Editor’s note: Carl Higbie of Greenwich has indicated he might run for the Republican nomination for the Fourth District U.S. House of Representatives seat currently held by Greenwich Democrat Jim Himes.
Along with this letter to the editor, Darienite.com has included here some links to recent coverage of Higbie in GreenwichFreePress.com. We don’t normally do this for a letter to the editor, but we think background information is in order for someone who may be on the Darien ballot next year.
To the editor,
My name is Benji Irby, your neighbor from down in the Bronx. I have a friend in Connecticut – a true son of Connecticut that I want to tell you about. He’s a father, a son and a former Navy SEAL. He’s a compassionate conservative who wants to put Southwestern Connecticut back on the right track.
This is why I am joyfully encouraging my friend Carl Higbie to run for Connecticut’s 4th District congressional seat. I know what you’re thinking; isn’t that the guy who said all that stuff on the radio a few years back — who resigned from a senior position in the Trump Administration? Yes it is. So you ask, how could I as a gay black man support him?
Two-cent U.S. postage stamp. You, too can get your two cent’s worth in with a letter to the editor published by Darienite.com. Email it to dave@darienite.com
I heard the radio shows and all the comments, but contrary to what you have heard him say then, I know him personally and those words do not represent his beliefs today. I can say that from him getting to know me and others like me that his views have evolved immensely since then. Prejudicial views aren’t usually borne by wanton hatred, but rather ignorance and a lack of understanding of others. We tend to harshly judge that which we don’t understand. Since then Carl has put time and effort into understanding. He does not take pride in these past statements but rather views them with shame and regret and as a learning experience — a truly teachable moment.
At that time, Carl was a radio personality — a shock jock, if you will. As such, he said some things that were shocking, offensive, even stupid, often just to get attention. But in America, we still have free speech rights to say whatever we want, even when it’s offensive or stupid. These rights are what Carl and many of our fellow Americans have fought for in our armed forces. And while I obviously do not agree with those past comments – they do not offend me, as they don’t reflect the Carl I know today. The Carl I know is the man who bravely put his life on the line time and time again for the freedoms of our nation. It is his innate sense of valor and loyalty to one’s country and countrymen of all races, colors, creeds, religions and sexual orientations that is sorely needed in Washington.
Carl is a homeowner and lifelong Southwestern Connecticut resident, not a career politician. He understands the issues that the citizens of District 4 face each day. He feels the pain of those worried about how Governor Ned Lamont’s new tolls and frivolous new taxes are going to affect the bottom line of working families. The frustration of the person who did their taxes this year only to find that the tax cuts that helped so many in other states didn’t help them in Connecticut because Jim Himes was more committed to Nancy Pelosi than to his own district. He didn’t even try to amend the law in the US House of Representatives to make a larger amount of Connecticut’s state and local taxes (SALT) be deductible because he didn’t want to give even the slightest impression of working with President Trump.
About 8,000 families are leaving Connecticut each year. Corporate scouts from places like Florida and Texas are actively lobbying Connecticut businesses, using their lower property and payroll taxes to woo them away and no one in Hartford or Washington, DC seems the least bit concerned. Carl is concerned.
Carl wants to rebuild Bridgeport. He wants to work with businesses and corporations, incentivizing them to set up shop in Connecticut’s largest city. He wants to work with Ben Carson and the Department of Housing & Urban Development to more closely monitor the living conditions of federally subsidized housing projects in Bridgeport, Stamford and all over Southwestern Connecticut. He wants to make sure that federal dollars allocated for housing improvements aren’t being wasted.
Carl wants to work across the aisle. Though known as an outspoken supporter of the President, Carl counts Democrats such as Governor Lamont as a lifelong family friend and is willing to work with them in Connecticut and Washington, regardless of differences in ideology and approach, for what’s best for the people of the Fourth District and the state.
I am hereby calling on the people of Fairfield country (and Oxford) to help me draft Carl Higbie to run against Jim Himes in CT-4 in 2020.
Sincerely,
Adam Benji Irby
___________________
See also:
(These links are provided by Darienite.com, not the letter writer.)
Adam Benji Irby
- More on Adam Benjamin Irby on the UrbanSocialites website
- Adam Benji Irby on Twitter
Carl Higbie
- Wikipedia article on Carl Higbie (Beware of Wikipedia characterizations of anyone, but the website tends to link to reliable sources.)
Some GreenwichFreePress.com coverage of Higbie:
- Greenwich’s Carl Higbie Resigns from Trump Administration Over Racist, Sexist Comments
- Greenwich Delegation Condemn Toxic, Divisive Rhetoric
- Greenwich’s Carl Higbie Joins Trump Administration as Chief of External Affairs
- Greenwich Officials Respond to Higbie Resignation from Trump Administration
- MORE ARTICLES HERE