national coalition of people with
disabilities and join AAPD today.
www.aapd-dc.org
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