There is an upsurge in candidates vying for wins in various GOP primaries a result, no doubt, of the grassroots movement. It’s a good thing, except when one of those candidates throws a tantrum on Facebook and Twitter because he feels entitled to radio time.

A couple of things: I was a broadcaster before the tea party movement and just as people don’t like going to rallies to hear an endless stream of politicians prattle on about how awesome they are in their own minds. It’s something that I don’t do on my show because if it’s that boring in person IMAGINE how that level of boringness would translate on air. Some hosts do, some don’t. It’s personal preference for folks who have shows that bear their name.

I invite politicians to come on my show if they do something beyond simply running for office. Anyone can run for office and promise people the moon, whoopadee-flipping doo-da; do something of general interest and we’ll talk. I’ve had Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder on my show as he is a sitting lawmaker and he just filed suit against the health control law which is definitely newsworthy; I’ve had Chuck Purgason on to discuss his national-headline-grabbing move of going sans toupee; I’ve had Ed Martin on to talk about initiatives he’s involved himself with in support of our troops; I’ve even had on Roy Blunt to discuss his vote on HCR because THAT was definitely newsworthy; I’ve had on Jane Cunningham, Jim Lembke, and Cynthia Davis to discuss their work for Prop C; I’ve even had on Edward Crim, the quasi-tea party, rally-attending Democrat (and only Mo Dem to attend a tea party rally to my knowledge) challenging Carnahan in the third district. The common thread here is that ALL OF THESE PEOPLE HAVE DONE SOMETHING NEWSWORTHY. And yes, what I think is newsworthy and what someone else thinks is newsworthy may be different, but it’s also why I’ve a same-named show and why I appear regularly on national television.

I don’t endorse people in primaries. It’s detrimental for me to do so because it would cause division on a side that has little time to think of anything else at the moment. One Republican candidate, a guy named John Wayne Tucker who calls himself a “Baptist preacher” but likes to name-call women online, apparently didn’t like my stance or how I ran my show. Months ago I received an email from one of his staffers who apparently thought I said something about Tucker, which I didn’t; I had been discussing consultancy groups trying to co-opt the tea party. He was a bit sassy in his tone, I responded, all was cool, I thought.

Flash forward to a couple days ago when Tucker went on my personal Facebook page to complain about how he hasn’t been able to come on my show and electioneer. He commented on my Facebook page twice before I finally responded, then he acted shocked and claimed later on Twitter to have never said anything to me about it.

He aligned himself with liberal bloggers, so desperate to land a blow both parties worked together to create this narrative that I am somehow in the pocket for Ed Martin. I’ve been accused of being in the pocket of Martin, Kinder, Purgason, Allen Icet, Tom Schweich, et al. by liberals, and now a GOP candidate who sides with liberals, so this was nothing new. I’ve also featured, as mentioned above, Edward Crim on my show, so don’t forget that I’m  in his pocket, too. (And technically, all of the people I reTweet on Twitter, people whose content I share on Facebook, I’m in all your all’s pocket.)

Interestingly, no one, ever, except for Tucker himself or his staffers, have ever mentioned anything about him being on my show.

It’s a weird tactic: you’re not getting traction so you pick a fight with a conservative woman commentator and you and your lackeys try to disparage her ethics due to her lack of … preferential treatment for yourself. I know that many on the left, including the Carnahans, would love to see havoc in the 3rd District and it seems that Tucker is willing to play that pawn if it gives him more name-recognition.

It’s an interesting and very beltway tactic in that it shows the lengths some candidates are willing to go to win a race. The name-calling is not what I would expect from someone who claims to be a minister.

Quickly: I was raised with faith. I was raised Baptist. My father-in-law is a non-denominational pastor. It is of my learning that people who claim the mantle of shepherds need to watch their behavior, especially those who feature their faith and position as a minister as something to attract voters. If, as a minister, you cannot maintain the principles of your faith during a political campaign then there is a problem. It’s an even bigger problem to me, because I expect people who are older and have a more mature faith to be representatives of Christ for younger generations.

I don’t know what transpired in Tucker’s personal life to suddenly make him lash out at me online about electioneering, but he would have been well advised to perhaps not make his meltdown public.

I don’t like having to deal with someone like this who claims to be on conservatives’ side but when a Republican candidate takes jabs at your character based upon his anger at not being on your show, that’s pretty beyond the pale – especially when you’re asked to verify a smear like the one below and you refuse:

Does Tucker think that we’ve won the health control battle, immigration, cap-and-tax, financial reform, and the rest and that we have all this free time on our hands to use to berate people into enacting his will? If he runs his campaign like this can you imagine how he’d act if he were to ever win one of his races?

I was open to having Tucker on air were he to do something beyond campaigning or have insight on an issue that would make for a compelling segment, but apparently that was not good enough. Unless he issues a public apology for his attempts to smear me and for his behavior overall, that will never happen.