This weekend saw some ugly in-fighting amongst the Republican Party. At a GOP conference in Texas, Ted Cruz was heckled by a young conservative, while Dan Crenshaw and his staff were violently attacked. But a Senate candidate took it way, way further.
In a deranged new ad, Eric Greitens — a former Navy SEAL and ex-governor of Missouri, who resigned in disgrace — declares, with a big shotgun in his hands that he’s “going RINO hunting.” RINO, of course, means Republican In Name Only, designated for those who don’t pay absolute fealty to the party line. “The RINO feeds on corruption and is marked by the stripes of cowardice.”
The ad then shows Greitens and a gang of men in tactical gear as they break into a house, throw a smoke bomb, and enter, ready to…do whatever it is they’ll do with those weapons. “Join the MAGA crew,” Greitens says as he stands, sans mask, in a teargas-filled living room. “Get a RINO hunting permit. There’s no bagging limit, no tagging limt, and it doesn’t expire until we save our country.”
Greitens is running for the Missouri Senate seat soon to be vacated by Roy Blunt. Should Greitens win, he’ll serve alongside fellow MAGA extremist Josh Hawley. Greitens served only a year-and-a-half as governor of the state after being indicted on various felony charges and being accused of sexual assault.
His ad is a bizarre mixture of the terrifying and ridiculous, and the responses included both horror and perplexity, with some making mordant jokes and others advising people report it to various authorities.
No wonder you use a penis pump. https://t.co/hfi151It5i
— Rick Wilson (@TheRickWilson) June 20, 2022
Republicans hunting republicans. Well done, GOP… https://t.co/s78kjgSAl6
— Rex Chapman (@RexChapman) June 20, 2022
A nice little grace note to this absolutely psychotic ad is that any decent red flag law would make it illegal for Greitens himself to have a gun. https://t.co/iT3ux8WTuV https://t.co/bP8ECCLT2o
— David Roth (@david_j_roth) June 20, 2022
To @TheJusticeDept: @EricGreitens is inciting violence. Please intervene before people get hurt. https://t.co/uMdbD9xnLU
— Dr. Jeffrey Guterman (@JeffreyGuterman) June 20, 2022
Let’s place the blame for this violent ad where it belongs, at the doorsteps of Kevin McCarthy & Mitch McConnell. They’ve failed to confront & condemn the MAGA radicals of their party. Now it’s out of control & threatens everyone’s freedom.
RT to choose #VotingOverViolence https://t.co/2uSIeVvSOa
— Rep. Eric Swalwell (@RepSwalwell) June 20, 2022
No television station or streaming service should agree to air this ad. Any broadcasters who air it should be referred to the @FCC.
— Joaquin Castro (@JoaquinCastrotx) June 20, 2022