Kudos to Fazio for standing up to far-right rhetoric

Dear editor,

With so much partisanship and incivility in our country, I wanted to thank our new state senator, Ryan Fazio, for standing up against uncivil rhetoric within his own party. Recently, a state representative in his own party repeatedly compared Gov. Ned Lamont to Hitler over his expanded executive powers (which both Republicans and Democrats voted against), Senator Fazio released an unprompted statement criticizing the crazy accusation:

If you’re considering comparing your political opponents to Nazis — no matter which side you’re on — don’t. Our state and nation is only further divided by histrionic rhetoric.

For that nonpartisan act of good faith, he received a lot of angry blowback from a rightwing TV host and a radio host and their followers, but stood by his statement. Other Republican leaders followed in criticizing the ridiculous comparison.

I hope Democrats in Connecticut would similarly admonish extreme rhetoric, such Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff accusing a Darien Board of Education member (a volunteer citizen, not a paid politician) of being a white Supremacist with no evidence whatsoever. To date, no elected official from Duff’s party has criticized his shameful accusation.

Fortunately, Mr. Fazio has shown the mettle to stand up to bad remarks within his own party. He follows in the footsteps of many good, bipartisan Republicans from lower Fairfield County such as First Selectman Fred Camillo in Greenwich. It’s a positive sign of things to come for the senator — and hopefully our state.

Sara Savov

Greenwich