Submitted by Marianne Schorer, Greenwich
Consider this hypocrisy. When Greenwich First Selectman, Fred Camillo attended a fundraiser for extremist Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and comments how “He’s done a very good job in Florida. He’s certainly got a backbone which I think a lot of Americans admire. And certainly, right now, the country is going in a horrible direction. Things that are going on in D.C., it’s become embarrassing. So I think the country is ready for a change.”
Hypocrisy for sure. To admire DeSantis’ platform promoting racism, turning discriminatory practices into law, anti-choice over a woman’s reproductive rights, banning books—all anchored in divisiveness, is this what the citizens of Greenwich support?
Let’s explore what happened in D.C. Perhaps one of the embarrassing moments was when 118 House members and 10 U.S. Senators voted on the night of January 6, 2021 to overturn the election were sworn in as part of our 118th U.S. Congress. It is hard to imagine the sacred temples of our Democracy houses 128 traitors who tried to overthrow our government. So herein lies our biggest terrorist threat—the fact that one of our two major parties is led by hundreds of elected officials who still want to overthrow the government by overturning the 2020 election.
Our country spiraled into a horrible autocratic direction thirsting for the power to suppress, disempower, and destroy our democratic rights, freedoms, and liberties that have filtered down through states and local governments. Greenwich is one of the many cities and towns fractured by this growing influence of uber “right wing” Greenwich Patriots extremists. They are advocating book-banning, rewriting history, and are staunchly anti-democratic groups.
It’s hard to conceive, and yet a reality, that we were and still can be a town that respects and co-exists with diversity, supports knowledge and choices to empower our population with institutions of continuous learning, shared values, collaboration, and bipartisanship that moves us forward whether Democrat or Republican who still value solid policies for education, climate change, infrastructure, safety, health, and well-being.
Democratic candidates have “a cohesive plan” that reflects truth, shared values, integrity, and transparency. They have created a foundation that brings people together to collaborate and find equitable solutions that will repair the faults in our school infrastructure while providing the safety and support necessary with intellectual learnings and stimulation for our children. All the while keeping our taxes low and maintaining control of local zoning.
Local elections will be held on Tuesday, November 7th. We have a chance to stop this disturbing assault on our rights, our schools, and our town culture. If you want to get to know just how qualified and ready the Democratic candidates are, tune into the League of Women Voters’ scheduled debates on October 11th for Selectman and First Selectman; October 12th for BOE; October 18th for BET.
When candidates support the likenesses of Ron DeSantis, remember November 7th is our best defense! Get out, use the power of your vote to save our Democracy and restore the sanity and goodness to the town of Greenwich.
Marianne Schorer