Knives Out Against Eric Greitens

Two weeks before Missouri’s GOP Senate primary, nobody’s yet landed a killshot on the disgraced former governor’s campaign. Outside groups are trying to change that.

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If we’ve learned anything about Republican politics in the last few years, it’s that it’s amazing how potent a combination of no-holds-barred partisanship and a complete lack of shame are in warding off political scandal. Rep. Duncan Hunter coasted to reelection in 2018 despite having already been indicted on an open-and-shut case of campaign finance fraud. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s hobnobbing with out-and-out white nationalists, past embrace of looney-tunes conspiracies, and assorted other embarrassments didn’t prevent her from breezing through her primary this year. Rep. Matt Gaetz, reportedly under investigation for sex trafficking (a charge he denies), seems likely to do the same. You may be able to think of other examples.

But a few races this year have seemed to suggest an outer limit to that strategy. In May, Rep. Madison Cawthorn’s eye-popping blizzard of cornball scandals proved just enough for an establishment-backed state senator to knock him out in his North Carolina primary. And now, two weeks before Missouri Republicans go to the polls on August 2, the same fate may befall former governor and Senate candidate Eric Greitens.

Comparing Greitens to Cawthorn only goes so far. The basic gripe about Cawthorn, the youngest serving member of Congress at 26, was that he was an unserious goofball in over his head. The behavior of which Greitens has been accused is far more sinister. There was the lurid scandal that drove him from office in the first place, an extramarital affair involving alleged coercion and blackmail. Greitens—admitting the affair but denying the blackmail—resigned in 2018, impeachment hot on his heels. (Greitens faced a campaign-finance scandal around the same time, but while his campaign was slapped with a six-figure fine, an ethics commission ultimately found no evidence of wrongdoing by him personally on that front.)

Since then, Greitens has somehow managed to attract still more alarming claims: His wife Sheena filed for divorce in 2020 and has since accused him in sworn testimony of becoming physically abusive toward her and their two children as his career unraveled.

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  1. Avatar photo
    Matthew Zobian

    Greiten has likely acted dishonorably, but his wife did not provide evidence of child abuse. Photos would do. This sounds like a typical divorce, with typical lying.

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    BWG

    Informative article, thanks Andrew.

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    David Chen

    Man, I cant believe this dude wrote The Heart and the Fist.

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    Aylene Wright

    Let me add a tidbit that the specter of Greitens winning the primary, has even inspired an independent campaign by recent 1/6 Committee lawyer, John Wood.

    https://www.ky3.com/2022/07/17/independent-candidate-john-wood-gathers-enough-signatures-be-ballot-us-senate-race/?outputType=amp

    I understand that ex-Sen. Danforth is backing this effort as well. I do wonder though if Wood will stay in the race if Greitens doesn't win the GOP nomination, though.

    Anyway, hope Greitens doesn't actually win either the primary or the general. It really would be bad if Josh Hawley (who has condemned Greitens), winds up being the MORE respectable Senator from Missouri in 2025.

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    Show Jay Janney the 🚪!

    I'd rather a dem win than Greitens. I don't want an abuser in office.

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    Woody Weed

    Agree with Brad. Really dislike the inclusion of "killshot" in the sub-headline.

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      Aylene Wright

      Same here, but with the caveat that the headline and subheading may not have been Andrew's idea as reporters don't usually write their own headlines.

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    Marc Frischhertz

    In America, at least for now, we the people get what we deserve when it comes to politicians.

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    Paul B

    Is there serious documentation somewhere of modern political candidates or figures who could be credibly considered sociopaths?
    By that, I mean the pathological inability to feel empathy. Outside of John Edwards, Eric Greitens is the only person I’m genuinely comfortable labeling as such. Trump may be a malignant narcissist, but that’s not sociopathy. For instance, his disgusted reaction to the 2017 Syria bombing and clear affection for his family indicates the capacity for compassion, however stunted.

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      Aylene Wright

      I recall his reaction to the Syria bombing as indeed appearing genuine. But I am not as convinced that he actually has affection for his family as individuals, as opposed to just as extensions of himself. That Junior actually had to go through Meadows on 1/6 instead of just texting his own father directly, really made me think that. He might actually care about Ivanka, but even that's been expressed in a really creepy way.

      Also, pretty sure that he didn't actually write that TruthSocial non-Tweet in tribute of Ivana.

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        Paul B

        I think that’s the point, though. Even a stunted, warped affection precludes real sociopathy. I’m just so fascinated by this question.
        James Irvine, a UCI psychology professor, self-identified as a “pro-social” sociopath through his own research. He certainly makes a compelling case for their existence anyway.

