You expect it from the gutter-crawlers who populate the darker corners of the GOP; but Republican candidates are increasingly adopting violence as a campaign theme — and making it seem okay. The latest: Missouri GOP Senate candidate Eric Greitens (who, himself, is a gutter crawler) in the campaign ad below.
Is this just playing on Republican voters’ affection for guns and action movies? Or is there a deeper message here? (“We’re armed, and we’re coming for you!”) Over the weekend, Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL), a GOP House member and Trump critic, made public a letter threatening the lives of himself, his wife, and their baby. Read story here.
If we are to remain a civilized society, two things need to happen. One, the writer of that letter goes to prison. And two, Greitens loses the election. The way you stop America’s drift toward political violence is by taking the political profit out of it, and imposing consequences for it.
For what it’s worth, several Missouri GOP leaders called Greitens “damaged goods” and expressed concern over his electability if he’s their party’s nominee (see story here).
Related: Read essay, “American as Violence,” here.
https://youtu.be/r156NzlHmJ4