"I'll go to my grave believing that what you believe in is important."

—Paul Wellstone


Something has been bothering me about the memorials to Paul Wellstone.

Everyone is talking about continuing the fight that Paul died fighting. And for the Democratic Party, honoring Paul's legacy seems to mean—shock of shocks—voting Democrat. Wellstone's close friend even tastelessly turned his memorial into a campaign for his replacement.

But is voting Democrat really a way to honor Wellstone? From everything I read and hear, Paul's legacy was that he voted his conscience, party politics be damned. Sure, he made a few purely political moves, but he was the only Senator facing reelection to vote against "Welfare Reform." This year he was the only one in a tight race to vote against Bush's war in Iraq. Even his opponents recognized and respected that Paul always fought for what he believed.

Don't get me wrong—I'm no diehard Green. I think there are clear differences between the Democratic and Republican parties. (Anyone who thinks Al Gore would have orchestrated a war on Iraq, raise your hand.) I'll probably vote Democratic in this Senate election. That's because I don't want Bush to have any more power than he has now. And Green Party candidate Ray Tricomo is not a viable alternative. He's got some nice ideas and he states them quite poetically, but I don't think he could push legislation through the Senate with a bulldozer.

Nevertheless, I think Wellstone's legacy is more "vote your conscience"—whatever it tells you—than "vote Democrat." And his death, along with recent Democratic support for war in Iraq, has only convinced me that this country needs more political parties. Just listen to his fellow Senators. Several said that Wellstone was the "soul" or the "conscience" of the Senate. One Senator said that Wellstone kept the Democratic Party close to its roots. So what on earth are the rest of the Democrats doing there? Why in all the Senate was there only one soul?

One only has to watch a Minnesota gubernatorial debate to see the benefits of having more than two major parties. Because the Green and Independence parties are officially "major parties" in Minnesota, Ken Pentel (Green) and Tim Penny (Independence) have participated in every gubernatorial debate. Their presence provides a real choice for voters and forces Roger Moe (Democrat) and Tim Pawlenty (Republican) to clarify their views. Moe and Pawlenty can't just position themselves in opposition to each other—they actually have to have policies. This competition improves every politician.

With four major parties, Minnesota has an opportunity to lead the nation in election reform. A recent poll revealed that most Minnesotans want more parties. There's just one thing we need—instant runoff voting (IRV). IRV allows voters to rank the candidates in order of preference. If your first choice does not win, your vote rolls to your second pick. This allows third and fourth parties to gain more support. Penny and Pentel support IRV. And there's another candidate who can help us get it—Andrew Koebrick, the Green party candidate for Secretary of State.

Unlike a lot of Green party candidates, Koebrick is actually qualified for the job he's running for. And thanks to Star Tribune and Duluth News Tribune endorsements, he actually has a chance to win. The Star Tribune wrote: "An energetic, 34-year-old Webmaster for the state planning agency, Koebrick knows how to run a government office efficiently and employ technology to good effect. He best projects the partisan neutrality that fair election administration requires. Koebrick is brimming with well-informed ideas for improving election efficiency and accuracy."

If he does win, he'll fight for IRV. He wants to make election day a holiday, which would enable more working people to vote. He is also qualified to take on the other major responsibility of the Secretary of State—dealing with small businesses. You can find out more on his appropriately named Web site, www.countallvotes.com.

On a related note, you can make a $50 donation to a political candidate and have every penny refunded by the state of Minnesota. It's called the Political Contribution Refund Program and if you do a Web search for it you'll find more details. Koebrick's campaign will even take care of the paperwork for you (see www.countallvotes.com/donate.htm). So now all you poor college students have no excuse not to put your money wherever your mouth happens to be.