Tom Schweich
Kansas City political consultant Jeff Roe made news the other day when he acknowledged that he, not gubernatorial candidate Catherine Hanaway, paid for the House of Cards parody ad that was said to have inspired auditor Tom Schweich‘s suicide…
For those who have not heard the ad, it should be noted that by local Steve Glorioso-Pat Gray standards, it was a swat to the butt with a Nerf Bat.
Former Missouri senator John Danforth thought otherwise.
“Words have consequences,” Danforth said piously at Schweich’s funeral.
But then again there is little that Danforth says these days that isn’t said piously, and it is usually directed at his fellow Republicans.
In 2005, for instance, the self-described “pro-life” Danforth took to the pages of the New York Times to attack Christian conservatives for opposing, among other lovely things, embryonic stem cell research (a scientific bust, in any case) and the forced death of Terri Schiavo.
According to Danforth, good Republicans did not fret about gay marriage, euthanasia and human cloning but “believed in limited government, in keeping light the burden of taxation and regulation.”
Then when the Tea Party people emerged espousing limited government and light taxation, Danforth decided they were “trashing” the Republican party and was happy to tell the media just that.
Throughout the years, Danforth has served as a useful go-to Republican for liberal editorialists hoping to smack down an ascendant Missouri Republican Party from within the gates. Thus, the Schweich tragedy was made to order for Danforth and the media.
In the morality play revolving around Schweich’s death, Danforth got to play Dudley Do-Right to Roe’s Snidely Whiplash. In that Roe is managing the presidential campaign of conservative Ted Cruz–a “white Hispanic” in NYT talk–Roe made for an even juicier target.
The problem for Danforth and others quick to judge is that Schweich’s problems went way beyond anything Jeff Roe ever said or did. As the recently released–and well done–Clayton Police report makes clear, Schweich was prone to depression and worse.
After speaking to Schweich’s wife Kathy, the police reported, “Her husband had talked about killing himself before and had done so while handling firearms.” Schweich also suffered from Crohn’s disease, which added to the stress.
Schweich’s chief of staff Trish Vincent added the detail that her boss was troubled by lack of support from the Republican Party. Apparently, he told her that either he had to “run as an independent or he needed to kill himself.”
This person was too fragile to run for anything.
Someone, maybe even the ever-pious John Danforth, should have told him that.
This was never a Jeff Roe story.
This was a mental health story, misreported from Day One for reasons that are altogether obvious.
Dead on the money Mr. Steele.
I had a friend in the 80’s who suffered (And I use the term “Suffered” lightly.) from Crohn’s disease. It is just brutal. Brutal. Maybe Schweich should have been celebrated for his achievements during the funeral in the face of such a debilitating illness. Politicizing his death and diminishing his accomplishments is a narrative that played well into Glorioso’s Republican, attack dog narrative on “RUCKUS” a couple of weeks ago. Glorioso engaged his usual indignant syncopated sibilance, while spitting out grade school, playground insults meant for Roe, while, as you mentioned, using Danforth as a cudgel to legitimize his position.
Again, if you have ever known anyone suffering from Crohn’s disease, than you know, that it is an ever present negative in the thought process of that afflicted individual.
Schweich, was an accomplished and hard working individual, who lost a physical and mental battle with a punishing, incessant, deadly force. The use of his illness for political capital by Danforth, Glorioso and the press is contemptible.
By the way, my friend, his name was Randy, never made it to 30.
chuck …there are now many medicines a ailable to Chrons
diseases and related diseases.
Remicade has been used for many years.
and it’s worked for many people I know with that disease.
This would have been an excellent time for the community to discuss mental health. Instead, our hateful rag decided to turn the story into yet another of its predictably manufactured hateschrift from Helling and Abouhalkah The Star’s two Reichsfuhrers of leftist angst.
Now that the moment has passed The Star has once again failed to provide contribute anything of value to the community it allegedly serves. Surely there are multitudes of stories that need to be told about our community. How sad that The Star eschews those stories to once again flog hateful leftist agenda.
