I keep forgetting John Danforth showed up for my brother's wedding (friend of sister-in-law's family)! He was a Senator at the time, but a down to earth guy. He was an heir to Ralston-Purina and just got richer when they sold out to Nestle. When I was a kid, Missouri was run by truly crooked Democrats. He and Democrat Tom Eagleton (who you may remember from his misadventure as George McGovern's running mate) helped run them out of office. I can imagine he does indeed feel bad about how Hawley has turned out.

The Post-Dispatch has always been a fiercely Democrat paper, so their indignation doesn't actually mean as much.