05/29/2026
Letter to the Editor from Peter Offen, TCDP Chair:
They Are Telling You Who They Are
I have largely avoided addressing the TC GOP's rhetoric, preferring to focus on the good in our community. However, I was also taught that when someone tells you who they are, you listen.
Their recent publications have made it clear. Chair Johnson wrote that the real divide is between those who "love America and want to preserve it as founded" and those who want to "remake America to fit their misguided socialist utopia."
Preserve America as founded. Let's remember what that means: slavery was legal, women could not vote, only wealthy men had the franchise, and there was no Bill of Rights. Our founders were great men, and deeply flawed ones, who knew it. That is why the very first thing they did was amend the Constitution.
Americans have been correcting those flaws ever since. Yet today we see elected Republicans working to reverse that progress: stripping millions of women of rights, dismantling civil rights protections, shamelessly promoting "Trump 2028," handing billionaires tax cuts while raising yours, and chipping away at your right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
This country has always been an experiment; imperfect, evolving, requiring constant work. That is not a weakness. It is the whole point.
So what do I, as a Democrat, want for you? I want your hard work to be enough for your family to thrive. I want you to afford a home in your community, put good food on the table, and send your children to schools that are the best in the state. I want a government that invests in this community rather than raising your taxes while delivering less. I want the American dream to be available to everyone again.
If you believe in that, Democrat, Republican, or Independent, I invite you to join me. Let's build a better community together.
Together, we are stronger.
