Wellstone Action!

posted by elana

MARCH 25, 2010

We of course, like all of you, have followed the vagaries of the health care fight over the last year, and experienced the same pangs of excitement, hope, concern, demoralization, and joy.  It almost reminds us of a certain t-shirt:

But as President Obama signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act into law, he seemed to speak directly to the heart of our fears leading up to the bill's passage.  Speaking about how this came to pass, Obama said:

"With all the punditry, all of the lobbying, all of the game-playing that passes for governing in Washington, it's been easy at times to doubt our ability to do such a big thing... It's easy to succumb to the sense of cynicism about what's possible in this country.

But today, we are affirming that essential truth... that we are not a nation that scales back its aspirations. We are not a nation that falls prey to doubt or mistrust. We don't fall prey to fear. We are not a nation that does what's easy. That's not who we are. That's not how we got here.

We are a nation that faces its challenges and accepts its responsibilities. We are a nation that does what is hard. What is necessary. What is right. Here, in this country, we shape our own destiny. That is what we do. That is who we are. That is what makes us the United States of America." (emphasis ours)

The President was talking about the spirit of the country, but also of course about leaders in Congress, whose ability to wrangle just the partisan majority in favor of this legislation was often in doubt. 

This got us thinking about qualities of leadership, and what we should look for in our leaders.  The willingness and commitment to do what is hard, necessary, and right tops the list in terms of exhibiting integrity as an elected official.

Paul Wellstone said, "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."

In this health care fight, we fought.  We stood up.  And in the end, the President and the Congress did what was necessary and what was right. 

But we need to remember the qualities we are looking for in leaders as we head into another election year.  We need to continue working toward progressive majorities, rather than partisan majorities.  

We asked our facebook fans to give us their brief definition of leadership, based on the President's speech quoted above.  Here were a few of their suggestions for a definition of leadership:

"The ability to inspire a new generation of leaders rather than followers." - Casey

"Taking risk and making bold choices for the greater good of the people you represent." - Charissa

"This is your world, shape it or someone else will." - Nancy

Photos by TalkRadioNews and  Mark Rauterkus