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The Conscience of a Liberal: Reclaiming the Compassionate Agenda
 
 
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The Conscience of a Liberal: Reclaiming the Compassionate Agenda [Paperback]

Senator Paul Wellstone (Author)
4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)

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Book Description

September 3, 2002
From his earliest childhood memories to the college classroom, from rural Minnesota farm fields and the defense of workers' rights to his 1990 election campaign promises of politics for the benefit of the people, The Conscience of a Liberal candidly discusses Wellstone's life experiences and the coming-of-age of his political views. What emerges is an intriguing inside look at Wellstone's crusade to assert an unabashedly liberal agenda.

From the moment he was elected, Wellstone has passionately articulated a path to economic and social justice for all citizens, justice not contingent on the size of a person's bank account or their political influence. A call for personal politics and deep commitment to beliefs, Wellstone's tenure as a U.S. senator has been a vigorous, at times outraged, and always active fight for support for farmers, working families, and other Minnesotans; for decent jobs, improved health care, a good education, and retirement security.

At once responding to the conservative hijacking of compassion as a political yardstick and explaining his own political record, Wellstone engagingly elucidates what contrasts conservative and liberal interests and, as always, rouses progressives to influence the future of American politics.

"Wellstone promised to be what Washingtonians always say their city desperately needs: a colorful character. No one was disappointed. He still considers himself an activist, and his book reads like the work of an activist." Wall Street Journal

"Wellstone relishes the role of the lonely hero taking on powerful bullies, and irritates his jaded colleagues with his stubborn stand on principles." Washington Monthly

"A call to arms aimed at politically like-minded Americans, time and again The Conscience of a Liberal argues that a grassroots movement of progressives can defy the odds." National Journal

Senator Paul Wellstone was a professor of political science at Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota, for twenty-one years before being elected to the U.S. Senate in 1990.


Frequently Bought Together

Customers buy this book with Politics the Wellstone Way: How to Elect Progressive Candidates and Win on Issues $14.56

The Conscience of a Liberal: Reclaiming the Compassionate Agenda + Politics the Wellstone Way: How to Elect Progressive Candidates and Win on Issues


Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

When senators think about running for president, they write books like The Conscience of a Liberal. Indeed, Senator Paul Wellstone of Minnesota thought about pursuing the Democratic presidential nomination in 2000, but ultimately backed off. Unfortunately, his death in an October 2002 plane crash ended both a promising political career and all speculation about where it might lead.

The first part of the book explains Wellstone's unlikely ascension to the Senate (he was once a college professor), and some of his campaign war stories are fun reading for political junkies. One of the most amusing passages describes how he once nearly clocked New York Republican Alfonse D'Amato over a disagreement: "When the train reached the Senate chamber, I jumped out and lunged forward, intending to catch D'Amato and deck him. My body was shaking with uncontrollable anger." Another senator held him back, and Wellstone calmed down.

The bulk of The Conscience of a Liberal, however, is given over to laying out a political agenda that includes universal health care, reversing welfare reforms, prekindergarten education, raising the minimum wage, and campaign-finance reform. He closes with a call for a new politics: "This is not a conservative America.... There is a huge leadership void in this country that the Democratic Party, emboldened by political courage and a commitment to the issues that made our party great, can fill." Sadly, one of the politicians who helped fill that void is now gone himself. Still, his ideas live on. --John J. Miller

From Publishers Weekly

Minnesota Senator Wellstone opens this memoir with his attendance at the funeral service of archconservative Barry Goldwater. Wellstone was there because as a boy he had read Goldwater's Conscience of a Conservative. Paradoxically, he credits his admiration for Goldwater's political integrity with providing the moral basis for his own liberalism. And he is very liberal, indeed. After reading this lucid and personal book, however, even those of opposite views would find it hard not to admire him. Wellstone presents two propositions. The first, that integrity in politics is essential, will be widely applauded. The second, that liberal political values reflect mainstream American values, will receive a mixed reception. At the core of this account is Wellstone's desire to mobilize voters to organize around issues he believes important to the country's well-being. The litany of societal problems addressed is broad and includes health care, education and testing, economic justice (welfare reform) and campaign finance reform. About each, Wellstone provides cogent and thought-provoking facts, figures and expert opinions, as well as personal stories that humanize the damage and loss of human potential he sees flowing from current public policies. He also offers solutions consistent with his view that government is capable of making a positive difference. The book is, for the most part, pleasantly free of partisan invective; his criticisms are generally oblique. Wellstone's 1996 Senate campaign adds drama. The only senator facing reelection who voted against welfare reform, he survived an extremely negative campaign, even by modern standards. Many readers will be glad he did. (May 22)Forecast: With millions of voters disappointed that their man barely (and, some would argue, unfairly) lost the recent presidential election, Wellstone offers reassurance that liberal values are still alive and well in Washington. As he tours New York, Washington, D.C., San Francisco and Los Angeles, along with his home state, the senator will surely attract die-hard liberal readers with his concise but thoughtful tome.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

  • Paperback: 240 pages
  • Publisher: Univ Of Minnesota Press; 1 edition (September 3, 2002)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 081664179X
  • ISBN-13: 978-0816641796
  • Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.8 x 0.6 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #365,372 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

25 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
4.3 out of 5 stars (25 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 35 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars An inspiring book, September 28, 2003
By 
This review is from: The Conscience of a Liberal: Reclaiming the Compassionate Agenda (Paperback)
I was never really interested in politics before I read this book. But I've admired and respected Paul Wellstone for a long time, and after his death I was very interested in what he had done in his political life before I became aware of politics (I didn't start really listening until a couple years ago, just before I grew old enough to vote). This book caught my attention and got me interested in the political world and how the laws that are made in Washington DC affect people like me and those around me here in Minnesota. It really does make me want to be active in supporting change for the better. Paul Wellstone will always be a personal hero of mine.
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44 of 54 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars remembering Paul, October 28, 2002
By 
J. Callahan "tastemaker" (Flat Rock, NC United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
The other morning on one of the Sunday chat shows, a so-called "objective" political pundit referred to the late Senator as "a far-out liberal" with "extreme ideas." Is this how far we have fallen under Bush II? Is it "far-out" to believe that people are more important than profits? Is it "extreme" to feel that the American government should belong to the American people and not multinational corporations? Is the belief that, to quote populist commentator Jim Hightower, "everybody does better when everybody does better" just a naive, "liberal" pipe dream? Wellstone understood, as perhaps no other U.S. Senator does, that the main reason why the 2000 presidential election was so close was that voters accurately failed to discern much difference between centrist Bush and centrist Gore. Senator Wellstone was different, God bless him. Not only did he actually believe what he said, he acted on those beliefs, opinion polls be damned. The greatest tribute those of us who still believe in a just and fair American can pay to him is not just to read this book--although it's a start. We must now organize and run for office ourselves in order to restore democratic ideals to the Democratic party and to the White House. May this be Paul Wellstone's legacy.
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13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Politically Refreshing, May 12, 2002
It is nice to know that some decency still exists among all of the greed and power in Washington. Paul Wellstone has made it a priority to fight for those who can't afford to hire a lobbyist. This book demonstrates his uphill fight against the money and the power brokers in DC. Even if you disagree with Wellstone politically, it would be difficult not to welcome his honest and sincere attitude towards the process. This is a must read for any progressive.
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