The Purge: Missouri edition

“A republic, if you can keep it.” –Benjamin Franklin

That was Benjamin Franklin's response to Elizabeth Willings Powel’s question about whether our colonial nation was a Monarchy or a Republic at the Constitution Convention in 1787.  And his answer to that question is as relevant today as it was 237 years ago–Particularly regarding Missouri state politics. 

If you have been paying attention to the news, you know about the chaos that has been running amuck in Mo Leg (Missouri Legislation) for the past month. Between inner-party fighting spilling over onto the floor to the cartoonish antics of a minority trying to hijack and purge the entire Mo GOP.  But this isn’t just typical political theater like folks are used to seeing.. No.. It’s on a whole other level, and (spoiler alert) it’s not a good thing. It’s just one bad “duel” away from becoming the “Röhm Coup” ( Night of the Long Knives for those of you playing at home), and I guess in a metaphorical sense that’s exactly what we’re all watching play out in both state houses and on the national stage.  All that drama you’re catching in the news about Republicans fighting amongst themselves–That’s the minority of the party trying to push out the more sane and dare I say, semi “Reasonable” GOP members who are the adults in the room. You know the handful of GOP members that still try to do their job in the state house for their constituents even though they're low-key crazy and understand that extremism and the push for fascism isn’t selling. And you might be wondering why that is.   The answer is simple enough-Desperation in its purest form. The policies and platform of fascism and Christian Nationalism aren’t a high “selling point”  to the mass population and it shows in the FEC financial reports and they’re just clinging to their last “breathe” to their agenda–Which is to rule with an “iron fist” that mirrors that of the Russian President Vladimir Putin’s reign of terror over in Russia..  What folks need to understand is if the ultra crazies like Bill Eigel (running for governor in Missouri) get control of the State Party–it’s going to filter in and start influencing the national policies, and (this is bad for EVERYBODY) that's their goal. The Minority's attempt to purge the party is a way to get out what this group considered "weak" Republicans to get MAGA "purists" so they can achieve that goal.

These folks only need 23 states to get their brand of the “Confederacy 2.0 (You know Project 2025 manifesto) accomplished as national policy.. Hence why, they're hijacking state houses. Scary thought isn’t it?  If not, it should be, because it shows just how fragile our Republic and its founding principles of “democracy” truly are. And it's not just the Mo GOP-It's going on with the national party too. It's a full-fledged massacre within the GOP.

And it is this kind of extreme political spectrum that Franklin and the other founding fathers warned us about. I mean Washington’s presidential farewell address even spells it out for everyone in big bold letters. That the threat of losing our Republic comes from here in our own backyard and not some foreign nation that would like to see the US go up in flames. So while we laugh at our state senators who recently lost their prestigious parking spot and whining about losing their Office furniture–Remember these jesters are plotting to be the ones holding the matches that burn our democracy to the ground. So start taking them seriously, before we lose everything (including our constitutionally promised rights) ....

And to give y’all a bonus fun facts: Franklin was the original Letter to the Editor writer airing out his grievances about the British rule. And Washington wasn’t a fan of political parties because of the power dynamic they create–Which leads to the division of people, and a breeding ground for despotism. ( Between you and me, Washington wasn’t exactly wrong)

As always take care, and take care of one another,

Lots of Love,

Jojo