Letter to the editor submitted by Sarah Darer Littman in response to Laura Gladstone’s Letter published Apri 26, 2018
I write regarding the recent LTE by Laura Gladstone who represents “Fiscal Freedom for CT.”
In her letter, Ms. Gladstone attacks Livvy Floren for her decision to support the National Popular Vote compact.
She suggests Rep. Floren “may want to actually read the Constitution which is not a living, breathing document, but a document that was put into place by our Founding Fathers to protect us from despots and tyranny.”
It’s interesting how some conservatives are proponents of state’s rights when it suits them, yet resort to inaccurate fear mongering when it doesn’t. It’s worth spending some of your time to watch the explanatory videos at
https://www.nationalpopularvote.com/answering-myths, or alternatively, you can read it here.
Ms. Gladstone goes on to state, in language that is too unsubtle to even be called a dog whistle: “Our Constitution was written for our country to be a REPUBLIC and not a democracy. It ensures that ALL Americans and not just those living in large cities like L.A., Chicago and New York, are represented. Every area in the country is represented. Livvy is again not thinking about the “little guy” in Connecticut, whose voice deserves to be heard.”
There’s so much to unpack in this one paragraph, it’s hard to know where to start.
First of all, there’s the idea that people living in large cities aren’t “the little guy”. Sure, there are very wealthy people living in “L.A., Chicago and New York” but based on the 2016 census data, the poverty levels in those cities range hover in the 19% range, with between 26-28% of children living in poverty.
Given that the rate of poverty in Greenwich was a mere 7.9%, it’s hard not to interpret Ms. Gladstone’s claim that the NPV compact wouldn’t represent the “little guy” as meaning something quite different.
Let’s look at another important fact: minority-owned businesses account for 29% of small businesses, and employ over 7.1 million people. So again, it’s hard to understand how Ms. Gladstone’s claim of no representation for the “little guy” can be interpreted in anything but a code for something more sinister.
One also wonders if Ms. Gladstone has read anything about gerrymandering, which conflicts with the very ideals she claims to uphold. Last year, the Supreme Court upheld the lower court’s decision that districts in North Carolina had been racially gerrymandered to limit the impact of black voters.
Similar cases are outstanding in Virginia, Texas, Michigan, Maryland and Pennsylvania. The Texas case, Abbott vs. Perez, is currently before the Supreme Court.
Finally, the Facebook postings of Ms. Gladstone’s group indicate that she is a fervent Trump supporter. The hypocrisy of claiming to want to preserve the norms of our Republic while supporting someone who is doing everything possible to destroy them is breathtaking.
I applaud Rep Livvy Floren for having the courage of her convictions and not sticking to the GOP party line. If the Congressional Republicans would do the same, we’d be in a better position to preserve our Republic, the one which Ms. Gladstone claims to hold so dear.
See also:
Fiscal Freedom for CT: Vote NO to NPV!
Livvy Floren: Voting Should Be Popular…With Everyone