Buchanan on Collaborators

So Pat Buchanan wants to start a new McCarthy-style witch hunt (“Calling the Collaborators to Account,” Opinion, March 4). He seems to think that the collapse of Stalinism is directly attributable to Ronald Reagan’s $2-trillion arms buildup in the ‘80s, and those who disagrees with him should be “called to account” because they have obviously been the “toadies, bootlickers, and apologists” of communism.

Toadies and bootlickers, Mr. Buchanan? Really, you sound like a well-trained party cadre yourself. If you enjoy calling for the punishment of those who have disagreed with you, wouldn’t you be more comfortable among those who think and react as you do--the Communist Chinese Politburo, for instance? They are very good at calling collaborators to account. Perhaps they’d let you help, as you seem so eager to do.

Sadly for you, Mr. Buchanan, your kind of venomous attacks on those you disagree with fit most squarely with the party purges of the totalitarian states you profess to hate so much. If you really believe in freedom of expression, think about these words from Patrick Henry: “I may not agree with what a man says, but I’ll defend to the death his right to say it.” That’s the kind of thinking America was built on, Mr. Buchanan; your kind of thinking is closer to what the Soviet Union was built on.

ROBERT LINDSAY

Woodland Hills