Like you, I hope we never see mid-term primaries like the ones just passed. Here in Missouri, 21 candidates, mostly unknown, ran for the Senate seat left open by the retirement of long-term Senator Roy Blunt. Two well-known names on the list, Eric Greitens and Eric Schmitt, came to the race with heavy baggage. There was a third Eric on the Republican ballot, Eric McElroy.
Greitens is best-known in Missouri for his short time as Governor. He resigned amid sex scandals but he truly should be more well-remembered for his campaign-finance irregularities as those have more to do with conduct in office. Most Ethics Commission fines run in the $1,000 to $2,000 range, but Greitens was fined $178,000 by the Missouri Ethics Commission for campaign finance irregularities.
In the 2022 race, allegations of child abuse piled up with allegations of more sex scandal, but another damning piece came in the form of Greitens’ own egocentric bad taste. A campaign ad shows him in military gear, breaking into an ordinary-looking house and carrying a rifle, on a quest to hunt RINOs (Republicans in Name Only). Big grin. “I’m Eric Greitens, Navy Seal, and today we’re going RINO hunting.” The RINO, he described as “marked with the stripes of cowardice.”
This ad backfired in several ways. Besides its utter tastelessness, which caused social media sites to reject it, the ad targeted Greitens’ own base—Republicans. And, as if to follow up, there was a video of Josh Hawley—he of the Jan. 6 fist-pump—running scared from the mob he had incited. The chicken-run video of Hawley was circulating the web-o-sphere, adorned with memes and music that underlined Hawley’s cowardly behavior. Greitens ended up with a mere 19% of the vote.
And that 19% could be credited to a big push from Donald Trump. Sort of. Remember that Republicans are anxious over which seats will stay on their side of the aisle and Missouri is one in the balance. OK, with that in mind, Trump put his tongue firmly into his cheek and endorsed “Eric”, leaving the media and voters to decide which one. “I am therefore proud to announce that ERIC has my Complete and Total Endorsement!”
We can, at this point, leave Eric McElroy out of the picture. But let’s take a look at Eric Schmitt, who finally won the bid. Schmitt’s candidacy made a jump about six days before the actual election, which is about the time the Josh Hawley chicken-run videos were making the rounds. The tough-guy Hawley-Greitens analogy was too much and Republicans decided to go with the lesser evil. At the end, Schmitt ended up with 46% of the vote.
Schmitt is the current Missouri Attorney General. As such, he has a bully pulpit to file lawsuits and has used it. A partial list includes filing against the city of St. Louis for allowing funds from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to be used for “logistical support” for abortion, such as travel expenses for obtaining out-of-state services. Other recent A.G. complaints include a filing against the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), and the Department of Justice (DOJ). With other Republican groups, Schmitt is suing over the ATF’s rulemaking that would regulate firearm parts manufacturers.
For Republican A.G.s, suing those who help women or those who fight gun proliferation might be business as usual. But Schmitt took things to a whole new level when he attempted to sue China for COVID-19. Here’s his official statement: “Today, after working tirelessly to navigate the complexities of international law, the Attorney General’s Office effectuated service of process against the Chinese Communist Party, the Wuhan Institute for Virology, and the Chinese Academy of Sciences. I filed this suit to hold the Chinese Communist Party and Chinese authorities accountable for their role in the COVID-19 pandemic, which has taken lives, ruined businesses, destroyed economies, and more.”
The suit was filed on April 21, 2020, and if you are worried about cost to the Missouri taxpayers, rest assured that from May to August (according to his own statement), “In order to get the best deal for the taxpayers of Missouri, the Attorney General’s Office solicited competitive bids from multiple firms for investigation, translation, and service of the governmental entities through The Hague Convention. The Attorney General’s Office selected a professional vendor through this competitive service.”
The case was, predictably, dismissed in Federal Court.
Now, on the Democrat side in Missouri, the winning nominee will be Trudy Busch Valentine, a person that might get some traction with disenchanted Republican voters because, ya know, her family makes beer. But, on the Democrat ballot in most of Missouri, most down-ballot races were unfilled, meaning there’s no depth to the ticket that will carry it through in the future.
Maybe Eric McElroy will switch sides and give the party some depth.
Margot Ford McMillen farms near Fulton, Mo., and co-hosts “Farm and Fiddle” on sustainable ag issues on KOPN 89.5 FM in Columbia, Mo. She also is a co-founder of CAFOZone.com, a website for people who are affected by concentrated animal feeding operations. Her latest book is “The Golden Lane: How Missouri Women Gained the Vote and Changed History.” Email: margotmcmillen@ gmail.com.
From The Progressive Populist, September 1, 2022
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