I was hollering about Aikin getting out, too, but got no support that I recall.
You said “We have many talented and capable candidates in Missouri...why can’t they get past the primary?”
Have you ever been to Rep. Headquarters in Springfield? I went in 08 - for the LAST time. Wanted to help. (Actually wanted to get Sarah Palin elected, period.) Wanted a yard sign. They had none, except for some simpering little “Kenny” guy they loved running for some state office, I forgot now. They all hated Sarah Steelman. The Rep. groups in MO. (at least in the Ozarks) seem to be little cliques for their favored local candidates and not much else. The delegate meeting in 2016 was the same. The Tea Party rallies earlier were the same. They are not thinking Big or Wide; they are thinking Small and Narrow, and their best pals. Sorry, but that’s what I see.
I haven’t ever been to Rep. HQ in Springfield, but have worked at our local HQ in times past.
I know the Kenny you are talking about, he is a former colleague of my husband. We went to a local rally for him and other Republican candidates that year in a public park. Brought our lawn chairs and set them up a little distance from the pavilion. A fellow with cameras crept up behind us and used us for cover to try to spy and film the proceedings. He was undoubtedly sent by Democrats to try to get something incriminating on tape. We had to move our chairs and belongings in order to expose him. I guess he thought we were too naïve to know what he was doing. It was a weird experience.