STAFF ED: Guns and Politics

There is something ironic about a man equipped with a military-style AR-15 carbine shooting dozens of bullets across a placid pond while promising in the same thirty second frame of his advertisement to set his sights on protecting innocent lives.

Eric Greitens, former Navy Seal and Democrat, but current Republican nominee for Missouri Governor, has filled his advertisements for the upcoming Nov. 8 election with “big guns”, fiery explosions, and grand plans to “take dead aim at politics as usual.”

Although the opening claims in the most widely-circulated advertisement of the self-named “Conservative Warrior” possess a certain degree of validity, the situation snowballs when, about ten seconds into the video, Greitens puts on his glasses and prepares to “fire away.” The act of a gubernatorial candidate grinning while blasting a military-style gun is so foreign that it may at first appear comical, but at the end of the advertisement when Greitens directly addresses his viewers, what could pass as a joke morphs into a terrifying reality.

If the ridiculous visual of Greitens proudly littering a tranquil meadow with bullets is not enough, the language the candidate uses to criticize Democrats and political insiders is ambiguous and hypocritical.

Promising to “take dead aim at politics” does not actually convey any type of reasonable plan to improve Missouri, the state which Greitens himself has claimed to be known for “serial corruption, epic failure, and national embarrassment.”

Greitens, who has said that “the political world is still a very foreign place to [him],” tries in his advertisements to use his limited experience as an appeal to voters but fails to specifically discuss how his role as outsider can benefit Missourians.

While limited to thirty seconds in his advertisement, Greitens wastes this precious time firing shells across an empty field rather than informing his viewers of actual strategies capable of reforming the political issues which supposedly plague Missouri.

One’s advertisements to become governor should not resemble a Saturday Night Live skit, but Greitens’ commercials are so nonsensical that they almost appear laced with self-mockery.

Beyond the underlying ambiguity in Greitens’ message exist layers of hypocrisy. As Cenk Uygur of The Young Turks brings into light during his humorous analysis of Greitens’ video, one must wonder how many ducks were harmed in the making of these advertisements. For someone who strives to protect innocent lives, Greitens’ excessive promotion of firearms is baffling. In an era of hyper-sensitivity to guns and their detrimental role in mass shootings, that Greitens feels he can fire his weapons so haphazardly is preposterous and frankly insulting.

Despite the absurdity of his message, however, Greitens has not yet seen a major decline in support since the release of his advertisements.

But even those who strive to protect their Second Amendment right must see the flaws in Greitens’ campaign. The defense of Second

Amendment rights should focus solely on the protection of oneself when necessary. Instead, Greitens generates a message that attempts to create a correlation between excessive practice of the Second Amendment and strength. Though Greitens exploits his past as a Navy

Seal to portray himself as a super-masculine warrior, government functions to protect its citizens through advancements in negotiation and diplomacy. It is unclear, then, how Greitens’ physical prowess could in any way benefit Missourians.

And so it is essential that Missouri voters see the bigger picture in this upcoming gubernatorial election.

Considering the fact that both Greitens and his opponent Chris Koster belonged to the opposite political party less than ten years ago, the ethos of both candidates remains questionable in this election. The competing messages of both Greitens and Koster transcend party lines.

Missouri is a unique state because, although it has voted for the Republican candidate in each of the last four Presidential elections,

Missouri elected and re-elected Democrat Jay Nixon for governor in 2008 and 2012, respectively.

Now, many of the same Missourians who submitted ballots in 2008 and 2012 for a Democratic governor but a Republican president must again challenge themselves in this most unusual of elections to think beyond simply voting for a candidate from the party with which they feel more connected. Missourians must look at the cores of the two campaigns and decide whose values can translate into productive political reform.

Ultimately, Greitens’ message fails because “big guns,” whether literal or metaphorical, cannot solve the issues existing in Missouri politics and should not be used to win votes. .