A brief rebuttal for Ned Luce in his “homespun” column on the Republican response to the riot; he decided to re-quote the following; “However, a legitimate question does arise as to how the Democrats might have behaved had Trump actually won the election.” 

Let’s look at precedent to see how differently we responded to our losses. 

Hillary Clinton won by more than 3 million votes yet we peacefully accepted and conceded the electoral vote majority. This, after hearing “lock her up” at every Trump rally, and Republicans telling us to “get over it,” after hearing him crow about grabbing p**** without permission. (My favorite was him paying off a porn star one month prior to the election.) 

We also watched Al Gore vs. Bush, where Gore won the popular vote again, at a margin of 48.4 percent to Bush’s 47.9 percent, and accepted the Supreme Court’s decisions. No riots, no attempted abduction of Michigan’s governor, no killing of police officers. 

We have watched Mitch McConnell sit on over 400 bills yet he has the gall to say there’s stonewalling on both sides. 

Our party has never embraced white supremacists, the Proud Boys, the leader of the KKK, or dictators like Kim Jong Un. 

There are no equivalencies here. And saying cheerleaders are stupid is laughable considering the dudes wearing Auschwitz sweatshirts and fake war paint are his party’s representatives of “Tea in the Boston Harbor.” 

Shameful and horrifying comparisons. If this is his apology, I equate it quenching a fire with gasoline. 

Take some responsibility for who your party has embraced.

Lynne Stryker
PORT TOWNSEND