Bill Eigel for Governor

Jay Ashcroft is a wonderful, kind man, but, at this moment in history, we need what Eigel has, instead.

Back in 2009, I was invited to speak at a Republican Township meeting in St. Louis County. The committeeman for the township introduced me as “being all about issues.” He mentioned “issues” about four times.

Out of politeness, I did not contradict him. But I am not about issues and never have been. Issues are downstream of two things: philosophy and conviction. Philosophy guides how we view the world and our place in it. Conviction determines how we live, which may or may not be in accord with our philosophy. Issues are inflection points where the culture or society conflicts with our philosophy or impinges on our ability to live according to that philosophy.

I find that the percentage of people who actually live according to their philosophy is very small. Most people give into the culture by conforming to the dominant culture how they live. “I believe in going to Holy Mass every Sunday and Holy Day of Obligation, but my buddies play tee off every Sunday at 9:00 sharp, and my job doesn’t give me time off on weekdays to go to church.”

Of the three predominant names in the race for the Republican nomination for Governor of Missouri, two share my philosophy pretty much 100%. The third—a two-bit, crooked snake-oil salesman currently serving as Lieutenant Governor—neither shares my philosophy nor deserves to have his filthy name mentioned on my Substack. Screw him. I hope his defeat causes his permanent exit from public life so he can get right with God and live out his days in prayer and penance.

That leaves Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft and State Senator Bill Eigel.

I know both men, but I know Jay Ashcroft far better than I do Eigel. In about 2010, Jay Ashcroft invited me to lunch to get to know one another. He was delightful. His shared an awesome story about his first attempt to get from the airport to South County. As an engineer, he saw the most direct route was Lindbergh. Needless to say, he arrived very late. (Yes, you can get from the airport to South County by taking Lindbergh, but you’ll get there faster by walking than driving.)

Ashcroft went on to become Missouri’s Secretary of State at a time when George Soros was using states’ Secretary of State offices to destroy America. Ashcroft replaced the corrupt and stupid Robin Carnahan, daughter of dead Missouri governor Mel Carnahan—crooked as a dog’s hind leg. (Mel and our current Lieutenant Governor have a lot in common.) Jay was a bulwark against further erosion of constitutional government in Missouri. He reversed many of Carnahan’s misdeeds and restored soundness to the office. Jay passed on chances to move into more powerful positions in order to hold the ground he’d won for Missourians. We all owe Jay a huge debt of gratitude.

So, why am I not voting for Ashcroft?

Like the tag line says, Jay is a super nice guy. He is not a fan of making enemies, especially among Republicans. He truly wants to be everybody’s Secretary of State. He likes bringing Republican factions together. And this admirable qualities leads him to trust longtime GOP insiders—who deserve neither trust nor respect. That’s why Missouri has not banned electronic voting—too many country club Republicans make money from it.

At this moment in history, with the United States now a police state and the very idea of America on verge of burial, kind coalition building is suicide. It’s actually murder-suicide, as attempts to work with the people who got us into this mess will get us all killed. I misread history in 2015 when I endorsed Ben Carson as an antidote to eight years of vitriol under Obama; I won’t make that mistake again.

Jay’s convictions are not at odds with his philosophy, but neither do they promote his philosophy. It doesn’t matter what Jay says or what he stands for. What matters is how he stands his ground against our enemies, foreign and domestic. (Here, I use “domestic” to refer to the Republican Party, as opposed to the “foreign” Democrats.) Jay’s convictions won’t allow him to kick scumbag Republicans (like our Lieutenant Governor) to the curb where they belong. He believes in Reagan’s ill-conceived and hypocritically uttered 11th Commandment: “Thou shalt not speak ill of thy fellow Republican.” (Reagan ran against and nearly defeated the Republican incumbent president, Gerald Ford in 1976, and Reagan’s relentless attacks on Ford tarnished the brand going into the November election that year.)

Bill Eigel, on the other hand, doesn’t really like those corrupt, stupid, and cowardly Republicans who feighn such delight in seeing you at the Capitol in sessions. Eigel didn’t get into politics to make friends, but to fix the damn state and country, to save from both kinds of enemies: Democrat and Republican.

I met Eigel in August of 2014. I had called a meeting of the St. Louis Tea Party Coalition to discuss a response to the Michael Brown riots. My plan was unusual—a BUYcott to support Ferguson businesses and a campaign (yes, an issues campaign) to end, what then-State Senator Eric Schmitt called “taxation by citation”: abusive municipal ordinances and courts that relied on ridiculous fines to feed the opulent lifestyles of career bureaucrats and politicians. Bill Eigel showed up that meeting—his first Tea Party event—and followed us to the after party. Next thing I knew, he was a State Senator.

As a State Senator, Bill Eigel has proven to be the epitome of the Tea Party ideals: perfect philosophically; steadfast conviction. Eigel refused to “soften” his positions when so ordered by Senate leadership. He lost his committees and leadership positions because of his convictions. Eigel pissed off my friend, Eric Greitens during their first days in Jefferson City. That was a mistake, but we don’t have time to hash that over—there’s a state and a country to save.

We have little control as Missourians who will be president for the next four years. Missouri will vote overwhelmingly for Donald Trump, but our votes will have impact on the battleground states. Our Trump vote is already priced in. We have far greater control over our next governor.

In the face of uncertainty, prepare for the worst.

Play a little thought experiment with me. Say Joe Biden, not Donald Trump, gets sworn in as president on January 20, 2025. Now, imagine what his junta will do to destroy rights, punish opponents, and replace American citizens with controllable illegal aliens and expendable Mohammedans. Picture the horror and destruction another four years of autocratic Democrat rule would do. See the immigrants being dropped off in your small town, clogging the streets, robbing your neighbors, raping and killing your daughters. (None of that is exaggeration.)

Should Biden retain power, do you want a nice coalition-building governor or a bulldog veteran who doesn’t back down from a Navy SEAL Republican governor?

“Extremism in defense of liberty is no vice. Moderation in pursuit of justice is no virtue.” —Barry Goldwater

Maybe our survival as a state and a free people is an “issue” in the minds of township committeemen, but, in my mind, it’s a life-or-death struggle. Just as I won’t trust my home and family defense to the police 20 minutes away, I won’t trust my life, liberty, and property, my Bill of Rights, my country’s existence, and my state’s sovereignty to a coalition builder when there’s an armored personnel carrier on the ballot who shares my philosophy 100%. Ashcroft and Eigel are both great guys, but I want a governor whose convictions involve winning in absolute terms rather than “winning” by reaching a “good” comprise that makes you want to take a shower afterwards.

While Jay would govern with Reagan’s 11th Commandment, Eigel, I suspect, will govern by Goldwater’s Law: “Extremism in defense of liberty is no vice. Moderation in pursuit of justice is no virtue.”

On August 6, Bill Hennessy will vote for Bill Eigel for Governor, and I hope you do, too.

Find out more on Bill Eigel’s campaign website.¹

1. Featured image clipped from billeigel.com.