Wellstone’s cage-rattling debut is the second act in a remarkable political ascendance. Early on, pollsters gave the Carleton College political-science professor no chance to topple two-term Republican Rudy Boschwitz, smugly seated atop a $7 million war chest. But Wellstone was able to parlay smoldering anti-incumbent voter sentiment and two decades of liberal activism in the labor, farm and nuclear-freeze movements into a 20,000-strong grass-roots organization. He barnstormed the state in his ramshackle bus and used his shoestring budget to air hip, irreverent ads painting the well-heeled Boschwitz and the GOP as disengaged from Minnesotans’ concerns. One two-minute classic, patterned after the film “Roger & Me,” depicted a cheerful Wellstone wandering into various Boschwitz offices in search of his opponent to arrange a debate. Boschwitz is absent, but at every turn Wellstone encounters stiff, clammy staffers.
He also got lucky. Charges of sexual misconduct drove the GOP’s gubernatorial candidate from the race. The state Republican ticket lost even more altitude when the Boschwitz campaign sent out a letter to Minnesota Jews questioning whether Wellstone (who, like Boschwitz, is Jewish) was serious about his faith.
Friends and competitors say Washington is making a mistake if it writes off Wellstone as a showboating liberal caricature. “Wellstone is precisely what he says he is - a prairie populist. He’s very genuine, very committed,” says Republican Gov. Arne Carlson, who beat him in a 1982 race for state auditor. State political elders compare him to another fiery Minnesota liberal who shot his way into the Senate in 1948: Hubert Humphrey. “Hubert did what we’d like Paul to do,” says Warren Spannaus, former chairman of the Democrat-Farmer-Labor Party. “It’s too early to tell whether he can.” Wellstone’s agenda won in Minnesota but it will be a tough sell in Congress. He favors universal child and health care and wants a 7.5 percent surtax on big corporations and the rich to finance the S&L bailout. Insiders say he’ll need to master Senate etiquette to get anywhere. “Collegiality is ultimately a determinant of success around here,” says a GOP aide.
Wellstone, who taught Saul Alinsky-style community organizing at Carleton, doubts he will ever be a smooth fit with his colleagues. “I will never make my mark as a consummate insider,” he told NEWSWEEK. “Without trying, I’m different.” Wellstone’s maverick liberalism will get plenty of attention. But being different doesn’t mean being powerful. His challenge is to do more than just make waves.
