LETTER: The State of the Greenwich GOP

Submitted by Michael E. Hahn, Former Vice Chairman, CT Republican Party, 4th Congressional District
Riverside

To the editor:

It’s a long overdue time for unity in the Greenwich GOP. After the recent party caucuses in which the Greenwich Patriots came out in mass and by self-declaration “took control” of the Republican Town Committee, they now have their seat at the table. However, I think one would be hard pressed to believe this faction of the GOP represents a majority of Republicans in town. Since the RTC caucuses are exceptionally low turnout events (I have been to past party caucuses (D5)), if you can get 20 supporters there, you could elect any slate you want, the Greenwich Patriots did that and were rewarded.

Prior to January, I was really not focused on who or what the Greenwich Patriots were and I knew very
little about them. On the rare occasion I attended a BOE meeting, I would see a group of them speak up and make claims about the schools that I found foreign to my experience as a father of a Greenwich Public School student.

This article is not an attack on the Greenwich Patriots but a request from an ordinary resident that they honor the mission and goals they have posted on their website and understand, we are a community and not everyone will agree with their position. Community requires give and take, and above all, respect.

From the Greenwich Patriots website I have taken their principle mission and goals and I hope to address what I see as town related, and what really should be directed to the State or Federal Level:

Our History: “We formed from a common need to protect our children from ideological-driven curriculum and to protect our medical freedom. We share a desire to effect positive change for Greenwich.”

Ideological Driven Curriculum: From comments made at BOE meetings I assume this refers to a
“socialist/communist” agenda that was referenced a May BOE meeting and perhaps other meetings as well. As I said, these claims are foreign to the experience I have as a father of a public-school student. I don’t think anyone would object to having a neutral yet intellectually expansive curriculum. However, I believe the onus is on the Greenwich Patriots to really outline the aspects of the curriculum that promotes a “socialist/communist” agenda. If this is just a pretext to “book burning”, let’s remember many great American authors’ books were once banned. Greats such as Faulkner, Huxley, Steinbeck, Harper Lee, Orwell (despite being anti-socialist), Hemingway, Salinger and others were all once banned books. Today some are trying to ban Ayn Rand. I can’t imagine what my life would be if I was denied access to the Fountain Head as a young man. Be careful about the slippery slope of book burning and banning. Students should be reading books that open their minds to critical reason and that means exposure to a wide swath of ideologies. In my childhood that mean a largely Judeo-Christian selection of reading but to be competitive in today’s global society, it’s way beyond that.

I assume medical freedom is the right not to be vaccinated or use masks. Given 77% of eligible Greenwich residents are vaccinated that boat as sailed. Besides this is not a town issue, as per the US Constitution this power resides at the state level so we should focus on what towns do, provide public services as efficiently as possible. We will see how effective they are with This fight is with Hartford.

Masks are a sensitive issue. Does mask wearing impact children’s learning? Heuristically I would think so, however humans are adaptable. I do hope we get past the pandemic and even if it’s endemic, we lose the masks, but once again, to reiterate, masks in the schools are not a local issue. Masks in school is a mandate from Hartford, so yelling at the Greenwich BOE is not going to change anything and distracts from focusing on things we can control and need our attention. Like rebuilding Central Middle School.

Our Mission: “We focus on issues we believe will help unite our community around our shared goals. We provide the momentum and energy to build a stronger community together.”

I would hope this is how you act now that you share power with what I assume you call “mainstream
Republicans and RINOs”. However, comments in the Greenwich Free Press (Greenwich RTC Caucuses Result in Major Power Shift, January 12, 2022) that “Dan Quigley …. compromised our principals by nominating people like Michael-Joseph Mercanti-Anthony, being openly anti-Trump…..” lead one to think this will not be possible.

Fealty, by definition is un-American, it is a sworn loyalty to a man (technically to a Lord) and if we know
anything about our founding fathers, any form of nobility is anathema to the Declaration of Independence and US Constitution, Article 1, Section 9). Why this should be a litmus test for a person serving in a local capacity, especially at the BOE level is unclear to me. Mr. Mercanti-Anthony received more votes than any other candidate for the BOE because the community viewed him as a very qualified person to deliver on our expectations.

A community can only be strong if is united by common goals as your website says. However, a town, according to the CT Constitution and subsequent regulation, as well as our own town charter, is administrative.

A town is basically granted the power to:

1) Provide a safe (physically and ideologically) community for all.
2) Provide efficient public services that the town values and provides for the health and well-being of its residents through limited powers to tax.
3) Provide for excellent schools for the community and make Greenwich a desirable place to live.
4) Elect members of the community to administer the above points.
Nowhere do national politics fit and as a simple resident looking to have a happy, productive, and safe life for myself and my family, I cannot understand why national politics as a litmus test for local political involvement exists. Town government is about effective administration and should not be held hostage to national political ideologies. If we are, we will never achieve your goal to “focus on issues we believe will help unite our community around our shared goals. We provide the momentum and energy to build a stronger community together.”

The official message and the public imagery of the Greenwich Patriots are mutually incompatible.

Sincerely,
Michael E. Hahn
Former Vice Chairman, CT Republican Party, 4th Congressional District
Riverside