Politicians in today's America give up principles in order to traverse the ranks of their profession. Candidates spend years touring district upon district saying things only so they ultimately acquire the most votes. The days of politicians campaigning with moral virtuosity are over, because playing the political game has blanketed principles.

One running for office has to submit to the power of his or her party. This is accurate especially at the local levels of politics. If a local elected official isn't supporting a party, he or she won't be in office for long. In the next election, the local and state authorities won't commit manpower or money to the recalcitrant campaigner. At the national level, a candidate may be able to survive ceding from a party's position, but it wouldn't be easy. The unruly official's parking space would be two miles from the capital building, he or she would lose their invitation to the party's Christmas function, and committee quality would be questionable.

Because of these difficulties with keeping one's principles, I admire the work of Paul Wellstone. Wellstone served the people of Minnesota as US Senator from 1990 until 2002. On October 25 of 2002, his plane tragically crashed in northern Minnesota, killing him and seven others. He is remembered as a champion of the people who did what was right, whether or not his actions were popular with pollsters and party. If one wants to get involved or learn more about Wellstone, I encourage him or her to visit www.wellstone.org. The site presents an excellent avenue to seeing politics as Wellstone did.

In one example of his putting principles before pollsters, Mr. Wellstone sat with Native-Americans protesting the use of their culture's identity as a mascot. This was not a highly important issue to most of his constituency, nor was he with the majority opinion. Wellstone didn't acquire many votes for the action. In the end, it didn't get much press time either. However, Mr. Wellstone did not let public pressure dictate his agenda. He exemplified an example of a politician reversing the American trend of party pressures and one-minute news clips. For reasons like this, even though I repudiate most of his stances, I proudly wear my green Wellstone button.

Former Senator Wellstone once said, "The people of this country, not special interest big money, should be the source of all political power." Imagine if every official emulated Paul Wellstone and kept principles closer to their heart than the power of office. A candidate's speech would not reflect the areas in which he or she is sagging in the polls. Republicans would not spend their time coming up with catch phrases, such as "Axis of Evil," and Democrats would debate issues instead of competing to invent the cleverest Bush insult. I believe future American legislators may resemble and will remember Paul Wellstone, the first of their kind.