To the Editor:

Joe Biden won, period. Biden won by the same “landslide” of 306 electoral votes as Trump declared in 2016. The difference is that the margins of victory by state tend to be larger than Trump’s but, unlike Trump, Biden also won the overall popular vote.

There was no widespread voter fraud other than the Republican attempts at voter suppression by limiting voting places and other tactics to suppress votes. The so-called “Stop the Steal” is just another one of Roger Stone’s dirty tricks warmed over for another pass at sowing discord.

What is most distressing are the elected Republicans who are placating Trump’s ego by denying Biden’s clear victory. Trump’s mental illness makes him unable to face reality, but senators and representatives don’t have that excuse. Their failure to accept reality and deal with the COVID-19 pandemic is costing thousands of lives.

The Trump administration long ago gave up trying to do anything constructive about the pandemic. That “do nothing” strategy and adherence to the fantasy that it will “just go away” are now costing thousands of Americans to die each day. The Republicans in Congress also are doing absolutely nothing. The only thing Mitch McConnell cares about is getting another ideologue appointed to a lifetime judicial appointment. They don’t seem to understand that we need to address the pandemic to get economic recovery. The apparent ignorance is staggering.

With newly elected Republicans it does not look like things will get better from their end. Our local congressman seems to think he is going to Washington to fight the “libs” instead of working for the overall interests of the district, such as broadband and economic development. The new Republican senator in Alabama could not correctly identify the three branches of the federal government and claimed we fought World War II to defeat socialists instead of the white-supremacist Nazis. When someone brings up socialists or socialism, it typically means the person doesn’t know what he or she is talking about.

Norm Hoffman

Waynesville