Missouri Republicans shaken by scandal, tragedy

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- In many regards, Missouri Republicans seldom have been more powerful than they are, well positioned to carry out their part in the conservative movement sweeping the Midwest and South.

They hold commanding majorities in the Legislature and have helped make this historic swing state Republican-leaning territory in presidential politics.

Yet they seem beset by troubles that have all the makings of a made-for-TV drama, and have left some wondering whether the turmoil will hamper the party's effectiveness in the future.

There have been sexual indiscretions. Political mud-slinging and backstabbing. A high-profile candidate brought down by a verbal gaffe. Allegations of religious prejudice. Even a pair of tragic suicides.

The latest fallen star is Missouri House Speaker John Diehl, who resigned in disgrace last week after acknowledging he had exchanged sexually suggestive text messages with a 19-year-old Capitol intern.

The saga has left people asking: "What's going on with Missouri and the Republican Party in that state?" said Dave Robertson, a political science professor at the University of Missouri-St. Louis.

There is no simple answer. Some of the party's woes stem from poor decisions by individual members -- the types of things that could happen anyplace. Other problems have revealed internal divisions that have been amplified as the GOP's ranks have grown, providing a cautionary example to majority parties elsewhere.

The larger question is whether Republicans can recover in time for the pivotal 2016 elections, which feature contests for president, Senate, governor and most of the state's executive offices. A Republican presidential candidate is unlikely to win without carrying Missouri. And without winning the governor's mansion -- which Democrats have held for 18 of the past 22 years -- Republicans may not be able to enact some of their priorities, such as a right-to-work law limiting union powers.

So extensive was the disarray during the sexting scandal last week the House canceled all business on its penultimate day. It still had a more productive final week than the Senate, where GOP leaders chose to quit early rather than endure a filibuster from Democrats protesting their management. Legislators passed nearly a third fewer bills than last year.

"Obviously, over the past weeks and months, it has been a rather difficult session at times for a variety of reasons," said new House Speaker Todd Richardson, who took over for Diehl.

Heading into the 2012 elections, Republicans figured to have a good shot at unseating Missouri freshman Democratic U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill. But Todd Akin, the strongly conservative congressman who won the GOP primary, doomed his challenge by telling a TV interviewer women's bodies have ways of preventing pregnancy in cases of "legitimate rape."

Similar GOP chasms were revealed in February, when State Auditor Tom Schweich fatally shot himself weeks after declaring his candidacy for governor. A Republican operative already had aired a negative radio ad mocking Schweich's physical appearance, and Schweich had wanted to go public with allegations the new state GOP chairman had led an anti-Semitic whispering campaign against him.

A month after Schweich's suicide, his former auditor's office spokesman fatally shot himself.