Sarah Steelman is Not Establishment?: Give it up Sarah!

I keep reading these news stories about Sarah Steelman in the days since she announced her bid for the Senate. Many of them try to make the case that she is the establishment candidate, while making the case she is tea party. I have been to many Tea Party rallies in Southwest Missouri, and I can't say I have seen Steelman at any of them. However, establishment seems to better fit her.

Those building up Steelman's candidacy claim she's not establishment because she angered the establishment. When you look at how she angered them, you will see Steelman's own ambition for political power and to be the head of the establishment is the reason why she angered the establishment. It wasn't like she was a true outsider when she ran for governor. In fact, she was considered a sweetheart in the Republican ranks packaged in tight fitting blouses and short miniskirts, a look that doesn't fit the aging Steelman very well these days.

How did she anger the establishment? Well, she broke Ronald Reagan's 11th Commandment and ran a negative campaign against Kenny Hulshof and weakened him in the general campaign. It was personal ambition that angered the GOP establishment, not any real convictions.

Consider she has served in the Missouri State Senate, was the state treasurer, ran for governor in 2008, and sat on the fence to run for Senate in 2010, but decided to back down against Roy Blunt. If she was anti-establishment, why didn't she run against Blunt? There was obviously establishment deals made and Steelman represents the next in line for the establishment.

She is also married to the establishment through her husband David. A six-year Missouri House member who ran for Attorney General and lost in 1992, who also had close ties with disgraced Attorney General William Webster, who spent some prison time after his gig as Attorney General. David also was the House minority leader in 1982.

It's just funny to try to make the claim that Sarah Steelman isn't establishment. The Steelman name has been a fixture in Missouri politics since 1978, when her husband David first took office, and she has carried out the name Steelman name in Missouri politics after he left Missouri Republican politics in 1992 for good. She would become a state Senator later in the decade with the reputation of wooing the Senators on the floor with her cute looks and more provocative dress.