Disarray: confusion, chaos, disorder. With all due respect to Doris Hohensee in her May 14, 2021, Grok article “The Nashua Republican Party is in disarray” she is entitled to her opinion, but her facts need a little work.
The Nashua Republican City Committee (NRCC) monthly meeting on May 12, 2021 was neither chaotic nor disorderly. Far from it. A former member forced his way into a private business meeting and when he was asked politely to leave several times, he adamantly refused to do so resulting in his unfortunate removal by an outside authority.
Here is where the real facts must be told. This former member has not been active in the organization for at least five years. Prior to that, his attendance was irregular and when he did show up he verbally disrupted meetings. He was formally censured by past committee officers for his very public rantings, distorting and propagandizing the purpose and objective of the NRCC.
Doris claims his offense is that he is outspoken, persistent, and has expressed disapproval of committee leadership. Yes, he is, and he has done all of these things. However, she does not know the facts that led up to the unfortunate incident of May 12.
The former member went beyond the name-calling of officers. His words bordered on the realm of hate speech against the committee as a whole. He has publicly questioned the integrity of the NRCC based on his opinions alone and with no evidence to support his irrational theories. None of this has been made public to protect his privacy. Nor will it be made public even now.
What people need to understand is that in this current climate of hate speech we cannot let bullies prevail. It is not part of the job description of a party officer to be falsely accused of being racist or neo-Nazi at the whim of an opinionated propagandist, no matter how “colorful” he is. his goes beyond disagreeable speech and the old “sticks and stones” adage. Words and actions by bullies must be held accountable and must have consequences.
We know and fully understand what he has done for the City of Nashua and Nashua taxpayers in the past, and we continue to applaud his service to Nashua. Our support of his service to our great city and its citizens will never waver in that respect.
One has to question why someone who disagrees with an organization in so many ways would even want to attend a meeting? Was he intending to voice his hostile views on an unsuspecting audience or to merely sit silent and listen? Perhaps you might agree that it is harder for someone with a strong personality to sit in silence? The whole incident was done as quietly and discreetly as possible.
Many people in the room did not know what was happening and the vast majority didn’t even know who he was.
There is no split in Nashua nor were we in disarray. The incident was quickly forgotten and we went on to conduct another informative meeting with great speakers to a packed room of members and guests. That is what our members expect. And it is what they receive.
Di Lothrop
Vice Chair
Nashua Republican City Committee
