Local Republican chair Richey responds to criticism of Todd Young letter

Dec. 21—An emotional David Richey, Chair of the Cass County Republican Party and teacher at Lewis Cass High School, said late Tuesday afternoon, Dec. 19, that some Lewis Cass students, including LGBTQ students, had confronted him about the letter the party wrote censuring state senator Todd Young.

The letter was published Dec. 8, 2022, on Twitter by CNN reporter Melanie Zanona and not only rebuked Young but also referred to issues regarding same-sex marriage and religious freedom.

Richey said he told his students, "Do I hate any of you? No. Do I agree with any of you, with these choices? No. Do I love each and every one of you? Absolutely. Would I fight for each and every one you? Absolutely. Even if I don't agree with you."

Richey said he and his wife had made choices his parents did not agree with but they were supported anyway.

"I will do anything to support you," he said he told the students. "Support does not mean agreement. We think that if I don't agree with you that I hate you. No, I can support you and disagree. That is what love does. Love also protects. Love is not going to sit there and tell you what your doing is ... you're doing drugs. Doing drugs is wrong. Well, you love them. You can't ... you're killing yourself. I'm not going to sit here and let you kill yourself.

"The LGBT community, that's not what I am saying. I'm not saying they are killing themselves. But do I agree with it? My conviction, is it a healthy thing? No. You know what, that's your choice. That's one of the great things. God gave us all free will. It's your choice to do it. That doesn't mean I have to agree with it."

Richey said the letter was never meant to be about same sex marriage but about Senator Young voting with the Democrats in favor of the Respect for Marriage Act.

He felt Democrats responding to the letter were defending Todd Young from Republican scorn, but many who had issues with the letter were upset about the comments made in regards to same-sex marriage, such as "This bill enshrines and codifies in federal law an incorrect understanding of marriage, further embedding it in the American legal fabric," and, "You have joined the radical left in pushing this unnecessary bill, which will have a chilling effect on religious freedom and further undermine the traditional family."

It should be noted that the letter was a joint effort by the Cass County Republican Party. Members of the party contributed different aspects of the letter, and Richey said he chose what made the final edit.

Becky Comoglio, vice chair of the Cass County Republican Party and a member of the Lewis Cass school board, said last Wednesday at the Lewis Cass school board meeting that she agreed with everything in the letter. However, she referred most questions to Richey.

Richey said he wished they would have addressed other issues in the letter and maybe waited until the new year, but at the same time he said Young had only been reelected for less than a month and then went against state rights to vote for a federal act.

"This isn't about LGBTQ," he said. "That's inconsequential. He helped the opposing team win."

Richey said they had voted for Young and he betrayed them with his vote. Had he voted along party lines, the letter would never have been sent.

Richey shared vulgar messages he had received because of the letter and also said his phone number was posted on Twitter.

"I'm not a homophobic," he said. "I'm afraid of being eaten alive. That's all I am afraid of. Just because I disagree doesn't mean I'm anti. 'If you aren't for me you are against me.' Not necessarily."

Richey didn't understand the need for the Respect for Marriage Act when Obergefell v. Hodges already gave the LGBTQ community validation by making same-sex marriage law and with interracial marriage being law since 1967.

"I can accept the drug user but I'm not accepting you taking drugs," Richey said. "I can accept the alcoholic but I'm not accepting the alcoholism. I don't agree. That doesn't invalidate them."

Richey was concerned where things could go next.

"One of the other things we said in the letter is we don't trust the progressive left," he said. "Rome was never defeated by an outside source. They got destroyed from within. It doesn't happen overnight. It's a little bit. Part of it was why? If you start looking at the logical progression you start going 'wait a minute.' We already had this. Why did we have to do (The Respect for Marriage Act)? Because at what point do we stop? Where does it end? What is the end point? At what point, 'I identify as a cat so can I marry a cat?' That's the logical progression. There are some sick people out there. But at what point do we say 'I love children. That makes me a pedophile. I want to marry an 11-year-old, a 10-year-old.' We are already accepting ... it's happening now. Pedophilia is happening. It happens all the time. There are people who love it and they are going to push for it. They think it's wonderful."

"How did we get from Klinger to having it in the classroom?" he asked.

Richey was referencing the character from the television show "M.A.S.H.," a soldier who dressed as a woman in an attempt to get out of the army. "M.A.S.H." ran from 1972 until 1983.

"Where did we go from it being entertainment, Klinger as entertainment and drag shows as late night entertainment?" he asked. "Now it has to be in our classroom and in our schools."

"What's next?" he asked. "What's next? What's next? What's next? I don't want to invalidate but at what point do we say enough is enough. 'I identify as a cat and I want to marry my cat.' I identify, I identify. We've set a precedent. We set another precedent. All these precedents get set, at what point do we draw a line and go, as Gandalf said, 'you shall not pass.'"