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‘RINO hunting’ GOP Senate candidate back with violent new ad; fellow Navy vet calls him a ‘broken man’

The New York Daily News - 7/6/2022

“RINO hunting” GOP Senate candidate Eric Greitens released his second violent political ad in nearly as many weeks Wednesday. This time, an old friend and fellow Navy veteran is telling him the war is over and it’s time to go home.

“Because I fought for you, they came after me,” Greitens dramatically says in his latest ad.

That spot features a glistening Greitens carrying powerful firearms, blowing things up, then being joined by fellow gun-toting “patriots” as he walks through a field.

Greitens posted the first of his controversial ads to Twitter on June 20. In it, he and other militants storm a home apparently housing moderate Republicans who extremists refer to as RINOs, which stands for Republicans in Name Only.

Critics including a Missouri police union called the tone of Greitens’ attack ad “deplorable” and suggested that sort of hyperbole is unproductive. Twitter said the commercial constituted “abusive behavior,” but decided it’s in “the public’s interest” to be aware of the 48-year-old Navy veteran’s behavior.

As for his latest ad, politician and fellow Navy veteran Ken Harbaugh on Wednesday recorded a message urging his old pal to drop out of the Missouri Senate race and atone for his behavior.

“I have known Eric Greitens for 30 years,” former State Congressional candidate Ken Harbaugh of Ohio claimed on Twitter. “He is a broken man, who will do anything, including inciting violence, to regain power.”

Harbaugh recalls attending his old friend’s wedding and said the candidate making inciteful violent political ads isn’t the man he once knew. He suggests Greitens must be in a “dark place” to be recording such ugly videos.

Harbaugh claims that when Greitens ran for governor, he took out a $5,000 loan so he could contribute to his pal’s campaign. He said his mother also donated twice to Greitens’ campaign.

Harbaugh said his own mother is one of the so-called “RINOs” Greitens is putting in danger. He also said his mother — like Greitens — knows that claims the 2020 presidential election was stolen from GOP candidate Donald Trump are not true.

Greitens was elected governor of Missouri in 2017, but resigned in disgrace following a sex scandal that included allegations of blackmail and assault that were withdrawn due to prosecutorial errors. His wife at the time has also accused him of abuse. Greitens stepped down in 2018, but denies any wrongdoing.

“Eric, what you’re doing now is going to get someone killed,” Harbaugh warns. “Do the right thing — drop out. Focus on repairing the damage you have done and pray it’s not too late.”

In 2007, Greitens and Harbaugh joined forces to launch the nonprofit group The Mission Continues, which helps veterans reacclimate to civilian life. Harbaugh left the organization in 2012, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

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