MO-GOV: Schweich dead from gunshot wound

[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.

[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?

[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.

[BigSkyBob]

You're obviously unfamiliar with what a whisper campaign is.

You are obviously making unstated assumptions.

Why Tom Schweich killed himself is one question. Why a top aid to Tom Schweich killed himself may be a related question. Was there a whisper campaign is another question. Was there any relationship between the two is a third question.

I have commented on the first, second and fourth questions. I think the third question is probably a tangent. How exactly does that imply I am unaware of what a "whispering campaign" is?

The three major explanations for suicide are, first, that it was an irrational decision made by someone who was irrational, maybe due to depression, rejection, etc.; second; that it is the decision many stockbrokers took in 1929; or, third, a decision to opt out of the pain of a terminal illness. Given the totality of the circumstances those possibilities ought to explored and exhausted before settling on the possibility that two very marginal personalities were given very gentle nudges.

[BigSkyBob]

Long WaPo feature on Schweich.

Here is a much more objective report on what actually happened:

http://www.ky3.com/news/local/police-missouri-auditor-tom-schweich-talked-of-suicide-left-no-note/21048998_32366062

And, a report that adds critical information:

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_MISSOURI_AUDITOR?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT


The key takeaways is that Schweich had been suicidal for some time. He had severe Crohn's Disease. Clearly, he was severely depressed, but, had refused to seek any help. He had even threatened to kill himself while holding a gun in hand. His suicide seems to have everything to do with depression.

No substantial "whispering campaign" was ever found. Schweich had stated he would have to, "run as an independent or he needed to kill himself."


The last statement would explain the press conference. Perhaps, he called the conference to announce he was running as an independent, only realize that was a hopeless undertaking.

Now that the real facts are out, I cannot state how despicable it was for John Danforth to assert the "thin skull" principle applies. That refers to criminal acts. Tom Schweich wasn't a fourteen year-old girl being bullied about her looks on social media. He was a grown man seeking to be in the public eye. The person bearing moral responsible for the suicide of Tom Schweich is Tom Schweich.

Those who played up the Jewish angle were being equally outrageous. One person wrote that Missouri has "never had a Jewish governor" as if that were evidence of anything. Here's a link to a list of every Missouri governor.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Governors_of_Missouri

I'm not aware of any of them being Black, nor Hispanic. None seem to have an obvious Slavic name, Italian name or Greek name. Given a pool of less than sixty, and given the percentage of population of Missouri that is Jewish, zero Jewish governors is a rounding error from the expected value using random chance. While Missouri has not had a Jewish governor, apparently, twenty-four Jews have been governors of other states, including two currently serving. Of course, Missouri has two Black Congressmen, including one of the few in a White super-majority district, so charges of "racism" seems well stuffed with straw.

It is interesting to note that had Schweich had a Jewish maternal grandmother many Jews would insist that he was in fact "Jewish" even if he was a practicing Episcopalian.