Tyson Reeder’s recent posting in the Sunday, January 19, 2020 edition of The Day entitled, “What Would The Founder’s Think?," (Jan. 20). was an insult to the critical thinking of anyone who has ever taken a high school civics class.

As an academician, he should know better.

In the second paragraph, Reeder notes the following: “Although the specifics differ, Trump's dealing with Ukraine in 2019 closely parallel Madison’s engagement of 1812.”

The “difference in the specifics” is what totally undermines both Reeder’s premise and his conclusions, precisely because it is a false comparison.

What Reeder completely fails to do is show where President James Madison’s actions in the lead up to the War of 1812 were narrowly and specifically intended to benefit him personally, as in, strong-arming a foreign power to enhance his (Madison’s) own re-election.

On balance, Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is correct, and Reeder is wrong: President Trump’s actions in Ukraine were the worst nightmare of the Founding Fathers.

S. Richard Guggenheim

Norwich