Rally may have soured voters - Wellstone memorial turned into political event, analysts say

Associated Press ^ | November 27, 2002 | Associated Press Staff

[MeekOneGOP]

Rally may have soured voters

Wellstone memorial turned into political event, analysts say

11/27/2002

Associated Press

ST. PAUL, Minn. - In hindsight, the first mistake might have been holding a memorial service in a big basketball arena. Then there was the bank of Jumbotron screens, live on C-SPAN.

The Oct. 29 service for Sen. Paul Wellstone after he was killed in a plane crash turned into a political pep rally that turned off many voters. Analysts say it not only led to the defeat of Mr. Wellstone's stand-in, Walter Mondale, but also might have contributed to the Democrats' setbacks nationally.

Many critics have focused on the blunt speech of Mr. Wellstone's close friend Rick Kahn. But the event was designed from the start to be boisterous and political.

"The problem was the labeling," said Kathleen Hall Jamieson, dean of the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania. "The mistake was in labeling this as a memorial instead of a celebration of the lives of these individuals, which is what it was."

She said people tuned in expecting a funeral and instead got a rally.

Others said that having the event in a sports arena that seats nearly 15,000 all but predetermined the tone.

"To expect that 15,000 or 20,000 Wellstone supporters would be quiet as pictures of Trent Lott and others flashed on the screen was too much to expect," said Steve Smith, director of the Weidenbaum Center on the Economy, Government and Public Policy at Washington University in St. Louis.

"The problem here was that this was an event controlled by a family that was grieving and a campaign staff that was no longer in the campaign," Mr. Smith said.

Mr. Wellstone's campaign manager, Jeff Blodgett, apologized for the event the next morning but declined to discuss it in a recent interview.

The event almost happened in an entirely different way.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, a source familiar with the planning meeting the day after Mr. Wellstone died said the small group considered having the service in a more somber setting such as a cathedral. But Mr. Wellstone was Jewish.

But organizers also believed that the tribute had to reflect the senator's populist bent. Thus the big arena.

The intent of the memorial was clear in the advertised theme: "Stand up, keep fighting."

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Online at: http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dallas/nation/stories/112702dnnatwellstone.a1932.html

[MeekOneGOP]

A big "DUH !" award here. I was aghast DURING the Wellstone Rally. So it takes the 'RATS and the media a MONTH later to figure it out!? Why am I not surprised?.....

[Clara Lou]

Agreed-- 5 seconds of rally video, and decent people everywhere were shocked and disapproving. And this week they're going to try and tell us that it "may have" lost them votes? This is laughable.

I wonder how young Mr. Wellstone (who began the pro-Democrat chant in the middle of his eulogy about his father) is feeling these days? Are they still making excuses for his behavior?

[Randjuke]

"The mistake was in labeling this as a memorial instead of a celebration of the lives of these individuals, which is what it was."

Well, actually it wasn't that, either.

[Larry Lucido]

In other news, analysts say the Earth may be round.

[Sunshine Sister]

The show was a disgrace. I can't imagine what the family was thinking. I wonder if they know the meaning of grief?

[randita]

If Democrats wish to delude themselves into thinking this was the reason they lost, let them.

Almost one month later and almost 20 Rush Limbaugh shows, and no Democrat seems to have a clue.

[BOBTHENAILER]

"The problem here was that this was an event controlled by a family that was grieving and a campaign staff that was no longer in the campaign," Mr. Smith said.

Funny, didn't look like grieving to me.

[Bringbackthedraft]

"We will win! We will win! We will win!" Yup! It worked didn't it? What percentage of the audience was from Minnesota? Mostly party hacks in attendance.

[FreePaul]

I didn't see or hear the "Memorial" to Wellstone live. The next day I heard the "high" points on the radio and saw some TV clips.Until then I was going to vote for a few Democrats in local races. I ended up going out that day and pulling the straight Republican lever. My wife did the same later that day. I don't think that our votes changed the results in any races but there were undoubtedly many places where that disgusting spectacle made a difference.

[Minnesoootan]

I just wish they would let this DIE already....they keep spinning this to DEATH.
Paul and family DIED because he broke his promise to only serve 2 terms.
The rally was to try to swing a LOSING campaign back over to a "prominent" DFL'er,Mondale....pffffffft!
Paul was going to lose BIGTIME anyway,and now they make it sound like the rally was the reason.....Democrats spinning democrats after death,disgusting.
One thing that pisses me off the most about this whole deal,is they spun my Mom and she voted for Mondale...I'll NEVER forgive the DFL or the media.NEVER!

[mombonn]

"The problem here was that this was an event controlled by a family that was grieving and a campaign staff that was no longer in the campaign," Mr. Smith said.

Smith is either lying or stupid. A grieving family could NOT have organized that rally on their own. It came straight from the bowels of the DNC, AKA Terry McAwful and crew.

[RJayneJ]

Dis-inviting the vice president was the first shock, and made me wonder what the family was thinking. In death you expect the memorial service to be bipartisan. After defying the election laws in New Jersey and then putting Mondale on the ticket made everyone think that the Democrats would do anything, legal or not, to win.

[ODDITHER]

The beer and hotdogs didn't hurt either. Maybe in Minnesota it is a common occurance for the family to sell beer and hot dogs at memorial services.

I love to hear Democrats blame the family members. It shows the average American how far Democrats will go to obtain power.

When you have unions bus college students and union thugs in to fill a stadium, and then sell beer and hotdogs, and have boogie bands warming the crowd up, what else did they expect?

[Bonneville]

I also have noticed that almost all coverage of the event left out the fact that Rick Kahn was the Wellstone Campaign Treasurer. A political operative, not just the "close friend" who had an emotional moment that he is portrayed as.

[blam]

I think the Wellstone rally just reminded Americans again of the Clinton sleeze and in light of 911 (and contrasted with GWB) they realized how bankrupt the Democrats are.

[dirtboy]

The big mistake by the Minnesota Dems was letting national Dem figures plot this event out.

[Tallguy]

Speaking on condition of anonymity, a source familiar with the planning meeting the day after Mr. Wellstone died said the small group considered having the service in a more somber setting ...

When you combine the Wellstone family's decision on the venue with the behavior of the youngest son, it's pretty hard to let the Wellstone family off the hook for their share of the blame in this fiasco. As the article states, the Wellstone family should have known that the choice of a 20,000 seat arena would dictate the tone of the gathering. Then Wellstone's youngest son stands up and participates in this political sham. I'd give him a "pass" if it were just a matter of being caught-up in the moment, but these 2 factors are related.

[Tallguy]

A grieving family could NOT have organized that rally on their own.

Correct! The logistics of this event must have been mind-boggling.

[Clara Lou]

I found the invitation to Cheney not to attend extremely offensive. In hindsight, it appears to me that the Democratic organizers of the event knew it was going to be a pep rally instead of a memorial event. How embarrassing would it have been for the Dems if Gov. Jessie V. and the VPOTUS had gotten up and walked out? The Democratic Party is a disgrace.

[Don Corleone]

Look for young Wellstone to get a political payoff for this in the near future. Follow the greed...follow the corruption....follow the money.