Putin's Victory in America

 The Donald Trump-instigated right-wing storming today of the U.S. Capitol while Congress was counting the electoral votes for Joe Biden's and Kamala Harris' victory in last November's election is the pinnacle of Vladimir Putin's attack on America.  Since 2016 and perhaps before, Putin has sought to undermine democracy in America, since American democracy, the fount of freedom in the modern world, is a titanic embarrassment to dictators and demagogues such as Putin.  Putin has some strange influence over Trump, and Trump throughout his Presidency has sought to emulate Putin and other autocrats.  Putin's intelligence services have massively hacked the U.S. government and American businesses, with nary a whisper of protest from Trump.  For all we know, Putin has access to the inner workings of all significant parts of the U.S. government, apparently with Trump's acquiescence.  

The American people, however, weren't prepared to knuckle under to demagoguery.  Last November, they stood by their democratic principles and freely elected Joe Biden President and Kamala Harris Vice President, thus delivering to Putin a massive defeat in his war against American democracy.  But Trump and his goon-followers, in the most unAmerican way, have disgracefully refused to participate in a peaceful transfer of authority.   They assaulted one of the most fundamental symbols of our nation, the U.S. Capitol, and besmirched it with their unAmerican, undemocratic, violent malice.  Trump's goons won for Putin.

But their victory was short-lived.  Even as I write, Congress, which had to temporarily stop counting electoral votes because of the mob violence, has resumed its work and will count the votes electing Biden and Harris.  Putin's victory will prove Pyrrhic.  Democracy has survived and won.