Quotes from Paul Wellstone

We can and must move U.S. politics forward by means of committed participation.

The only way to change is to vote. People are responsible.

When too many Americans don't vote or participate, some see apathy and despair. I see disappointment and even outrage. And I believe that out of this frustration can come hope and action.

There is a major ingredient missing from our perception of how changes are brought about; that ingredient is power.

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.

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.

We must regain our vision and hope and move our country forward on an agenda of peace and justice.

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

The best kind of politics is when you help people become their own best selves.

Politics is not left, right or center ... It's about improving people's lives.

The problem with party politics is that people get involved every two or four years and that is it. In the meantime, the legislature and Minnesota politics are on a separate track.

Politics is not about power.

Politics is not about power. Politics is not about money. Politics is not about winning for the sake of winning. Politics is about the improvement of people's lives.

The people of this country, not special interest big money, should be the source of all political power.

Politics isn't about big money or power games; it's about the improvement of people's lives.

There are three critical ingredients to democratic renewal and progressive change in America: good public policy, grassroots organizing and electoral politics.

Never separate the life you lead from the words you speak.

The first task in teaching is to bring to consciousness what the students already believe by virtue of their personal experiences about themselves and society.

What the poor, the weak, and the inarticulate desperately require is power, organization, and a sense of identity and purpose, not rarefied advice of political scientists.

The American polity is infected with a serious imbalance of power between elites and masses, a power which is the principal threat to our democracy.

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.

Politics is not about money.

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.

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.