Speaking up for moderates in the state Republican Party

As a lifelong Republican, I am a supporter of the vaccine and mask mandates; an individual’s rights do not supersede the rights of the majority. The mandates were placed in order to stop the spread of a pandemic that is hospitalizing and killing thousands of our citizens and has proven effective in reducing the impact here in Connecticut while the states that have not issued the mandates continue to suffer higher rates of infections and deaths.

Also friends of mine who are also Republicans have stated the same opinions, so I don’t understand the Republican Party’s leaders taking a stand against the mandates. Is the party leadership taking this fight up to placate the far right? If so I would suggest you think this through — while the moderates in the party are not as vocal as the right wing, it is the moderates that are the largest segment of the party and without us you can’t win.

I also am disgusted by the Republican state representative comparing Gov. Lamont to Hitler. Millions of people died because of the actions of Hitler, countries and cities were destroyed, families eliminated and the world was set back for decades. Perhaps she should take a history course or talk to some of the survivors of the death camps.

Finally, I am disappointed in the leadership of the party for not making a stronger statement regarding the representative’s comments. After the Jan. 6 insurrection of the idiots, we had over 6,000 registered Republicans leave the party. We can’t win in Connecticut by attacking the COVID mandates of Gov. Lamont. The meat and potatoes of the Republican Party has always been law and order, lower taxes and efficiency in government — those issues can win independent voters and moderate Democrats, and those issues can win seats in the next election, but personal attacks and stupid comparisons only turn off most voters. Let’s demonstrate class and intelligence in our debates and leave the name calling to the middle schoolers.

Tyler Sizemore / Hearst Connecticut Media A sign promotes the COVID-19 vaccine at CVS in Greenwich.