Film Showing: “ Wellstone!: Sometimes You’ve  Got to Start a Fight to Win One”

Press Advisory:  May 27, 2005

Contact: Leisa Faulkner, leisafaulkner@hotmail.com, 916-801-4184

Film Showing: “ Wellstone!: Sometimes You’ve  Got to Start a Fight to Win One”

A documentary of the life and career of former Senator Paul Wellstone of Minnessotta.

The  Wellstone event begins at 6 P.M. on Thursday, June 2, 2005 in the Hind  Auditorium of the University Union at Sacramento State University. A reception preceeds the film. Sponsored by Progressive Democrats of America, Campus Peace Action, and  the Coalition 4 Democracy in Haiti.

The  Wellstone  film showing will be at 7 P.M.  June 2, 2005. Admission is free.

Paul Wellstone was a Professor of Political Science  at Carleton College who went on to become one of the most progressive votes in the U.S. Senate.

The Oct, 2002, deaths of  Senator Paul Wellstone, his wife, his daughter, and five others in a plane crash just five days before the November elections ended the life and career of a remarkable senator.  His first speech in the Senate was opposing authorizing George H.W. Bush to use force to push Saddam Hussein out of Kuwait in the first Gulf War.

Then, in a tough re-election campaign in 2002,  Wellstone voted against the current President Bush's authorization of force for  war on Iraq.

On October 7,2002,  in the well of the Senate, he said, "Of gravest concern, obviously, are the questions raised about the possible loss of life that could result from our actions. The United States could post tens of thousands of troops in Iraq and, in so doing, risk countless lives of soldiers and innocent Iraqis." And he warned about the war in Iraq  being a recruiting  grounds  for Al Qaeda terrorists.

Since that time the U.S. has lost 1,613 soldiers and over 10,000 seriously wounded.

His death  in a plane crash during the 2002 election led to the Republicans gaining control of the U.S. Senate and the silencing of most anti war opposition in the Senate.

As shown in the film, Paul Wellstone was equally well  known for his campaigns for national health care and quality education. Wellstone, the activist, argued that , “ politics is not about money and power, but the improvement of people’s lives.”

The film, a tribute to Wellstone, will by introduced by Jim Farrell who served as Senator Wellstone’s political advisor for three years. For reviews on the film, go to http://www.carryitforward.org

The Progressive Democrats of America are seeking to carry on the Wellstone tradition of building a democratic wing of the Democratic Party.

info: leisafaulkner@hotmail.com, 916-801-4184