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By Laura McCallum
January 17, 2001
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Minnesota Sen. Paul Wellstone ended months of speculation by announcing he will run for a third term in 2002. Wellstone says the political climate has changed since he pledged to serve only two terms. Wellstone's decision was praised by Democrats and panned by Republicans.
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THE DAY AFTER CARLETON COLLEGE PROFESSOR PAUL WELLSTONE was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 1990, he appeared on MPR's Morning Edition to make a fateful promise.(Listen)
"I'm not planning on staying there forever, I said 12 years on purpose, I don't see this as being a life-long thing. I want to give it two terms, everything I have," Wellstone said.
Wellstone also campaigned on the issue when he won re-election in 1996. But in 2001, Wellstone says times have changed since he made that pledge.
"I very honestly believed then that this would be the plan, that it made sense to give it everything for two terms. Just as I honestly believe now that who would have ever believed these circumstances?" said Wellstone.
Wellstone cites the 50-50 split between Democrats and Republicans in the Senate for the first time in more than a century, and the election of Republican George W. Bush as president, whose agenda includes a roughly $1.5 trillion tax cut and the privatization of Social Security.
Wellstone, arguably one of the most liberal members of Congress, says his vote counts more than ever.
"Do you walk away from government in Washington D.C. right now when so much is at stake? My answer, in terms of the people I represent in Minnesota, to myself, which matters first and foremost, is that your internal drummer, was no. You can't! You shouldn't."
Republican House Majority Leader Tim Pawlenty of Eagan says Wellstone ran as a political outsider, but his decision to break his pledge makes him just another Beltway politician.
"It is unfortunate that he's become one of them, and his argument that the new balance in Congress requires him to hang around for another six years when there's another election in 24 months is ludicrous," Pawlenty said.
Pawlenty is considering running for Senate in 2002, and says Wellstone's announcement will factor into his decision. Other potential contenders include former Republican Sen. Rod Grams, who lost to DFLer Mark Dayton in November and says he may run again, and Republican First District Congressman Gil Gutknecht, who had no comment in response to Wellstone's decision.
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"He went to Washington as Professor Wellstone, and he's now morphed into 'Potomac Paul.'"
- Tim Pawlenty | |
"Paul Wellstone is very beatable, his record has always been to the left of most Minnesotans, now you've lost his integrity that he had by breaking his pledge to not run again," said Walsh.
While Republicans can't wait to use the broken pledge as campaign fodder, DFL leaders say most Minnesotans won't hold it against Wellstone.
"He made a pledge also to the members of our party that he would go to Washington to represent Minnesotans, and I think he's made good on that pledge, and he's not finished yet, and we really want to be sure that the kinds of things that we feel strongly about as Minnesotans have a strong voice in Washington, D.C.," said State Party Associate Chair Mary McEvoy.
Following Wellstone's announcement, representatives of labor, environmental and education groups held a news conference to praise Wellstone, and top DFL elected officials plan a joint news conference to support Wellstone's decision.
Wellstone, for his part, wasn't making any more pledges, when asked whether a third term would be his last.
Laura McCallum covers politics for Minnesota Public Radio. Reach her via e-mail at lmccallum@mpr.org.
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