Recently the Osage County Republican Committee (OCRC) filed a lawsuit to keep Coroner candidate AJ Probst off the Ballot. According to the OCRC he was not an acceptable Republican because he wouldn’t take their vetting test. The real issue is that the OCRC doesn’t trust Osage County Republicans to vote for the best candidate.
I agree fully with AJ, that the test is wrong. First, it is not a product of the state or national party, but a product of the Vernon County Committee, which has less than half its members actually elected by Republicans. Sadly, it has spread to Osage and a few other counties. Second, any idiot could pass their test as there is no lie detector, assuring that candidates of low moral character are sure to get annointed by the party, which should offend and embarrass all rational Republicans. Third, the Vernon County committee that started this whole nightmare, has “vetted” members that believe that the U.S. should not have fought Hitler, that Jews are the product of a sexual coupling of the Biblical Eve and the devil, that Clarence Thomas is an abomination as he is married to a white woman, and some of the committee members belong to the local church of Israel that has hosted known KKK members. Further, other “vetters” state that if a 14-year-old girl gets pregnant, it is all okay if her parents make her marry the man; that the U.S. should not assist the Ukraine against Putin; and that people can have themselves declared sovereign citizens and thus be above the law, not have to pay taxes, and not have to honor contracts (pay debts).
I would never seek to join these supposed Republicans or wear their badge of being vetted. AJ Probst and responsible Republicans trust the voters to vet the candidates, that’s what our forefathers fought to defend.
I was fortunate to have served 20 years in the Missouri House of Representatives from where my wife and I previously lived, and there I met Osage County’s own Representative Merle “Doc” Townley. In fact, he sat shoulder to shoulder with me on the House floor for 10 years and we became close friends and never moved from those adjoining seats. We had a bit of a game, that when anything in the proceedings didn’t make sense, we’d look at one another and say, “What’s that smell?” and try and figure out what the stink’s end game was. The end game here seems to be a small group of radical, fringe Republicans who neither respect the integrity or intelligence of Osage County voters, and want to limit their choices. They have taken counsel from the WOKE wing of the Democratic Party (AOC, Talib, Omar, Sanders) and the Freedom Caucus of the Missouri Senate, who, by the way, were instrumental in the vetting plan. These chaotic Freedom Caucus Senators (less than 1/5th of Republican Senators) accomplished nothing, constantly undercut the vast majority of the Republican Senators (assisting Democrats, who they say they oppose), spread chaos and confusion, and last but not least, gained lots and lots of media attention.
I think Doc could have easily come up with a place for the OCRC to shove their chaos, vetting, and bullying. He trusted the voters of Osage County and so do I and so does AJ Probst.
VERY Sincerely, Gene Lang
Proud Osage County Republican