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      Man-Eating Cow

      Genuine sociopathology is actually pretty rare in any group. Or so I understand; I am a STEM bovine, not a psychologist, though I've closely watched a lot of humans down the years.

      My understanding as well is that narcissism is one element of sociopathology. In mathematical terms, being a narcissist is a necessary but not sufficient condition to be a sociopath. The lack of empathy is the other element that turns a mere narcissist into a sociopath. A person who is narcissistic but has the capacity for empathy is not a sociopath; he's a politician. (Narcissism is far more common than sociopathology, and it is reasonably well documented that it is common among politicians and celebrities. Winston Churchill was clearly a narcissist, in my reading of the man, but he was also the Enemy of Hitler, and that counts for a lot.) Also, the narcissism of a sociopath is an extreme form of narcissism that I should perhaps not so lightly attribute to politicians; Churchill, for example, was clearly capable of introspection, and his narcissism may have been a mask for his occasional spells of black depression. The degree of narcissism characteristic of sociopaths precludes any real introspection.

      Not all sociopaths are homicidal maniacs. Some sociopaths exhibit the defining traits of extreme narcissism and absence of empathy but still have some modicum of responsiveness to social constraints. Greitens might fall into that category.

      I cannot think of anyone I have personally known who I believe was a sociopath. I feel fortunate in that respect, though I suspect a lot of people have never known one. As I said, it's actually pretty rare. I've known a lot of flawed people (well, with apologies, I've never actually known any other kind, though many are admirable in spite of their flaws) but none that were clearly sociopaths.

      Though, on further reflection, the behavior of a few classmates towards me in gym class was brutal and seemed sociopathic, but I didn't know the persons well enough to say that with any confidence. It is distressingly common for even normal humans to be selective in their empathy, and tribalism seems to peak at about that age. (Or for too many humans, plateaus at that age.) And there was the one kid who picked me at random out of a junior high hallway and sucker-punched me in the gut for no discernible reason. Well-known as a bully to pretty much all the students. I'd have to vote him Most Likely to Now Be Serving Hard Time, but I didn't know him well enough to know if he was a sociopath or just badly bullied himself at home. (Not that the two are mutually exclusive.)

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      1. P Satter

        You may know, there is also something referred to as the dark triad--narcissism, psychopathy, and Machiavellianism. They have some overlap, but as I recall psychopaths don't need to be the center of attention like narcissists.
        Reading EG's bio: Rhodes scholar and Philosophy PhD from Oxford, Navy Seal, volunteering with Mother Theresa's organization--his very high level abilities are clear, but his interests seem a little too...diverse somehow. I mean Mother Theresa and the Navy Seals? His ex-wife is a professor.
        It seems odd that he would be so emotionally tone deaf when he is obviously very intelligent as to do the "RINO hunting" and saying he's a "fighter" ads when he's accused of abusing his wife and hitting his 3 year old son.
        And children and teens can have a narcissism they grow out of once they reach adulthood, leaving only the few who, unfortunately for all of us, don't.

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          Man-Eating Cow

          There is some variation in how different psychologists view sociopathology. One of the better articles I've read on it identified extreme narcissism -- defined somewhat differently from just desiring to be the center of attention -- and lack of empathy as the key, with lack of ability to conform to social conventions as the thing that made a psychopath really dangerous.

          But the dark triad is not that far off.

          Most cognitive deficits improve a little with age. Yeah, it's sad when one doesn't. I still struggle to correctly read body language.

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        Aylene Wright

        I recall Charles Krauthammer, who was actually a psychiatrist prior to turning political pundit, once stated that Trump was like a 2 month old baby in terms of his psychological development, or lack thereof. He also stated he used to think Trump was like a 2 year old, but after watching his behavior for a while he decided that was giving him too much credit. I don't recall that he used the word "narcissist" but that seemed to be the implication. And yes, it is quite NORMAL for a baby or a toddler to be self-centered and narcissistic. Not so much for a grown man.

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          Shauna Hunt

          I miss Charles Krauthammer.

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  9. Mary Stine

    Sitting here less than a mile from the Missouri/Kansas border. I grew up and went to college in Missouri. It's always had it's share of bad politicians, as well as some very good ones.
    But Greitens seems in a class by himself in terms of ruthlessness and and egotism. He'd be at home in Chicago or New York, politically. Missourians will need another 20 years to recover if he wins office.

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    Michael Darwin

    I am embarrassed for the state of my (current but perhaps not future) party.

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      Man-Eating Cow

      I'm sympathetic to those who have stayed with the party in the belief that it's their duty to fight the crazies. I just don't have the stomachs for that myself, and re-registered as an independent voter in August 2016.

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