A politics that is not sensitive to the concerns and circumstances of people's lives, a politics that does not speak to and include people, is an intellectually arrogant politics that deserves to fail.
Paul Wellstone

Above and beyond the question of how to grow the economy there is a legitimate concern about how to grow the quality of our lives.
Paul Wellstone

As free citizens in a political democracy, we have a responsibility to be interested and involved in the affairs of the human community, be it at the local or the global level.
Paul Wellstone

Education and democracy have the same goal: the fullest possible development of human capabilities.
Paul Wellstone

I don't think politics has anything to do with left, right, or center. It has to do with trying to do right by people.
Paul Wellstone

I emphasize self-esteem, self-confidence, and dignity, not as an ideal, but as a real test of community organization. Without leadership development, community organizations do not have staying power.
Paul Wellstone

I represent the Democratic wing of the Democratic party.
Paul Wellstone

I saw as a teacher how, if you take that spark of learning that those children have, and you ignite it, you can take a child from any background to a lifetime of creativity and accomplishment.
Paul Wellstone

I think the future also will not belong to those who are cynical or those who stand on the sidelines.
Paul Wellstone

I was talking about no nukes, the farm crisis. People said that wasn't stuff that a state auditor was supposed to be talking about. Maybe they were right.
Paul Wellstone


I'm short, I'm Jewish and I'm a liberal.
Paul Wellstone

If a teacher does not involve himself, his values, his commitments, in the course of discussion, why should the students?
Paul Wellstone

If we don't fight hard enough for the things we stand for, at some point we have to recognize that we don't really stand for them.
Paul Wellstone

It is the belief that extremes and excesses of inequality must be reduced so that each person is free to fully develop his or her full potential. This is why we take precious time out of our lives and give it to politics.
Paul Wellstone

Never separate the life you live from the words you speak.
Paul Wellstone

Our aims in political activism are not, and should not be, to create a perfect utopia.
Paul Wellstone

Our politics are our deepest form of expression: they mirror our past experiences and reflect our dreams and aspirations for the future.
Paul Wellstone

Politics is about the improvement of people's lives. It's about advancing the cause of peace and justice in our country and the world. Politics is about doing well for the people.
Paul Wellstone

Politics is not about money.
Paul Wellstone

Politics is not about power.
Paul Wellstone