Rep. Chappelle-Nadal should resign

It's hard for a Missouri politician to put our proud state in a more unfavorable light than former Congressman Todd Akin.

Akin, you'll recall, made an asinine statement on rape that not only doomed his career but brought insensitivity to a new low.

But Akin's stupidity was trumped last week by the ever-popular Missouri State Sen. Maria Chappelle-Nadal (Dem. St. Louis).

Chappelle-Nadal posted a social media blurb calling for the assassination of President Trump. And all hell broke loose.

This isn't some random man on the street or drunk in a bar who opines that someone should kill the President.

No, this is an elected representative of the people of Missouri who must be held to a higher standard.

Despite universal condemnation and countless calls from both parties for her resignation, she remains steadfast and resolute.

Her career should parallel Akin, and she should be relegated to the trash heap of disgraced politicians.

Condemnation is insufficient. There should be a price to pay for her special brand of arrogance and stupidity.

Chappelle-Nadal embodies everything wrong with the political class.

She'll receive a mild rebukes because she is of a protected class. And many of her fellow travelers will quietly pat her on the back in cowardly support.

She'll play the race card, the gender card and any other phony ploy to defend her corrosive comments.

Resignation alone falls short of appropriate punishment. And condemnation without consequences is little more than lip service.

Think of the righteous indignation Chappelle-Nadal would have spouted had a fellow politician called for the assassination of Barack Obama. The vocal protests from the left would be like none seen before.

But here's the dirty little secret Chappelle-Nadal knows all too well:

There is no longer a level playing field for political speech.

Vile words from the left are characterized as frustration, while speech from the right is always tainted as some form of bigotry.

Her tepid apologies should be rejected.

I am not angered by her hateful words. I am repulsed and embarrassed for our state.

And just what message does this send to our youth?

The public has grown to expect incendiary language from the left. But now, we demand consequences.

Absent some form of punishment, this language will continue to grow.

Maria Chappelle-Nadal has egg on her face. Let's pray she doesn't have blood on her hands.

Michael Jensen is the publisher of the Standard Democrat in Sikeston, Missouri.