Eric Greitens’ claims he knows what it is like to be under fire, and that he will survive, fighting all the way. There is at least one newfound Republican who has realized that Greitens sexual misbehaviors may be toxic for Republicans in Missouri come this fall, and that’s AG Josh Hawley, who is now indicating it is time for Greitens to go:
www.kansascity.com/…
Missouri’s Republican Attorney General Josh Hawley, a leading candidate for U.S. Senate, is calling on his state’s GOP governor to “resign immediately.”
While many Missouri Republicans are calling for Greitens to resign, few have gone as far as Hawley and flatly called the details of the report "impeachable."
The calls for resignation reflect a political reality — continuing to discuss in the media an event where, by all accounts, the governor tied up a married woman and demanded oral sex from her while she cried profusely doesn’t make for the talking points Republicans would like to run on this fall, as the supposed “family values” party.
Hawley’s decision to take a swing at Governor Greitens comes at an interesting time, as other Republicans running for US Senate in this state may seek to divide him off from his conservative base that still believes in Greitens.
Hawley’s campaign has been built on a unique cat and mouse game with how close and far away he can be from the happenings in DC, but as recently as last month, Hawley was openly embracing another politician with some sexual behavior problems.
Still, the decision by Hawley to tell Greitens it is time to pack it in mirrors private discussions held in the Missouri State House, where Republican leadership believes that a summer long fight of whether or not forced oral sex constitutes ‘rape’ with the governor seemingly implying it was just a ‘misunderstanding’ creates real complications at the ballot box.
The former Missouri Republican Chair, however, would like to remind us that Greitens in being forced to undergo public humiliation.
John Hancock, a Republican operative and former Missouri GOP chairman, said it's impossible not to be disgusted by the allegations in the report.
"I can't begin to imagine the humiliation that the governor must be feeling," Hancock said.
"We may never know exactly what transpired, but putting yourself in a position to have these sorts of charges come forth shows a profound lack of judgment, and whatever may or may not be true, that profound lack of judgment is inarguable," he said.
Will Greitens be forced from office? Should it happen, it could also trigger some interesting election happenings, and a battle among Republicans as to who stayed loyal — or not, to the Governor they see as back “under fire”.