Letter: Minnesotan was one of the last real liberals

Thursday, Oct. 31, 2002 | 9:10 a.m.

The death of Sen. Paul Wellstone strikes a blow to liberalism, which has been the lifetime philosophy of this 90-year-old North Dakotan.

I am a product of the Republican-induced Great Depression. The first liberal, FDR, led the country out of that depression by social legislation like Social Security. These were legislative measures which aided the little people. They were acts that formed the heart of the Democratic Party.

My political heroes have been Midwestern liberals -- Harry Truman, Bob LaFollette, Gene McCarthy and Hubert Humphrey. Wellstone probably is the last liberal to follow this philosophy; Ted Kennedy and Tom Harkin are the only ones in the present Senate who come close. I am sorry that under Bill Clinton the new Democrats became me-too-Republicans. The so-called middle way has not helped the little people.

The liberal policy thrived for a long time. It was the nation's policy until along came Nixon, Reagan and the Bushes. And the policy became pro-rich. The little people be damned.

I commend the Wellstone family for not allowing Vice President Cheney at the memorial service. Cheney is a leader of the group opposing Wellstone liberalism.

ORVILLE GOPLEN

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