Hero or Traitor: From Benedict Arnold to John Thune and the writing of history

Dear Leader Thune,

From 1776 to today the total number of Americans is estimated to have been around 600 million.  That’s about twice what the population is today.  One wonders how many historical figures most Americans can name.  There are of course the obvious ones like George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Edison, Henry Ford and MLK who are probably at the top of the list for most Americans.  They were all known for having done great things. 

Most of the rest no one remembers.  According to Grok “The average American can likely freely name 10–30 historical figures without much prompting—mostly U.S. presidents, Founding Fathers, major civil rights icons, and a few global names like Einstein, Hitler, or Napoleon—depending on education, age, and interest in history.”  Sure, guys like Victor Davis Hansen and Al Franken could probably rattle off thousands, but for the mere mortals among us, a hundred or two probably tops us out. 

There is one name however that, while it likely doesn’t come up in the first go around for most Americans, is certainly known by a majority:  Benedict Arnold.

Arnold was a brilliant general and a true American hero.  In fact, the United States may never have succeeded in defeating the British had it not been for him.  He was the second in command to the feckless and incompetent General Horatio Gates at Saratoga in September of 1777.  At the time the Americans were on the ropes, they had lost New York, had just taken another beating at Brandywine and were in the process of losing their capital, Philadelphia, for the second time in less than a year. 

What’s more, their pleas for assistance across Europe were falling on deaf ears.  No one wanted to waste resources on some bedraggled rebels who didn’t have enough munitions, supplies or experience to take on the most powerful military in the world.  Giving them money was a great way to go broke while antagonizing an enemy. Things were looking very bleak indeed.

So this was the background in mid-September when General Gates wanted to take a cautious approach at Saratoga, despite having the British General John Burgoyne’s troops outnumbered 9,000 to 7,000. Arnold was vociferous about being more aggressive and eventually Gates relented.  The battle ended as a draw, but the patriots had held their ground and survived. Nonetheless, Gates’ and Arnold’s relationship had deteriorated to the point that Gates dismissed him. 

Three weeks later the second of Saratoga’s battles would take place and Arnold wasn’t about to stand around and do nothing. Without authorization he rode out into the battlefield, led the men on horseback and played a pivotal role in the decisive assault that resulted in the British surrender and the capture of 6,000 of Burgoyne’s men.

The victory at Saratoga, something of a shot heard round the world, was very possibly the single most important engagement in the war. That battle signaled to the rest of the world that the rebels just might be able to beat the British and convinced European powers, particularly the French, to support the Americans with men and money.  And without Arnold, it’s possible that none of that would have come about. We can’t know for sure, but Arnold, was hailed as a hero.

But that’s not how he’s remembered. No, the hero who played what might have been the most critical role in the most important battle of the American revolution is instead remembered as a traitor. 

Unhappy with the way he was treated by Congress and highly in debt, Arnold allowed his loyalist wife to lead him to betray the country by attempting to give the British the fort at West Point, which was strategically located above the Hudson River.

Sure, that was 250 years ago, but the name Benedict Arnold is one of the very few that Americans still remember. And it’s not just because he was a traitor. We’ve had lots of traitors, from the Rosenbergs to Aldrich Ames to half the Obama and Biden administrations, but Arnold’s name endures because of when he played his role, at the moment the country was being born.

Which is where you come in.  The United States is at a precipice. If we learned anything from 2020 it’s that there is a massive cheating machine running through the heart of America.  Across the country Americans watched as that election was literally hijacked. For four years anyone who suggested the country had been the victim of a coup d'état were called conspiracy nuts and insurrectionists.

Today we know it’s true and a vast majority of Americans – tellingly, including Democrats, who will likely lose votes – support Voter ID and the SAVE Act. The reality is, if you do not pass the SAVE Act, America will go the way of Virginia and New York City, where a small concentrated elite will convince a majority of the population they are moderates and then govern like Communists once they get in office. A free United States will not survive another wave of elections where just enough fraudulent votes are manufactured that “moderate” Democrats are installed and who then rule as tyrants.

And once the American Republic has collapsed and the country is thrown into a hot civil war, history will wonder how the greatest nation in the world shattered into a million pieces without anyone stopping what was so obviously a fatal condition.   

History will then look back on 2026 and find its villain, in the person of John Thune, the man who stood in the way when 85% of the American people wanted to fix this fatal flaw.  Think about that. Benedict Arnold’s name lives on as a symbol of treachery when in fact at the time between 1/3 and ½ of the country wanted to remain loyal to Britain. And here you are defying the wishes of 85% of the American people for God knows what reason. You will be to the American Republic what Brutus was to the Roman Republic. For generations your progeny will be labeled as the spawn of a traitor. 

The incredible thing is, you have the opportunity to do something that most Senators, indeed, most men, never get a chance to do: Impact history writ large.  Few men in history have stood where you do, at a crossroads where the choices are so stark and monumental for the future. One road leads to a leftist dystopia in which freedom and prosperity are extinguished under a Democrat tyranny imposed under the guise of diversity, equity and inclusion.  The other leads to the messy chaos of freedom and Capitalism, an imperfect combination that nonetheless powers the long-term march of prosperity.

Most men don’t get the opportunity to write their story on the stage of history. You actually do, in real time. There have been a few dozen men who have occupied the position you hold, and probably less than 1% of Americans can name a single one of them.  You have the opportunity to embrace saving America, becoming the champion of freedom and literally saving the Republic. In a universe where very few legislators can be seen as champions for freedom, you have the opportunity to become one. Sure, getting the SAVE Act through the Senate is probably a lot like herding cats, but that’s the job you signed up for. 

Which legacy will you leave behind, freedom and prosperity or a dystopian tyranny? Because that’s the choice you’re faced with.  Choose carefully, because history’s being written, both yours and ours.

The American people.

Follow me on X at @ImperfectUSA