I well remember the election of 1932 when Franklin D. Roosevelt was elected president of the United States and then took office on March 4, 1933. My dad was a staunch Democrat who believed that the New Deal prescribed by the Democratic Party would solve our social and economic problems. Progress was slow and it took until the beginning of World War II, nearly seven years later, to finally get our production machine rolling and for full employment to return. World War II broke the back of the Great Depression, not the economic policies put in place by the Roosevelt administration.

While in the Army Air Corps during World War II, I voted for Roosevelt in November 1944 out of loyalty to our commander-In-chief. Since then I have always voted for the Republican ticket in an effort to slow down our trend toward pure socialism. If the present trend continues, as it has during the last 20 years, we will lose our freedoms of choice resulting in a reduced standard of living for every American citizen. Let’s look at the big picture when we go to the polls next Tuesday and elect a slate who still believes in the free enterprise system and NOT a socialist state.

I recommend a vote for Randy Demmer for U.S. Congress, Tom Emmer for governor, Kathy Green for state Senate District 27, and Rich Murray for House District 27A. That’s the way I’m voting, in an effort to save our nation from socialism.

Charles Foster

Albert Lea