Peter Kinder Speaks to FOP, Lends Insight into "Dark and Compartmentalized Part" of the Lives of Perverts

Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder recently addressed the meeting of a Missouri lodge of the Fraternal Order of Police.  When Kinder finished his remarks and opened the floor to questions from those assembled, one officer asked Kinder about the series of events in his office regarding the charging of his chief of staff, Eric Feltner, for furnishing pornography to a minor.

The question set off a rambling seven-plus minute response --the length of which exceeded his initial remarks.  Though audio of the entire event is available here, below is a transcript of a particularly compelling portion.  In the excerpt, Kinder seeks to enlighten his audience about the "nature" of the behaviors undertaken by people like his former chief of staff:

It is in the nature of these charges and these people who engage in that kind of behavior, I will further add, that it is located in a very dark and compartmentalized part of their life.  I consulted with a prosecuting attorney who's known to many of you with a statewide reputation who has prosecuted some of these cases and he said "Governor, we have priests, we have captains of industry, we have respected professionals --lawyers, doctors and CPAs-- we have ex-cops who we have charged and in most cases you will find that they have displayed wonderful judgment, excellent judgment, were reliable employees in every other facet of their work life and their daily lives."  And they've got this little dark thing going over here that no one else knows about, including in this case his wife.  And it's in the nature of these things that they are unknown to the rest of us.  So that's what I'm dealing with there, and it's in the courts and I await resolution to the case. 

­This part of Kinder's performance is revelatory in its depth of knowledge of and empathy for those who "compartmentalize" difficult aspects of their selves.  Rarely do attendees get to plumb the depths of psyches during a fifteen minute stump visit on the campaign circuit as did participants in the recent FOP meeting.

In other parts of Kinder's response, he also answered a more narrow question about his belief surrounding what should happen to Eric Feltner now:

Now, you ask if he [Feltner] should be put on a registry somewhere.  He is an American citizen who enjoys the presumption that we all enjoy when we're charged with a crime of innocence until proven guilty.  I do not believe it is an issue at this time, sir, of being placed on a registry until his case has been adjudicated.

Some observers have noted that this is a far cry from some of the recent GOP rhetoric about sex offenses against children, much of which has focused on decrying the unconstitutionality of use of the death penalty for certain offenders.

Regardless, Kinder's FOP visit --and the permanent record of it-- makes for an interesting view into the mind of the current Lieutenant Governor.

[Ed. note: Kinder's address runs from approximately the 1:15 point to the 14:40 point on the attached audio clip.]