MO-GOV: Schweich dead from gunshot wound

[RogueBeaver]

Party leaders expect Danforth, Schweich's political mentor, to address the whispering campaign head-on when he delivers the eulogy on Tuesday. Expectations are that there will be calls for MOGOP chair John Hancock's resignation. Hancock has admitted mentioning to some Pubs his belief that Schweich was Jewish but denied anti-Semitic motivations. Could be implications for Hanaway.

[RogueBeaver]

Danforth's eulogy here. He discusses the anti-Semitic smear explicitly and at length, also mentions the radio ad ridiculing Schweich's appearance. That ad was linked to associates of Hanaway allies. Schweich wanted to go public on the smear campaign with several witnesses, Danforth advised him to let the media unearth it.

[Maxwell]

Looks like Catherine Hanaway is doomed now.

Congrats Eric Greitens! (or whoever enters)

[RogueBeaver]

Hancock said he mentioned Jewishness in the same breath as his Presbyterianism and Hanaway's Catholicism... somehow I doubt that. Before his election, Hancock did some consulting work for Hanaway. The radio ad, among other things, called Schweich "a little bug."

[windjammer]

I am really shocked.
I will keep him in my thought and prayers.
This is really, really low, even for politicians.

[Ebsy]

Missouri Republicans are in deep trouble over this, and will continue to be until Hanaway drops out of the race and Hancock resigns. Hanaway is definitely now facing a steep, uphill battle in the primary, and it looks like it's going to be as bloody as the 2012 Senate Primary. We'll see who Rex Sinquefield decides to throw his money behind, but he has already wasted about a million bucks on Hanaway. Koster is definitely the favorite to win now against whoever Republicans put up, who is likely going to have about 0 name recognition. I think there is a possibility that Tom Schweich's suicide(especially Danforth's condemnation of the state GOP) is going to hurt Republicans generally in Missouri next election.

[Türkisblau]

Schweich's spokesman, Robert "Spence" Jackson, is dead from an apparent suicide as well.

What is going on?

[Ebsy]

Business as usual for the Missouri State GOP.

[user12345]

Wow. I wonder what else we don't know that was/is going on concerning this.

[MATTROSE94]

Missouri Republicans are in deep trouble over this, and will continue to be until Hanaway drops out of the race and Hancock resigns. Hanaway is definitely now facing a steep, uphill battle in the primary, and it looks like it's going to be as bloody as the 2012 Senate Primary. We'll see who Rex Sinquefield decides to throw his money behind, but he has already wasted about a million bucks on Hanaway. Koster is definitely the favorite to win now against whoever Republicans put up, who is likely going to have about 0 name recognition. I think there is a possibility that Tom Schweich's suicide(especially Danforth's condemnation of the state GOP) is going to hurt Republicans generally in Missouri next election.

I think that it will hurt Republicans to a point as well on the state level, though I still think that whoever the Republicans nominate will still carry Missouri (though by a closer margin that in 2012) and I think that Roy Blunt is still favored for re-election at this point, as the Democrats don't really have that strong of a bench of possible Senate candidates.

[pbrower2a]

Political violence is terribly unpopular in America. That includes Missouri.

[free my dawg]

Missouri Republicans are in deep trouble over this, and will continue to be until Hanaway drops out of the race and Hancock resigns. Hanaway is definitely now facing a steep, uphill battle in the primary, and it looks like it's going to be as bloody as the 2012 Senate Primary. We'll see who Rex Sinquefield decides to throw his money behind, but he has already wasted about a million bucks on Hanaway. Koster is definitely the favorite to win now against whoever Republicans put up, who is likely going to have about 0 name recognition. I think there is a possibility that Tom Schweich's suicide(especially Danforth's condemnation of the state GOP) is going to hurt Republicans generally in Missouri next election.

I think that it will hurt Republicans to a point as well on the state level, though I still think that whoever the Republicans nominate will still carry Missouri (though by a closer margin that in 2012) and I think that Roy Blunt is still favored for re-election at this point, as the Democrats don't really have that strong of a bench of possible Senate candidates.

Bench doesn't matter. Kander is in.

[Ebsy]

I think Kander will put up a respectable fight for the seat, and the result will be closer than most people expect, but do your really think Missouri will dump the[/] Roy Blunt?

[free my dawg]

I think Kander will put up a respectable fight for the seat, and the result will be closer than most people expect, but do your really think Missouri will dump the[/] Roy Blunt?

That would be stupid. But with this, the map is stretched.

[BigSkyBob]

Schweich's spokesman, Robert "Spence" Jackson, is dead from an apparent suicide as well.

What is going on?

Congratulations for asking a question that the press hasn't bothered to ask!

There are reasonable explanations for why he killed himself.

He could have been depressed. He rejected diagnosis and drugs to preserve his political career and paid the ultimate price.

A scandal might have been about to erupt. That could have been why he called a press conference. When he killed himself no one went forward because they didn't want to be blamed for Schweich's suicide.

When a close aid dies, that points to the scandal option. The aid said it was because he didn't want to face being unemployed again. That reeks of bull. Folks working for politicians know their paycheck aren't guaranteed.  Perhaps, the aid killed myself because he felt responsible for his boss's death and the corresponding guilt. Perhaps, the aid knew he was about to be exposed.

These options make sense. [Of course, it could just be a coincidence that two men killed themselves for trivial reasons within a month.] Instead of looking at what happened rationally, some tried to settle scores by making this about Schweich's grandfather's religion, or his looks. It is pathetic on so many levels.

