Submitted by Mark Fichtel
I take strong issue with the letter from a supposed “coalition” (GROUP LETTER: Planned Takeover of The RTM Is a Clear and Present Danger to Greenwich Government Oct 1, 2023) vilifying those trying to maintain the successful, well-run government that has made Greenwich such a wonderful place to live.
I have been registered as an Independent for nearly 40 years. I am socially moderate and fiscally conservative. I am running for the RTM in District 4.
The “coalition” letter, despite decrying the incivility of Republicans, was a case study in the smear tactics in which the left engages to silence those with opposing ideas, being full of words describing those with different ideas as “extremist,” “divisive,” and “far-right.” The authors of that letter further characterize those who differ with them as having a “lack of decorum” and being a “clear and present danger” to our community. Their language convicts them.
Even worse, they accuse those who do not agree with their agenda of uncontrolled spending of being part of a “coup,” and in another false innuendo, linking them to January 6’s riot, which they choose, in an effort to be inflammatory, to term an “insurrection.”
The “coalition,” in a real example of psychological projection, conveniently forgets to mention that Indivisible Greenwich, an arm of a national organization, in trying to control the RTM over the past five years, has employed the same tactics of which the Republicans are being accused.
Finally, the “coalition” letter includes an incredibly defamatory and false accusation that the Republicans would provide less funding for public schools and critical town services. There is no basis for such a lie, except that a thoughtful majority on the RTM would not say “yes” to every poorly-thought-out or documented spending proposal.
Mark D. Fichtel
Greenwich
NOTE: Deadline to submit letters to the editor regarding the Nov 7 election is October 30, 2023 at 12:00 noon. Not every letter will be published. Include your phone number and address (not for publication).