Dear Editor:
In his latest column, “The 2020 Election and Its Aftermath,” published in the January 22 issue of The Ukrainian Weekly, Andrew Fedynsky draws a comparison between Donald Trump’s alleged attempt to overturn the U.S. election results on January 6 and Lenin’s dissolution of the Russian Constituent Assembly in January 1918. In the voting of November-December 1917 the Bolsheviks had received less than 25 percent of the votes. In the voting of November 2020, the Republicans received nearly 47 percent of the votes.
Mr. Fedynsky’s comparison is insightful, though the two politicians’ rationales for their actions were different. Nevertheless, the fact that over 74 million Americans voted for Mr. Trump and his party’s vapid one-page platform cannot be attributed solely to the supposed stupidity of the American voter or to the power of disinformation disseminated through the independent media. This was in great part a protest vote. Instead of congratulating themselves on their stunning 51 percent triumph, Democrats would be well advised to examine their political consciences and consider what they have done, or failed to do, to contribute to our country’s deplorable condition and alienate so many of its people.
Rockville, Md.