The political rhetoric for the upcoming 2022 midterm elections has exceeded even the lowered standards that most people would consider to be acceptable. The way things are going, I expect the candidates for the 2024 p residential election, instead of shaking hands, will exchange middle fingers. Case in point, the recent ad for Republican Senate candidate Eric Greitens.

Spoiler alert, the ad starts with the candidate announcing, “I’m Eric Greitens, Navy SEAL, and today we’re going RINO hunting.” The remainder of the ad shows Greitens and his “tactical unit” storming a house, kicking the door in, tossing in a smoke grenade and entering with guns blazing. The ad concludes with these words of wisdom: “Get a RINO hunting permit. There’s no bagging limit, no tagging limit and it doesn’t expire until we save our country.”

The viewing of this “ad” only reinforces to me that my decision to leave the Republican Party in 2017 was the right thing to do. The party I belonged to for 33 years has gone insane. I would think that this ad borders on the limit of what is permissible under the First Amendment. If anyone gets harmed because this ad, Greitens should be held criminally liable.

If the Republican Party cannot condemn this ad and the candidate who made it for the sickening piece of garbage that they are, then I hope they get defeated in the midterms. I fear this is the only thing that will wake them up from the Trump-induced stupor they live in.

Samuel Rosenthal
Portland