One of the themes of the 2016 election cycle was the rise of "outsider" candidates. This was obviously most prominent on the national landscape in the unlikely rise of real estate mogul/reality star/walking punch line/political novice Donald Trump from joke to unlikely nominee to president. However, something somewhat similar took place in the gubernatorial race in Missouri which was won by political newcomer Eric Greitens. Like Trump, he had no political experience but some success in the business world, a fact that both candidates trumpeted while railing against so called "career politicians" while on the campaign trail. He even had experience teaching business ethics classes at the University of Missouri. Like Trump, Greitens rode outsider credentials to an electoral victory over a Democratic opponent that was branded a political insider.
On paper, it's easy to see why Greitens was an attractive candidate. Consider some of his pre-politics accomplishments:
1.) Navy SEAL
2.) Rhodes Scholar
3.) Founder of a successful charitable foundation supporting veterans
4.) Successful author and public speaker
He was a clean cut American hero. His political profile was almost too good to be true. And, as is usually the case, if something seems too good to be true, it probably is.
After all, when you strip back the shiny veneer, Greitens is nothing more than another corrupt, sleazy politician. Consider that, prior to 2015, Greitens identified as a Democrat. The Missouri Democratic Party even tried to coax him into a run for Senate in 2010. Greitens declined. However, he's undeniably a smart guy and he no doubt noted the steadily rightward lean of the Show-Me State over the past 10 or 15 years. Missouri used to be political bellwether that swung back and forth on the political spectrum and successfully voted for the winning president in almost every election over a 50 year period. Over the past decade, however, the state has become exceedingly more red. I'm willing to bet that Greitens took note of that trend and, in 2015, prior to announcing his candidacy for governor, he switched from a Democrat to a Republican.
While on the campaign trail, he railed against the "culture of corruption" in Jefferson City. He painted himself as the white knight outsider who was untainted by the lobbyists and back scratchers at the Capitol - the guy who could ride in and clean up things. However, while his speeches spoke of ethics and transparency, his campaign was supported primarily by so called "dark money" donors from outside of the state. Despite repeated requests, he refused to disclose the source of these funds. So, he preached ethics and transparency while raking in millions of donations from nameless, faceless, secret supporters.
His campaign ads famously had him assembling an assault-style rifle while blindfolded and then blowing up stuff. It had nothing to do with his ability to govern or lead, but rather was a blatant attempt to appeal to the rural, gun-loving voters of the state.
I saw his antics for what they were - calculated political stunts from a guy who was clearly not the upstanding, ethical bastion he portrayed. Unfortunately, a majority of Missouri voters either fell for the charade or just automatically checked the box of the candidate with the "(R)" after his name. (Interestingly enough, the opponent he defeated in the general election, Chris Koster, was a Republican-turned-Democrat.) As a result, Mr. Too-Good-to-be-True won the election and became governor.
As with most things that are too good to be true, inevitably the curtain gets pulled back and the truth gets exposed. After being sworn in as governor, Greitens was fined (see if you can spot the irony here, given his railing against a lack of ethics and corruption) by the Missouri Ethics Commission for violating state campaign ethics rules regarding campaign disclosures. Greitens did not contest the fine. Since taking the highest office in the state, Greitens has been unusually inaccessible to the media, to the point where he deploys security staffers to block reporters from getting close to him. I understand that many Republicans view the media as being in the bag for Democrats and thus loathe them, but as the supposed leader of the state, you cannot abdicate your responsibility to answer questions and communicate with the citizens via press conferences, interviews, etc.
In December, Greitens and some senior members of his staff were accused by government transparency advocates of subverting Missouri's open records laws by using Confide, a messaging app that erases texts after they have been read, on their personal phones. Once again, a person who campaigned on transparency and a lack of corruption is conducting business via secretive means that allow him to skirt that very transparency.
However, the biggest bomb that has dropped about Mr. Too-Good-to-be-True is the accusation and subsequent admission that Greitens had an extra-marital affair with his hair stylist in 2015. There are additional allegations that Greitens took pictures of his mistress while she was naked and blindfolded and that he threatened to use the pictures for blackmail purposes. While Greitens has denied the photos and the blackmail accusations, he has confirmed the affair. A few points worth mentioning:
1.) A guy whose campaign spoke of his family values and being a proud husband and father cheated on his wife with his hair stylist while he wife was either pregnant or caring for a newborn.
2.) He may or may not have taken revenge porn pictures of the mistress.
3.) He actually has a hair stylist! What military guy has a hair stylist? C'mon - just go to Fantastic Sam's. It's a lot cheaper - especially with a coupon - and they wash your hair for free! (I categorically deny any kickbacks from Fantastic Sam's for the preceding endorsement.)
Recently, Greitens was indicted by a grand jury, arrested and charged with a felony as a result of these allegations. Discount the allegations as politically motivated if you wish. There are some sketchy items about this whole deal and, quite frankly, I don't care what people do on their own time or in their own bedrooms. However, there's no denying that Greitens cheated on his wife, which is the sort of thing that he never disclosed during the campaign while, once again, preaching transparency, honesty and openness. There are now discussions in Jefferson City about initiating impeachment hearings against Greitens.
Clearly, Greitens had big plans for his political career (the guy reserved the greitensforpresident.com URL several years ago, for crying out loud) and he seemingly had everything he needed to achieve that. Until the charade fell apart and Greitens was exposed as a fraud and a charalatan - a corrupt, run-of-the-mill sleazebag politician who is as dirty and hypocritical as the "career politicians" from which he tried to distinguish himself.
If I were designing an attack ad against Greitens, the tagline would be "Eric Greitens said he was different, but he's just another corrupt politician." I just hope that, next time around, the voters in our fair state don't fall for the shiny, new object but instead stay true to our motto and force the candidate to show us that they really are different.
Thanks for reading!
No comments:
Post a Comment