The party of Lincoln, Reagan and Wellstone

By James Q. Lynch – First District Republican candidate David Hartsuch raised a few eyebrows Thursday morning when he told Iowa’s GOP convention delegation that his role model is Paul Wellstone.

Yes, the liberal, college professor who claimed to represent “the Democratic wing of the Democratic party.” Wellstone defeated an incumbent Republican to serve one term in the U.S. Senate. Just days before standing for re-election, he died in a plane crash while campaigning.

Wellstone, according to Hartsuch, an emergency room doctor who lived in Minneapolis for 16 years, “did reflect a high level of service and I think people respect that whether you are from the left or the right or the center.”

“People want to know that the people they are electing to office are going to be representing everybody, not just special interests,” said Hartsuch, who is challenging freshman Rep. Bruce Braley, a Waterloo Democrat. Braley, he said, “represents a very narrow special interest group in trial lawyers and unions.”

Wellstone is rarely mentioned with respect in Republican circles and Hartsuch said later he hoped that his audience understood he appreciated Wellstone’s approach to public service, but was not endorsing his policies.
“I am a right winger, there’s no doubt about it,” said Hartsuch, who is a champion of social conservative philosophy in the Iowa Senate.

“I believe Paul Wellstone reflected the broader interest of the public,” he said. “While I disagree with him on his policy – nonetheless, I could never doubt his integrity.”

Wellstone’s commitment to individuals is what “makes a good legislator a great one,” Hartsuch said. “That’s exactly what I try to do ¿ (because) people come to government with needs. It’s my duty to meet the needs of the people.
“I think his memory should live on as being a great statesman,” Hartsuch said.

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