Posted: 07/01/09 06:59
by Dave Mindeman
It is not just any Senate seat. It is Paul Wellstone's Senate seat. And now it is back in the hands of someone who understands what that means.
Congratulations, Al Franken. You richly deserve this victory. You put up with the smears; you put up with the delays; you weathered the storm.
But you won't have much time to savor the moment. There is hard work to be done, and you have a legacy to uphold.
In 2002, when that plane crashed and the truest, progressive voice in the Senate was silenced, it almost seemed as if Minnesota's progressive tradition was silenced as well.
We have endured Pawlenty and Coleman and Bachmann. We have endured deteriorating infrastructure and an assault on the poor. We have endured war and economic tailspins. We have endured attacks on civil liberties and attacks on free speech.
The dawn has broken and sunlight's rays are coming through the cloud breaks. We have hope in a new President. We have a voice in a new Senator.
It has been a grueling 6 years without our liberal conscience. I realize that Al Franken will never be Paul Wellstone. But at least Wellstone's work can have a renewal once again.
Godspeed Al Franken. You have the support of the "little fellas" everywhere.
