By Brian Raabe, Old Greenwich
On Monday, First Selectman Camillo will announce another run.
The power of that office is less important than the budgetary blood letting Harry Fisher engages in as Chair of the Board of Estimate and Taxation (BET).
Mr. Fisher’s flex flows from the simple majority of votes cast for Republicans in the last election. He is the deciding vote in all ties as a result.
And he has swung his gavel in an ill-informed and capricious manner.
It may be convenient to separate national policy from the local, but Mr. Fisher carries the DNA of his party. As does every Republican running for office in the Town of Greenwich.
This is the party that welcomed in 20 year olds with the social media handle of “Big Balls” to lay waste to American aid programs that did more than save lives. Programs that provided Americans the halo of being considered “good guys.”
Righteous.
Winners of World Wars.
Republicans may scoff at spending money that way or its value. A century of Americans being admired and respected abroad says otherwise.
Regardless, Republicans just blew a $3 trillion-dollar black hole in the budget from which neither light nor America’s future can escape.
Republicans have no standing in debating financial sacrifice, frugality, and sound budgeting.
And what are their principal demands, thrift, yet massive additions to the debt?
They want both – slashed Federal programs for the nation, slashed taxes for them.
Elon Musk asked, “What the hell was DOGE all about?” in reference to the “Big Beautiful Bill” coming due for all of us.
He got the memo late. DOGE was all theatre.
Theatre like local Republican Harry Fisher’s arbitrary slash of the education budget. The cut and its Republican architects have accomplished nothing. Other than an early start time for high schoolers (insert sarcastic double thumbs up emoji here).
Moving back to the national stage, beyond debt and foreign aid, look at the heart wrenching damage wrought in Texas.
How many times has David Richardson, the Republican Head of FEMA spoken since the devastation there? Zero. Zero times. ZERO.
That’s not even leading from behind. It’s dereliction. It’s desertion.
We are a coastal town. We’ve experienced Charlie (lucky miss) to Sandy (very unlucky direct hit).
When the storm that devastates the town hits, the Federal response will be what?
Diminished? Non-existent? Who knows.
Ask Big Balls.
One cannot be a Republican at the local level and disavow the national policies of the party.
They are one reckless cut and vendetta after another.
Our local vendetta is defined by the third-party counsel legal bill for the town vs town lawsuit against the BOE and initiated by the First Selectman’s office.
Last count $200,000 in legal bills. What is it now? Double? Triple?
Crazy.
Which brings one back to the Greenwich election in the fall. The press release says that the First Selectman will announce his run in front of the BOE building.
The same department Prince Harry (Fisher) took a budget machete to?
Read the room.
But it’s no different than what is being done to education at the national level. A purge of the intellectuals? You as a voter should ask yourself that question.
If you want to stop what is happening nationally, you must act at the local level.
There is no line of demarcation.
And unless there are a ton of folks in Greenwich that are Republicans but not registered that way, Republicans are only 30% of the Town.
Democrats 30%, Independents 40%.
There is no reason, if you see the lack of logic in Republican policy that guts national programs yet ADDS – A-D-D-S! $3 trillion to the deficit – there is no reason that you should accept the Republican governance of Greenwich that cuts education and sues itself.
Self flagellation is not leadership.
And Republican rule is not a certain outcome in a town that is 70% Democrats and Independents.
On Monday I’d suggest somewhere other than the BOE’s doorstep for a re-election announcement, but maybe I’m wrong.
Maybe local Republican leadership plans to stop the charade and announce even more budget cuts for Greenwich education if elected. That’s the national anti-education platform.
Stop it from becoming the local one.
Smart residents deserve fully funded education. Smart residents of a coastal town deserve to know that risk is being mitigated. Smart residents of Greenwich deserve smart policy. Not the curved sword of vendetta.
But the local Republican team is the national Republican team.
Full stop.
Brian Raabe