Submitted by John Cooper, Greenwich
To the Editor:
On January 23, 2016, Donald J. Trump, then a candidate for President, uttered these now infamous words. “I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody, and I wouldn’t lose any voters.”
In November that same year, Greenwich residents spoke out loudly, voting for Hillary Clinton by a 5000-vote margin. Beyond rejecting Trump, it was a local trouncing as registered Republicans then outnumbered Democrats. During the entirety of his tumultuous presidency, local Republicans leaders were asked to push back on his rude behavior and un-Presidential conduct… crickets.
Fast forward to November of 2020 and Greenwich goes for President Biden by almost 9,000 votes. The former President refuses to concede and claims the election stolen. Local Republican leaders… crickets once more.
Through choosing party over Greenwich, they subtly encouraged the fringe portion of the local party to go full MAGA, which has resulted in most of the “moderate” Republicans being booted from the RTC. This was all self-inflicted.
When constituents see someone in public office behaving as the former President did, and you don’t call it out, you are condoning it… party over Greenwich.
This Friday, the 29th, I will celebrate the 54th anniversary of my arrival in this town that I so love. I have been educated here, married, and raised a family, worked, played, and volunteered here, and never in all that time did I anticipate a complete loss of the middle ground. I worked with moderate Republicans on SNAC, and several non-profit boards and together we accomplished wonderful things.
Sadly, the local Republican moderate has been silenced, or has chosen to go silent. Evidenced through a very public Tweet by @GreenwichRTC, I am now considered one of those dangerous @CTDems who “want you disarmed and to be a victim.”
An RTC operating within behavioral norms would ask the member who published that Tweet to step down, or at least give up that considerable position. Don’t wait.
In Greenwich, Republicans have been the party in power forever. I wonder if they realize they are about to be taken down from within.
John Cooper
Greenwich, CT
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