Ok, I’ll be the first to admit, that the RINOs have to go. America needs real freedom fighting conservatives to take the reins of the GOP in order to truly make this country great again.
Apparently, Eric Greitens, the former Governor of Missouri now running for U.S. Senate, feels the same way but may have taken things a bit too far in his recent political campaign ad.
A new campaign ad from Greitens may have prompted accusations of glorifying political violence before being flagged by Twitter and removed by Facebook for violating policies around violence and abuse.
“Today, we’re going RINO hunting,” Greitens, a Republican, said with a smile as he slid the action on his shotgun in the 38-second ad. RINO stands for “Republican in name only.”
The Missouri U.S. Senate candidate and a team of men outfitted in military gear are then shown bursting into a home, guns raised.
“The RINO feeds on corruption and is marked by the stripes of cowardice,” said Greitens. “Get a RINO hunting permit. There’s no bagging limit, no tagging limit, and it doesn’t expire until we save our country.”
WATCH THE AD BELOW:
Eric, my man, I get it. I want the RINOs gone as much as the next patriot, but ‘Hunting for RINOs” while playing a video of you and your boys storming a house in military gear may have been taking things too far.
The ad was posted to social media on Monday morning and was immediately criticized by many on the left and of course a few RINOs on the right for its use of language and visuals seeming to support violence against political opponents. Even I’m having a hard time justifying this one, and trust me, I’m as constitutional and “America First” as they get.
Surprisingly though, Twitter did not take the ad down. They did, however, flag the tweet with a warning that the video violated the company’s rules for “abusive behavior.” Twitter allowed the ad to remain viewable, saying “it may be in the public’s interest” to do so. The video has been viewed more than 2 million times.
Facebook, of course, took the video down instantly, but that didn’t stop Greitens from doubling down on his support for the ad. “Facebook CENSORED our new ad calling out the weak RINOs,” Greitens wrote on Facebook. “When I get to the US Senate, we are taking on Big Tech.”
RINO representative Adam Kinzinger (IL-R), who has relentlessly criticized Donald Trump for inciting violence and lumping Trump into the same category of “RINO haters”, posted on social media “You’re A Very Bad Man”, referring to the ad.
Democrats are also losing their minds over the RINO hunting ad and wasted no time calling out Greitens. “This is sociopathic. You’re going to get someone killed,” wrote Rep. Joaquin Castro, a Texas Democrat.
Now, Greitens is one of 21 Republicans running to replace retiring Sen. Roy Blunt.
Some Missouri Republicans have worried according to NPR that if Greitens wins the Republican primary in August, the candidate could turn off enough voters to hand the election to a Democrat.
Greitens has steadfastly refused calls to drop out. A June poll by Emerson College and The Hill found that 26% of likely primary voters preferred Greitens, which would be enough to lead the crowded race.