[Ebsy]

You would be right if there weren't Republicans that had come forward stating that Hancock had said derogatory remarks about Schweich's supposed Judaism in their presence. Pretending like that hod nothing to do with what has happened is either naive or disingenuous. I'm not sure which is worse.

[BigSkyBob]

You would be right if there weren't Republicans that had come forward stating that Hancock had said derogatory remarks about Schweich's supposed Judaism in their presence. Pretending like that hod nothing to do with what has happened is either naive or disingenuous. I'm not sure which is worse.

Temporal correlation is not causation. It is neither "naïve" or "disingenuous" to note that Tom Schweich killing himself because other folks were claiming he was "Jewish" is not sufficient provocation to induce suicide. It is neither "naïve" or "disingenuous" to note that Tom Schweich killing himself because he was "hurt" that other people made fun of his appearance is not sufficient provocation for a grown man to kill himself.  These explanations for his suicide are not plausible on their faces. When a close aid in turn kills himself such explanations begin to defy all reasonable probability.

Let me put it this way. If someone suggested Tom Schweich killed himself because someone cut him off in traffic that morning would you consider it proven if a video from a traffic camera showed he was in fact cut off that morning?

[Ebsy]

We don't know exactly why Tom Schweich killed himself. All we do know is that in the moments leading up to his death, he was very much focused on the whisper campaign against him by John Hancock. You're basically trying to deflect the damaging reality of the situation by insisting on being painfully obtuse.

[Antonio the Sixth]

Oh my God.

[free my dawg]

...Jesus Christ BSB, no wonder you're in your 50s and have a POF profile.

[LeBron]

Brunner has launched an exploratory committee to run for governor. He's meeting with former Schweich campaign officials.

I guess he's going to be the bailout option for Missouri Republicans. I still wish Hanaway would get the nomination though just because the MO GOP deserves to lose big next year to Koster for their role in Schweich's suicide, and the refusal of Hancock and Hanaway to resign/drop out.

[Ebsy]

Brunner has launched an exploratory committee to run for governor. He's meeting with former Schweich campaign officials.

I guess he's going to be the bailout option for Missouri Republicans. I still wish Hanaway would get the nomination though just because the MO GOP deserves to lose big next year to Koster for their role in Schweich's suicide, and the refusal of Hancock and Hanaway to resign/drop out.

Brunner was supposed to be the candidate to take down Claire McCaskill in 2012. Things did not quite work out that way. We'll see what Missouri Dems have in store, but even with Brunner, I definitely think Koster is going to hold onto the Governor's mansion.

[BigSkyBob]

We don't know exactly why Tom Schweich killed himself. All we do know is that in the moments leading up to his death, he was very much focused on the whisper campaign against him by John Hancock. You're basically trying to deflect the damaging reality of the situation by insisting on being painfully obtuse.

No, all that we know for sure is that he asked to hold a press conference before he shot himself. This very much leaves open the possibility that he discovered something the morning of his death that was about to erupt.

Sure,  it is a possibility that Schweich decided to deal with the alleged "whisper campaign" that he was Jewish by holding a press conference, then decided that such a conference would be so painful he opted to kill himself instead not leaving a note, and, as a result his close aid opted to kill himself a month because he feared having to find a job. But, it fits the facts much more closely if had been the case that say, the aid had been embezzling money and a scandal was about to erupt that very well might result in Schweich's political career being ruined [What kind of financial fudiciary does it show to hire a man who steals from the taxpayer? Schweich's scheduling a press conference to get ahead of the scandal,  Schweich realizing nothing he could say could save his campaign, Schweich killing himself in despair; and, then, the aid racked by guilt over causing his boss's death, and, realizing the distinct possibility of his imminent arrest kills himself. Why would Schweich find it difficult to go to the press conference and answer such rumors? If that is the path he chose, and, it wasn't particularly difficult, why would it drive him to commit suicide?

The outline I suggested above is pure speculation, as are the explanations circulated in the press.  Another possibility is that he was severely depressed and refused diagnosis and drugs in an attempt to protect his political career. Another possibility is a potential sex scandal that resulted in Schweich acting out of fear of exposure.

[BigSkyBob]

Brunner has launched an exploratory committee to run for governor. He's meeting with former Schweich campaign officials.

I guess he's going to be the bailout option for Missouri Republicans. I still wish Hanaway would get the nomination though just because the MO GOP deserves to lose big next year to Koster for their role in Schweich's suicide, and the refusal of Hancock and Hanaway to resign/drop out.

Assuming for the sake of argument that all the speculations presented as fact by the media regarding Schweich's suicide, and assuming Hancock actions were characterized accurately, why should Hanaway "drop out?" If you believed the rumors, I could see a basis for calling for Hancock's resignation. But, what exactly is the alleged case against Hanaway other than guilt by association?

[BigSkyBob]

...Jesus Christ BSB, no wonder you're in your 50s and have a POF profile.

Do you knew what was about 50 years ago? The Barry Goldwater campaign for President. Like Tom Schweich, Barry Goldwater's paternal grandfather practiced Judaism. It wasn't much an issue then. Net, net, had the issue of Tom Schweich's grandfather's religion actually been raised in the campaign it probably would have resulted in more voters changing their votes to Schweich out of sympathy for his opponent raising the issue than votes lost out of concern.