Talk about deja vu. We have seen this show before in Missouri, when Jason Kander ran against Roy Blunt for Senate and was unfortunately defeated. Now Blunt is out and the seat is up for grabs. “Mansion Man Mark” McCloskey is running on the GOP ticket and there is a terrific Democrat, cut from the same bolt of cloth as his fellow veteran Kander, running against him. Take a look at his campaign ad.
US Marine, Iraq and Afghanistan vet, Yale grad, and Democratic US Senate Candidate @LucasKunceMO is running against lawyer Mark McCloskey, who points guns at protestors. He annihilates him with one of the best ads you will ever see to start a campaign. pic.twitter.com/Svn1tYoTym
— Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) June 11, 2021
Contrast that with McCloskey’s “The mob is coming for all of us” ad.
Here is the link to Kunce’s Act Blue page so you can donate. We will be nudging people again to support this candidate between now and election day 2020, you can count on that. Wouldn’t it be nice to see a sane mid westerner win out over a Trumpite?
Missouri has got to have one good senator, since they’re still saddled with Josh Hawley. Kunce’s candidacy is so hopeful.
Election day 2020?
I know we shouldn’t like a candidate based solely on their appearance but Kunce is just such eye candy you almost don’t pay attention to what he’s saying. (I say “almost” because his voice just demands you pay attention) It’d almost be worth it to move to Missouri just to be able to vote for him.
As a jarhead (so long ago it feels like another life) I’m aware of my tendency for potential bias so before responding I did some initial reading up on this guy. Yes, the introduction ad was great, including the line about having carried around an assault weapon in places/situations they were actually designed for. He didn’t come right out and say so but his comments about the dude likely to be his opponent (assuming he wins the nomination) were pretty sharp – waving one in a tony suburb at a bunch of people peacefully marching down his street isn’t proper use of any weapon and there was sure as hell no need for an assault weapon. It will be interesting to see his position on assault weapons and a potential return to the kind of ban that was passed in the 1990s.
I also see his position on choice has evolved, but it seems long enough ago (that he became pro-choice and a firm supporter of women’s reproductive rights) and the how & why he evolved on the issue seem genuine. Of course, being a guy (and an old white guy at that) I’ll let women who work on the issue and who have (or will) vetted him inform my final view on this point.
As for the rest, his personal history is in fact personal and clearly has shaped his positions on many issues from jobs to healthcare and at least from what’s published on his site I like what I see. His thirteen years of service in the Corps go well beyond leading Marines in combat situations – he’s got real expertise on national security matters including some hefty work shaping and representing U.S. policy internationally. He’d be one hellua addition to any committees that address defense and broader national security and diplomatic matters.
One last thing. I grew up just eight miles from Missouri so I have some appreciation (maybe lack thereof in a lot of cases!) for folks from across the river. This is someone who grew up in tough circumstances, has demonstrated true appreciation for the help he and his family got during those years and who with the world at his feet chose to go back home. And address issues that affect regular folks from his hometown, his state and the midwest. Democrats could do a lot worse than back this guy next year. A LOT worse. Might someone better turn up? We’ll see but I can easily imagine him tooling around the state and getting a lot of the goobers to say “Well, he’s a Democrat but damn – he gets it and makes a lot more sense than the folks we’ve been voting for!.” And not to rile folks up but the fact that in a state like Missouri that’s grown redder each cycle, having a young and energetic white guy who is clearly well educated but can I’m sure speak fluent “Y’all” gives us a real chance to grab this seat.
We’ll see how he holds up to the kind of scrutiny he’s bound to get. And whether he keeps out of trouble. I’m still feeling burned over what happened down here in NC (where I’ve lived since mid 2014) with Cal Cunnigham, another veteran with ok (not as good as this guy but fairly decent) positions on issues. He was poised to take Tillis down by a comfortable margin but couldn’t keep his dick stowed and once word got out about his affair with some gal out in CA (some consultant) the outcome was never really in question and we’re stuck with that asshole Tillis. If I could have five minutes of this guy’s time I’d tell him to take a good hard look at what happened with Cunningham last year and if there were skeletons in his closet then drop out now, and if not to spend each day on the lookout for people trying to create scandal – or “scandal” around him. Because if he’s the kind of person and candidate he seems to be the GOP dirty tricks people are going to focus enormous resources on him.
In the meantime however, I’m Marine Corps Green with envy at how much more this guy has accomplished than I have been. I mean that in a good way. From what I see he’s a perfect example of Semper Fidelis in action.
When it comes time for the “idiots of the year” awards, surely these two ought to at least make the finals. The 1st time I saw this picture I thought “I would hate for this photo to follow me through life”-and I have some very crappy photos following me in life. lol