Sounds Like the FCCOL Sermon Hit the Nail on the Head

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To the Editor:

I received the Old Lyme Republican Town Committee’s letter sent in mid-march and was immediately alarmed by rhetoric outlining their platform for the upcoming municipal election.

I saw Mr. Nixon’s letter “Sermonizing a ‘Complete Misrepresentation of the Facts’ in Old Lyme,” (letter, March 31), in response to a sermon delivered at the First Congregational Church of Old Lyme. First, Mr. Nixon’s letter sounded like the sermon hit the nail on the head and he’s just sorry that anyone outside his base properly interpreted what “parental rights” mean, like a teenager who has been caught doing something they know was wrong and is trying to talk their way out of it. 

It appears the letter the RTC sent to the whole town was sent with the hope that everyone but their base would either throw it right in the recycling or were too dumb to know that “standing up for parental rights in the town’s school system regarding the school’s curricula and student policies” is identical to the rhetoric used by Ron DeSantis and many others to justify the banning of hundreds of books, “don’t say gay” laws, and to prohibit the use of gender affirming pronouns in schools.

It sounds like Mr. Nixon understands these are unpopular policies among all but the far right, and when he and the RTC decided to include that rhetoric as part of their platform and criteria for selecting candidates to run in this year’s municipal election, and as part of our State Representative Devin Carney’s platform, they should all expect significant blowback from the community. It is hard to believe that none of the 33 members of the RTC Mr. Nixon mentions are familiar with this rhetoric and the actions that have followed it all over this country.

It seems the Old Lyme RTC has fallen right in line with the most extreme Republicans, and we should be wary of all candidates they present as part of their slate this fall.

Kim Thompson
Old Lyme, CT


Thompson is a member of the Old Lyme Democratic Town Committee