The peripatetic Ed Martin — former Chief of Staff to Gov. Matt Blunt, head of the St. Louis Elections Board and aide to the Archbishop — was on the Fox News Channel moments ago, discussing his opposition to the takeover of Anheuser-Busch by Belgian beer giant InBev.

Martin, co-fouder of the website and online petition at SaveAB.com, was put on the defensive slightly by the conservative news network, where the anchor, a Neil Cavuto understudy, wondered why not let the free market decide whether the merger is good or bad.

“Here’s the deal,” Martin replied. “Capitalism at work includes caring about where things are made, and how they’re made, and the culture of the company.”

He went on to argue that InBev leveraged itself so much to make the $52 billion deal that the company might not have the resources to maintain the Budweiser brand.

An American brand, Martin said. (Was that a flag pin on his lapel?)

“This isn’t a widget maker in some other place,” Martin siad. “This is a company that is built on being an American original.”