GOP holding Greenwich hostage
We’ve been hearing this in Greenwich for years: what’s going on in national politics is not reflective of who we are here. Since at least 2016, Greenwichites of a certain political persuasion have been vehemently denying that the disgraceful antics of their national political party and their commitment to unhinged behaviors and alternate realities are something happening “out there,” not in our cozy corner of New England. It’s denied so often, and with such conviction that it clearly qualifies as “projection,” the defense mechanism by which we doggedly believe what we want to believe because to do otherwise would mean questioning one’s entire existence.
So, are Greenwich Republicans simply projecting? Those who claim to be “moderates” certainly are. But a clear majority, including the ones in charge, are just as down in the muck as the rest of their right-wing brethren. We may not elect incompetent yee-haw mouth-breathers like U.S. Representatives Matt Gaetz or Marjorie Taylor Greene, but it’s not like we didn’t try. And whether it’s to your face, behind your back or in emails and social media postings, the Greenwich GOP is now openly in the business of saying anything, slandering anybody, and making stuff up as they go along in order to advance an agenda.
Case in point, the Jan. 17 Representative Town Meeting vote to accept a financial grant to be used to increase election participation and security. Town Republicans hated this grant, most likely because they hate increased participation in elections, so they lobbied hard to paint it not just as a bad idea, but as a takeover of our elections by Marxist/Facebook goons who’ll groom your children and make you use a litter box instead of a toilet.
Ultimately, the vote to accept the grant narrowly passed, but that didn’t matter as the outrage machine went into overdrive proclaiming FRAUD! CORRUPTION! in what’s now the new normal when a Republican loses. Yell loudly, muddy the waters and claim you were cheated. There is no proof of cheating? Well, that’s the proof right there because obviously the proof has been well hidden.
But now a real line has been crossed, the line between obnoxious behavior and potential criminality. In their push to overturn a legally executed vote that they just didn’t like, four RTM members swore out notarized affidavits concerning their actions leading up to, during and after the vote. In his affidavit, RTM member Peter Quigley swore that he spoke against the grant to that body in his capacity as chairman of the Budget Overview Committee. Quigley goes on to outline other grievances he had with the methodology, but those can all be dismissed because he made no presentation to the RTM, he’s not on the BOC committee and he’s certainly not its chairman.
He lied. In sworn testimony in an effort to overturn a legally recognized vote, he lied. Mr. Quigley has not responded to a request for comment, but others familiar with the situation have attempted to pooh-pooh his actions, saying he just signed a paper put in front of him, trying to help his team. Except that’s actually lying under oath, and is typically called perjury.
The four affidavits are identical, but two have an added point about the signatory being chairman of the BOC. These poorly crafted documents were obviously created by the same person and given to willing participants to sign. Who wrote these affidavits? Could this have been done by local Republican operatives? One of them, Michael Spilo, enthusiastically touted the existence of these affidavits in print as “proof ” of some fraud.
While Quigley obviously did not write his affidavit, he did fill it out, sign it, and take it to be notarized. Either he knowingly signed and swore to a false document, or swore to the truth of a document he didn’t read. Either way, submitting this document as evidence in a legal action is, potentially, a felony.
This is not a game. Greenwich deserves better than to be held hostage by say anything, slander anyone sore losers who can’t even get their disinformation straight. And to cave to their demands for a re-do vote is a terrible, dangerous idea.