We have nowhere else to flee to. We must stand for freedom here in the United States.  We must stand for freedom here in Montana.

I have gotten the honor of running into several immigrants into the United States who fled socialist or communist countries. They now live in Montana and listen to our statewide radio show. That's what they all have been telling me. There is nowhere else to flee to.

One of those is Anna Shchemelinin. She and her husband, also an immigrant, live in Bozeman. She wanted to share her thoughts with folks across Montana. Her full message is shared below with her permission.

Open Letter from Communism Survivor Anna Shchemelinin

I'm an immigrant from the USSR. Both my husband are from families with several "enemies of the people." From our families' experiences, we are familiar with the consequences of speeches that criminalize people's thoughts without specifying what exactly thoughts are criminal.

By labelling "MAGA Republicans" as "semi-fascists", "threat to American democracy," and "Threat to our Republic" Biden did what Stalin did to start massive political repressions against "enemies of the people," and Mao Zedong did to start "Cultural Revolution." It's especially worrying that these speeches were accompanied by promises to disarm the American people.

Below is the message that, in my opinion, is important for all Montanans.

Thank you,
Anna Shchemelinin

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The USA is a constitutional republic. Our country is not a democracy, not just a republic, it is a Constitutional republic in which the Constitution is the Supreme law.

The US Constitution limits the federal government's powers and specifies certain fundamental rights that no government can violate. These rights include the right to freedom of speech, the right to keep and bear arms, the right to be secure in our house, and the right not to be "deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law." Presumption of innocence, "the right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty is a fundamental element of due process."

In America, unlike in Stalinist Soviet Union and Maoist China, no law requires people to prove their loyalty or disloyalty to any president, either acting or former, to any party or a government agency. In America, by the law, people do nothing to prove their innocence. It's the prosecution's job to prove that:

the crime happened in reality, not in someone's imagination;

the accused person is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

It doesn't require to be a lawyer to understand such fundamental principles of our constitutional republic, but as a lawyer, Monica Tranel must know this better than others. She should be among the first to condemn Biden for labeling half of the country, including 54% of Montanans, as "semi-fascists," "threat to American democracy," and "threat to our Republic." She keeps silent on this matter and, instead, dedicates her entire campaign to baseless accusations against Ryan Zinke and his wife.

As a potential Montana representative in the US Congress, Monica Tranel is expected to honor the Oath of Office and protect the US Constitution. She is expected to represent ALL Montanans, not only those who prove their loyalty to the Democratic party and its leadership. Her refusal to condemn Biden's rhetoric and campaign messages prove she is not qualified for the job she wants. Ryan Zinke has no reason to waste his time joining 'debates' where he would be required to prove his innocence of crimes that never happened. It's Monica's responsibility to correct her attitude and demonstrate to Montana voters that she has solutions to change America for the better for ALL Americans.

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