“Missouri voters asking themselves ‘who is Josh Hawley?’ need look no further than this editorial: Hawley is a ladder-climbing, work-neglecting, self-promoting politician, who will always put his own political ambitions ahead of Missourians,” said American Bridge spokesperson Amelia Penniman. “We couldn’t have said it better ourselves.”
St. Louis Post Dispatch: Editorial: Missourians searching for a GOP Senate candidate of substance aren’t finding it in Hawley
By the Editorial Board | July 11, 2018
- “Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley, the likely GOP U.S. Senate nominee, miscalculates by focusing his campaign strategy on attacking incumbent Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill…McCaskill’s voting record is about as centrist as it gets, and Hawley knows it.”
- Hawley’s exaggerations “mask a much more profound weakness in the young attorney general’s background: his own lack of experience.”
- Hawley “has minimal credentials with which to convince voters that he can be more effective as a senator than McCaskill. So his only option is to deflect. Missourians shouldn’t fall for it.”
- “Hawley, 38, was barely a year into his first elective office as attorney general before being tapped to run for Senate. His record as attorney general has been only mildly impressive.”
- Hawley “was a latecomer in challenging the multiple abuses that put then-Gov. Eric Greitens on a track toward impeachment. Hawley seemed conflicted on where to focus his energies — on running for Senate, or actually doing his job.”
- “Even when he was willing to go after Greitens, Hawley waited until it was politically safe to do so, after key GOP legislators had already made clear their intentions to pursue Greitens’ misconduct aggressively.”
- “GOP hardliners in Missouri who voted overwhelmingly for President Donald Trump no doubt will be delighted with Hawley’s attacks on McCaskill. He is mistaken, however, if he believes those hardliners represent the Missouri mainstream.”
- “Mainstream Missourians are far more selective and centrist in their Senate choices than Hawley gives them credit for. ‘Our way of life,’ as he phrases Missouri values, is far from the hard-right side of the political spectrum.”
- “If Missourians are souring on Hawley, it probably reflects their revulsion with Trump’s extremist rhetoric and Hawley’s refusal to challenge it. They want to know what he stands for.”
- “If Hawley wants to move his sagging poll numbers, he’ll need to move away from the extremist fringe and give Missouri’s mainstream something of substance to chew on.”
Read the full article here.
Published: Jul 12, 2018