Connecticut Republican Party Chairman Ben Proto said in a statement Monday that state Rep. Anne Dauphinais’ comments comparing Gov. Ned Lamont to Adolf Hitler were unacceptable. Proto said he believes that comparing present-day politicians to Hitler or Nazism is never OK. “Invoking that time in history is heartless, inhumane and cheapens one of the most horrific acts committed by mankind,” he said.
Dauphinais, a Republican from Danielson, doubled down on Friday after she compared the governor to Hitler. She left the initial comment under an article from CT News Junkie about the governor’s vaccine mandate for state employees, according to the outlet.
The Anti-Defamation League and StopAntisemitism.org called on the lawmaker to apologize on Twitter. She rebutted in a Facebook post, claiming her initial comments weren’t antisemitic, and continued to speak out against Lamont’s use of his executive powers.
Connecticut Democrats called on state Republican leadership to condemn the post, saying on Twitter that the party’s “implicit embrace of anti-Semitism is morally corrupt.”
Proto does not stand by Dauphinais in his comment, but he agreed with her on continuing the conversation about the governor’s executive powers. “While the comparisons made by Representative Dauphinais are wrong,” Proto said, “there is a real need for Connecticut to return to our Representative Democracy.” Proto said he’d like to see legislators discuss and vote on the mandates instead of decisions made just by Lamont and his administration.
