Legislative leaders from both parties issued a rare joint statement Tuesday condemning references to the Holocaust, Nazism, and Adolf Hitler to characterize political opponents and policies, in an apparent rebuke of recent comments by Rep. Anne Dauphinais.
Dauphinais, a Danielson Republican, was not mentioned by name in the press release which was distributed Tuesday afternoon by the Jewish Federation Association of Connecticut. The statement was attributed to House Speaker Matt Ritter, House Minority Leader Vincent Candelora, Senate President Martin Looney and Senate Minority Leader Kevin Kelly and reads in its entirety:
Leaders of all four caucuses of the Connecticut General Assembly condemn the recent rise and use of Holocaust imagery and analogies, along with references to Adolf Hitler and the Nazi regime in community and political discussions, including current mask/vaccine mandates. Such linkage trivializes the extent of crimes against humanity, diminishes the suffering of survivors, and offends those who understand the profound evil Hitler and the Nazis represented. There is simply no comparison between contemporary political issues and the actions of Hitler and his accomplices who were responsible for the murders of over 6 million Jews and millions of other victims. Our caucuses stand strong against these references becoming normalized in our politics and our communities.
The rare unified statement from Republicans and Democrats came following several days of public commentary by Dauphinais beginning with a Thursday evening post on CTNewsJunkie’s Facebook page condemning Gov. Ned Lamont’s COVID vaccination requirements for state employees and likening the first-term Democrat to Hitler.
“King Lamont aka Hitler dictating what we must inject into our bodies to feed our family!” Dauphinais wrote.
That comment prompted objections from Democrats and the Connecticut chapter of the Anti-Defamation League, which called on Dauphinais to apologize. The representative did not apologize and instead opted to explain in a lengthy Facebook post why she believed it was appropriate to compare Lamont to the murderous dictator.
“Nonetheless, I do want to take this opportunity to not apologize but clarify to Governor Lamont, for I was not clear that I meant that he was acting like Hitler in the early 1930’s – to date, he has not called for putting the unvaccinated in camps,” Dauphinais wrote Friday.
On Monday, Dauphinais further rationalized her position during an appearance on a WTIC 1080 talk radio show, where she explained that she was giving voice to members of the public who she said had also referred to the governor as Hitler in conversations with her.
In the Tuesday press release, Michael Bloom, executive director of the Jewish Federation Association of Connecticut, thanked the elected officials for not allowing the use of Holocaust imagery and comparisons to be normalized.