Republican candidate swings through Fulton

Ron Payton, of Fulton, who visited with Eric Greitens on Wednesday, signs the candidate's campaign bus.
Ron Payton, of Fulton, who visited with Eric Greitens on Wednesday, signs the candidate's campaign bus.

Riding on enthusiasm generated by his campaign bus tour, Eric Greitens, Republican candidate for Missouri governor, told a small group of Fultonians why he is the man who deserves their votes.

"We've got just 12 days to go, and we have the opportunity to change politics as usual," Greitens said Wednesday at a rally at Beks restaurant.

Greitens faces three other Republicans - Catherine Hanaway, John Brunner and Peter Kinder - in the Aug. 2 primary election.

"We've done about 100 of these town halls, and the energy level has been great," said Jeff Stuerman, Greitens' campaign treasurer.

Stuerman called his candidate a "conservative warrior." Born and raised in Missouri, Greitens obtained his college education while performing humanitarian mission trips overseas and then joined the U.S. Navy. He was training as a Navy SEAL when the events of Sept. 11, 2001, occurred.

"(Sept. 11) changed all of our worlds," he said. "We knew we were the first class (of SEALs in training) to go to war."

He served four tours of duty overseas, including in Afghanistan and Iraq. Greitens' team mission at one point was to look for high- and intermediate-level Al Qaeda leaders in and around Fallujah, Iraq. His unit was attacked by a suicide bomber March 28, 2007, and some members lost their lives. Greitens said he was back to work within 72 hours, but he's never forgotten his fallen and damaged comrades.

When he came back to the U.S., Greitens visited wounded soldiers at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Maryland.

"I would walk into the hospital rooms and was often talking to very young soldiers," he said. "They all said 'I want to return to my unit.'"

He knew those who wouldn't would have a tough time adjusting.

"They would lose their sense of
purpose and lose their sense of team," Greitens said.

He said he saw the complicated bureaucracy of the Veterans Administration, tasked with tending to former soldiers. Some survivors were just handed prescriptions to which they eventually became addicted.

"Some of those who had worn the uniform of the United States now looked ashamed," he said.

To stop that spiral, Greitens founded The Mission Continues, a Missouri-based nonprofit veterans' assistance program, and in the beginning, sought to help one veteran at a time.

"Now we've helped 8,000 vets in all 50 states," he said. "The first people to start helping were Vietnam veterans. "

Based on these experiences and other, Greitens said he has a firm idea of how to help Missouri.

"I am running for governor because our government is broken," he said, blaming insiders and lobbyists. "While they get rich, people are hurting."

On his campaign stop in Fulton, Greitens brought along Sarah Steelman, a former state representative and Missouri state treasurer who ran for governor in 2008 and the U.S. Senate in 2012.

"He believes in the limited role of government; he's got the courage of his convictions and is fearless," she said while introducing Greitens. "He is a new, fresh face with energy."

Greitens talked about his platform and belief system. Building teams is the best way to get things done, he said.

"It's not a Democrat-Republican-Independent issue," he said of the state and county division. "Right now, we have confusion at the top. We need to have leaders to step up."

He said he visited Ferguson two years ago when the town erupted after a fatal police shooting.

"I went down to Ferguson myself," he said. "Nobody showed up. The governor, the state's attorney general failed to show up. I walked around and talked to people. There was anger and confusion and fear and no one to talk to. There was no plan for peace."

He also touched on recent shootings of police officers.

"This is going to end," Greitens said. "As governor, I am always going to have their backs."

He added he feels his campaign is strong and growing.

"We have built a grassroots campaign in the state of Missouri that hasn't been seen in generations," Greitens said. "Now, we're among the leaders (in the campaign)."

Ron Payton, of Fulton, brought his 10-year-old grandson, Christian, to the gathering.

"I didn't agree with everything he said," Payton said. "I always voted Democrat, but I read his book, 'The Heart and the Fist,' and I have respect for what he's done for his country, and I'm voting for him."