This week this piece of shit pulled this stunt and is facing blowback:
Republican operatives and donors in Washington and Missouri are privately working to undercut the Senate campaign of Eric Greitens, the ex-governor who resigned in disgrace four years ago, after he released an ad that graphically dramatized hunting down members of his own party.
But the opposition is split among factions backing different rivals in the Aug. 2 primary and over disagreements on who should attack Greitens or how, according to people involved in the discussions. They, like others interviewed for this article, spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.
Others are preparing to pour millions instead into an independent bid by John F. Wood, a senior investigative counsel on the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack. And some are concerned that intervening in the race could play into Greitens’s hands by feeding his anti-establishment posturing — or even prompting former president Donald Trump to endorse him.
Two people familiar with Trump’s reaction to the Greitens ad said the president expressed that he did not appreciate the content and believed it went too far. But Trump has not commented on the ad publicly, and he sometimes tells different advisers different things, depending on the context of the conversation.
And of course, fellow piece of shit, J.D. Vance (R. OH), thought it was quite amusing:
Fox News anchor Martha MacCallum played the aforementioned clip for Vance during an interview.
“What do you think?” she asked.
Vance laughed and stated:
I think that so much of political advertisement, look, I’ve run my own advertisements in this campaign. You’re trying to grab headlines a little bit. You’re trying to do something that’s a little bit unorthodox. So at the end of the day, I think what Greiten’s trying to go after, is, look, a lot of our voters, a lot of our base, very frustrated with sending Republicans to Washington who don’t do anything. I’m not going to comment on the Missouri race because it’s not my race and it’s not my state. But I’m not surprised –
MacCallum interrupted Vance.
“He’s going into a house with a gun and saying they want to bag as many RINOs as they possibly can,” she reminded him. “Do you think that’s a good place to go, given all the violence that we are seeing in the country right now?”
Vance replied, “I don’t think Eric Greitens is saying that he wants to murder a bunch of people. I think it’s clearly a television advertisement meant for effect. We should take it like that.”
Oh really? Well there are a lot of people who didn’t think it was funny:
A campaign video featuring Eric Greitens leading a platoon of armed militia men to break into homes on a "RINO hunt" put his own children and ex-wife in danger, an attorney for Sheena Greitens told a judge during a custody hearing on Thursday morning.
According to Helen Wade, an attorney for Sheena Greitens, someone sent a written death threat to Sheena Greitens that said, “Wouldn't it be awful if someone hunted down and killed Eric Greitens and his entire family? Golly, that would be terrible.”
Greitens, who is running in the Republican primary race for a chance to replace Senator Roy Blunt, did not appear in court in person or via virtual video conference.
“I'm disappointed that Eric isn't here today because we were hoping that we would be able to get him to make a statement clearly denouncing the use of any sort of violence against my clients,” Wade said in the custody hearing.
“As a result of the video that was published widely on Monday, she's received some serious threats,” Wade said. “And in consultation with those that have expertise in this particular area, I believe Mr. Greitens has great power to ensure the safety of my client by simply stating openly and publicly that he absolutely denounces the use of any sort of violence, whether it be gun violence or otherwise, against her and the kids.”
Even Facebook didn’t find it amusing:
In the ad, Greitens, a former Missouri governor who resigned in disgrace in 2018, is flanked by a tactical unit outside a home on a tree-lined street as he whispers, “The RINO feeds on corruption and is marked by the stripes of cowardice,” using a term popularized by former President Donald Trump and his allies to deride moderate or establishment Republicans.
The armed tactical team breaks through the front door and throws what appear to be flash-bang grenades inside. Greitens enters an empty living room through the smoke and says: “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.”
Facebook said the video was removed “for violating our policies prohibiting violence and incitement.” Twitter said Greitens’ post violated its rules about abusive behavior but said it was leaving it up because it was in the “public’s interest” for the tweet to be viewable. The company’s move prevented the post from being shared any further.
Neither did the police:
The loudest critics of the ad, Greitens said, were the RINOS themselves. “They joined the forces with the left and with the mainstream media to come out and attack us,” he said.
But U.S. Rep. Vicky Hartzler, Missouri Senate President Pro Tem Dave Schatz and U.S. Rep. Billy Long – all Republican opponents of Greitens and each conservative by any typical definition – condemned Greitens after the ad’s release. The campaign of Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt, another Republican opponent, responded with an eye-roll emoji.
Some of the most forceful criticism came from the Missouri State Lodge of the Fraternal Order of Police, which has endorsed Schmitt. It said the ad suggested Greitens was prepared to use violence against his political opponents.
“This deplorable video has no place in our political system and sends a dangerous message that it is somehow acceptable to kill those who have differing political beliefs,” the statement said.
Then again, this isn’t the first Vance thought someone being killed was amusing:
Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio), who is running for Senate in Ohio, called out Republican opponent J.D. Vance over a tweet about actor Alec Baldwin following an incident on a movie set that left one dead and another injured.
Baldwin fatally shot one woman and injured a man on the set of his upcoming film “Rust,” with authorities investigating what happened with the prop gun.
Vance, a lawyer and bestselling author of the book “Hillbilly Elegy,” said Friday that Twitter should allow former President Trump back on to the platform to see what he had to say about the incident.
FYI:
And sadly:
As for Greitens, his potential opponents have been trashing him on this:
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