RURAL ROUTES/Margot Ford McMillen

Greitens’ Big Guns Misfire

Mid-May, there was an email from a friend in California. “What are you going to do about your governor?” Then, the day after Gov. Eric Greitens resigned, an email from New York: “Congratulations. You got rid of your icky Governor.” So the news has traveled coast-to-coast. Indeed, here in mid-Mo., the rumors started in January, were mostly confirmed by April, but the resignation still came as a surprise. Missourians thought he’d fight the charges.

And the rumors are still swirling. Capitol insiders speculate that he resigned because (maybe) the photo — of a partially nude, bound, blindfolded woman with whom he was having an affair — has emerged. He allegedly took the photo to blackmail her, prevent her from ever speaking his name. Or maybe, another political wag offers, Greitens’ wife Sheena finally laid down an ultimatum that he extricate the family from the swamp where he’s dragged them.

Perhaps most credible are the rumors that the Navy SEAL community has shamed Greitens into submission. Following a highly critical video of the governor posted in 2016, one SEAL told Missouri Times, “If I start talking about my stories, I’m now putting myself on a platform and making my money and my fame and my fortune and seeking my publicity off the back of my teammates, which is completely against everything that we all raised our hand for and said we will not do. There’s no individual stories out there.”

But Greitens fancies himself a maverick. In a campaign ad, he fired 100 rounds from a machine gun as an announcer declared he’d bring out “the big guns” to fight Obama policies. That ad probably translated to Greitens votes but, however you cut it, democracy-wise, Missouri blew it. Bumfuzzled with murky choices on all parts of the ballot, Missouri sent bullies to both the White House and the statehouse.

Don’t make the same mistake in your state. Here’s the Greitens history:

Born in St. Louis in 1974, educated in one of the best suburban public school systems and in fourth grade, declared he wanted to be president. Bright blue eyes, strong jaw, a knack for wearing neatly pressed clothes.

Went to Duke University and studied ethics, philosophy and public policy. And, for a while, he seemed to live ethically, philosophically and publicly politic. He leaned left and voted Democrat. An avid photographer, he contributed photos of refugees and war-torn civilians to projects of Save the Children Foundation.

While at Duke, he was selected as a Rhodes Scholar and earned a M.A. in development studies and a Doctorate in Philosophy at Oxford. Returning to Missouri, he dipped a toe to teach in academia. And, then, he joined the military and military experience shaped the rest of his life. Yes, became a Navy SEAL. Yes, he deployed four times — to Iraq, Afghanistan, the Horn of Africa and Southeast Asia. Yes, he received a Bronze Star, a Purple Heart and a Combat Action Ribbon. But he never led a SEAL platoon, and some SEALs feel he has not earned the title.

Still squeaky clean, Greitens next was appointed by George W. Bush as a White House fellow, working for HUD during Hurricane Katrina. At the same time, he was putting together a non-profit called “The Mission Continues,” an organization to put veterans into public service. He worked without pay, but later received compensation at more than the going rate for CEOs of non-profits. And, he produced books of photographs and essays — Strength and Compassion and The Heart and the Fist — that tie together his humanitarian work and the military. Then came a memoir, Resilience: Hard-Won Wisdom for Living a Better Life.

By 2013, Time magazine had named him one of the world’s 100 most influential young men and Fortune followed in 2014, calling him one of the world’s top 50 leaders. So, time and fortune were with him. But, he was keeping the email lists of donors so he could hit them up for political campaigns, and there was no secret that he was going for the presidency. When he announced his candidacy for governor, Greitens tested the wind and became a conservative Republican. His campaign financing was dicey from the get-go, including a donation of $1.975 million from a Super PAC that seemed to be money-laundering for another Super PAC. “Secret fundraising and secret spending,” said the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and Kansas City Star. Even though the nude photos invasion-of-privacy charge has been dropped, campaign financing charges are still in court.

One of his first moves as governor was to demolish the state’s Department of Natural Resources and cut the legs out from under the Clean Water Commission. These moves, putting our clean water at stake, threaten the water systems of all Missourians and especially the 45% that get their drinking water from our great rivers.

We have to wonder what ethics, philosophy and public policy students study. Is that where Greitens learned to make his parting, no-apologies shot to the public? “The time has come,” said the fellow, apparently speaking of his long-suffering family, “to tend to those who have been wounded and to care for those who need us most” (pause, choking back tears) “So for the moment, let us walk off the battlefield with our heads held high.”

“For the moment,” he said. Meaning, “I’ll be back...”

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. Her latest book is The Golden Lane: How Missouri Women Gained the Vote and Changed History. Email: margotmcmillen@gmail.com.

From The Progressive Populist, July 1-15, 2018

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