If Missouri GOP voters select U.S. Rep. Billy Long as their Senate nominee, he鈥檚 promising a minimum amount of drama in the November election.
That鈥檚 part of the sales pitch the 7th District congressman from Springfield is giving Missourians in the Aug. 2 primary. Long said he has the voting record and the ties to former President Donald Trump to make conservatives proud.
鈥淚 think I鈥檓 the one who can win this race in the general election without a lot of big pushback from the Democrats,鈥� Long said on an episode of Politically Speaking. 鈥淚 think if we elect Eric Greitens, the party has told us we鈥檒l have to spend $40 million to $50 million trying to drag him across the finish line.鈥�
Long鈥檚 reference to the former Missouri governor 鈥� including his personal conduct and how he鈥檚 dealt with his campaign finances. Greitens recently sparked
鈥淚f you want to beat RINOs, you beat them at the ballot box. To say that you鈥檙e going to go hunting RINOs is beyond the pale in my opinion,鈥� Long said. 鈥淏ut like I said, this is politics 2022 style. And all the earned media is great whether they鈥檙e saying good things or bad things about you, I suppose.鈥�
Greitens for how he鈥檒l fight against members of his own party if they don鈥檛 showcase a commitment to conservative policies.
On the campaign trail, Long has stressed his early support for Trump鈥檚 2016 campaign 鈥� noting that he was for the former president when many of his Republican contemporaries were backing other candidates. He doesn鈥檛 know if Trump will endorse anyone in the Missouri Senate contest.
Long has made the argument that other major candidates in the race 鈥� U.S. Rep. Vicky Hartzler and Attorney General Eric Schmitt 鈥� don鈥檛 have conservative credentials, even if they have more money in the bank than he does.
鈥淪chmitt and Hartzler have all the money in the world, all these big donors behind them and all these huge people, and they have not been able to break out in this race,鈥� Long said. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e both stuck down in the polls.鈥�
Slams Capitol riot hearings
Like other GOP candidates in the Senate race, Long has been critical of a House committee conducting public hearings into the insurrection that occurred in January 2021. He said the committee is stacked against Republicans, adding it was unfair for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to bounce two GOP choices, U.S. Reps. Jim Jordan and Jim Banks, from the committee.
Currently, Republican Reps. Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger serve on the committee.
鈥淭he only Republicans they wanted to put on, they booted off,鈥� Long said. 鈥淭hey picked two Trump-hating Republicans to put on there. So I have a lot of issues with the committee and how it was set up. We鈥檝e got all sorts of problems in this country without having a sham committee.鈥�
Long voted against certifying Arizona and Pennsylvania鈥檚 electoral votes but noted that he attended President Joe Biden鈥檚 inauguration and added that the Democrat won the election.
But Long said he has issues with how the 2020 election was conducted, namely that there was an expansion of absentee and early voting because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
鈥淭hese election laws, which as you know are supposed to be determined by the representatives in those states 鈥� several states didn鈥檛 do that. They let the courts and elected officials do that on their own,鈥� Long said. 鈥淎nd so if there's a question about how he won, if it wasn鈥檛 for COVID Trump would have still been elected.鈥�
Not a fan of gas tax holiday
Long has been critical of almost all of Biden鈥檚 policies, including a recent proposal to suspend the federal gas tax as a way to provide relief for consumers dealing with high gas prices.
He said such a move 鈥渋s putting a Band-Aid on the problem.鈥�
鈥淭he whole thing behind this is as clear as the nose on your face,鈥� Long said. 鈥淭he day that Biden got sworn in, he immediately stopped the Keystone XL pipeline.鈥�
Had Biden not axed the pipeline,. Asked whether that project would have had any effect on gas prices now, Long said: 鈥淲ell, it would have helped in 2023. If there鈥檚 word coming that there鈥檚 going to be more oil and everything, the price goes down.鈥�
鈥楴o鈥� on Ukraine funding and bipartisan gun bill
Long said he will not be voting for that, among other things, increases funding for mental health services and provides money to states with so-called red flag laws that seek to disarm people who are a danger to themselves or others.
He said the red flag law provision is particularly concerning, adding that 鈥減eople in Missouri are very, very concerned about losing our Second Amendment rights.鈥� The legislation would not require Missouri to adopt red flag laws.
鈥淢y biggest problem with one of these red flag laws is I always see the face of one of my colleagues that went through a horrendous divorce and an abusive situation several years ago,鈥� Long said. 鈥淎nd any time red flag laws are brought up, she claims that they could have taken her gun away from her at that point 鈥� which was the only thing that kept her from meeting her demise.鈥�
Long suggested that some of the ideas in the legislation should have been passed in individual bills.
鈥淲hy didn鈥檛 they put this in pieces where we could vote for some of it and pass some of it instead of putting in a third rail for most people in Missouri?鈥� Long said.
Long also explained why he voted against a $40 billion aid package to support Ukraine in its war against Russia. He asked, 鈥淗ow far would $40 billion have gone in this country to fortify our schools to protect our schoolchildren or finish the (Mexican border) wall?鈥�
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