GOP SHOULD SQUELCH GREITENS
The new campaign ad from Republican Senate candidate Eric Greitens is beyond reprehensible. It’s a test for whether anything is out of bounds in today’s GOP.
Greitens’ spot is a tacit call to violence. In it, the disgraced former Missouri governor cocks a shotgun and says, “We’re going RINO hunting” (RINO, of course, refers to “Republicans in name only”). He then joins a group of men dressed in tactical gear storming a house, weapons ready to fire. Greitens enters the house and tells the viewer to “join the MAGA crew. Get a RINO-hunting permit. There’s no bagging limit, no tagging limit and it doesn’t expire until we save our country.”
This would be a disgusting ad at any moment. Whatever you think of your political opponents, it is never acceptable to implicitly threaten violence against them.
Political tensions are rising on all sides. The Jan. 6 Capitol riot was at best a terrible protest gone wrong. Abortion rights fanatics are firebombing or disfiguring pregnancy clinics run by prolife organizations. A man was recently arrested with a gun near Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s home and said he wanted to kill the justice. Throw in the mass shootings in Buffalo and Uvalde, Texas, and any reasonable person would see that it’s best to cool passions, not inflame them.
But Greitens is not reasonable. He was forced to resign as governor in 2018 after being accused of having an affair and then blackmailing his mistress with nude photos. His ex-wife also says he abused her and his children. (Greitens has repeatedly denied the blackmail and abuse allegations.) Rather than rebuild his life, Greitens is doubling down on his political ambitions. He clearly does not deserve to hold any public office.
The question is what Republicans will do.
This isn’t a case of someone who says something damaging off the cuff, as was the case for 2012 GOP Senate candidates Todd Akin of Missouri and Richard Mourdock of Indiana. Greitens is someone who recklessly courts controversy. If he is willing to run such an ad, who knows what he’ll do to win the general election.
Responsible Republicans need to be clear and consistent: Anyone but Greitens will do. The Eagle Forum, a venerable conservative women’s group founded by Phyllis Schlafly, has stepped up and called on Greitens to drop out.
There’s no one higher in the GOP food chain than former president Donald Trump, and it falls to him to exert the leadership befitting his stature. Trump has not yet endorsed in the race, but he doesn’t have to. He should instead show his power by calling on Greitens to step aside or explicitly campaign against him.
Doing this is better for Trump than endorsing a Greitens competitor. If he supports someone against Greitens, he could find that person beset by scandal, as was the case for Chuck Herbster, his endorsed candidate in the Nebraska gubernatorial primary. That would only fuel the growing narrative Trump’s influence is weakening.
Opposing Greitens and otherwise staying neutral, by contrast, means Trump has a strong chance of winning. Greitens cannot afford any loss of support. A recent Emerson College poll shows Greitens winning 32% of the vote among people who say they are more likely to vote for someone Trump endorses. It follows that if Trump disavowed Greitens, they would look for someone else. If Greitens loses after Trump took a stand against him, Trump could deservedly claim credit.
Anti-Communist crusader Sen. Joseph McCarthy finally lost his considerable influence when a man shredded him with the phrase, “Have you no sense of decency?” That’s what Republicans from Trump on down need to tell Greitens now.