Right before the election last fall, I met Tom Schweich for the first time. He was a very impressive person,with a resume that was dazzling. In light of all that has happened,I should point out that he told me a lot about his background. He volunteered that he had a Jewish grandfather,which I understood to be his way of saying that he had ties to that community. I think this may have been the same kind of thing John Hancock mentioned, who at the same time pointing out that rival Catherine Hanaway,as a Roman Catholic,had ties with that equally influential community,especially in St.Louis. I also got follow-up calls from friends and family in St. Louis and Springfield supporting Schweich,as well a personal,hand-written letter from Tom thanking me for my coming to lunch and sharing my thoughts on certain personalities who were influential in Missouri GOP politics.We lost a real leader and fine mind when Tom died. We do not need to compound the tragedy by engaging in slanderous conspiracy theories with a partisan motive. Of all people,John Danforth,who was Clarence Thomas’s political mentor,should understand this.
Exactly. Like our old friend John Uhlmann, we have lost another brilliant mind and wonderful gentlemen to a horrendous disease. The concern of a decent newspaper should be how to deal with this horrible, destructive disease, not how to spew hatred at a political foe.
I’ve been in more campaigns than you…and the fact that
someones grandfather was of a certain religion was never
even mentioned…on both the repub or dm side.
what kind of politicians are those who would use that in
a campaign.
And I remember, republican across the nation were very
leary of Romney getting the nomination because he was
a mormonand they considered that religion a cult.
What is going on?
Actually, at Romney’s announcement press conference in 2011,reporters asked about the fact that his grandfather had practiced polygamy as a Mormon and had even moved to Mexico when the practice was outlawed in the States(hence the first” birth-er” controversy in ’68,when Mitt’s father George ran,since he was born in Mexico). Mitt handled it well by saying:”The question should be less about how many wives my grandfather had and more about how many wives my opponents have had.”
As usual,H-Man,you missed the point.If Tom Schweich mentioned his ethnic heritage,at his own initiative,upon meeting a potential supporter like me,it could hardly be the sensitive issue that people are now claiming and trying to blame State Republican Chair Hancock for and,by extension,the whole Missouri GOP. Danforth is an unfortunate example of the kind of Establishment Republican who know he’ll a megaphone from the liberal press(which normally ignores Republicans unless they make a supposed gaffe or attack each other) if he attacks a) The Religious Right(1980-2010),or b)The Tea Party(2010-2015). His type said for thirty years we should ignore the social issues and focus on taxes and spending. Then when the Tea Party did just that,we’re told that they’re extreme and bigots even though their sole issues are the excessive taxes and spending we were told need to be the concern of the party,to the exclusion of gay rights,abortion,etc. Thus the Kochs,who are libertarians on drugs,foreign policy,and gay marriage are still hammered as right wing extremists and bigots like they were Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson. It’s a classic case of no matter what we do,we’re going to be caricatured as lunatics. The Left refuses to recognize any legitimacy to our political philosophy,which is why we’re always met with ad hominem attacks,on ourselves or our families.(By the way,cult member or not,Mitt got the Republican nod in 2012 and had a united party in the general,with his strongest support from religious conservatives who you claim spurned him.) Historical foot note- Who was the first Jewish candidate to run as a state wide candidate in candidate in Missouri ?The Republican Party gubernatorial nominee in 1968 was St. Louis County Supervisor Lawrence Roos. I saw him taunted and heckled by Democratic supporters of Warren Hearnes,the Democratic incumbent,as” a jew bastard”and “a kike”at a rally in Independence. In later years, when half the Hearnes’ cabinet were indicted and jumped out of office buildings in St.Louis,someone knowledgeable said that Hearnes (The Scourge of The Boot-Heel) would have jumped himself but he was too drunk to get the window open . I’ll try to find you,Harley the picture of Mel Carnahan performing in black face at a Bar Association skit in Rolla. Then tell me how much you’re worried about the GOP’s heritage of bigotry in Missouri.
Game, Set, Match.
don’t know how mitt did with any
specific group of people…know he lost
blacks 96-4 and Hispanics by some 70%…
and you weren’t here jr. but Harley correctly
at least a week before the election predicted the
exact electoral numbers defying such people
as gallup/and every other republican pundit
and some democratic polling done for
big bucks for the 2012 election.
Don’t know about the other stuff that
happened but I know Hilary will kick any
of your clowns in a landlide.
Don’t care about the media…don’t need
excuses from you about who did what..
or who was paying off who…or who
jumped off a building….don’t care wht
the old bags like falwell and Robertson say
or that you’re paranoid of being portrayed as
lunatics (wtf did you lose in Nevada and
Missouri with those candidate?)…no
excuses from jr. because I’m sure you backed
a lot of losers in your timewith your bknrolls.
There’s no need to put us to sleep with all
your frat stories party like you’re auditioning
for a part in Animal House…
let me put it very succinct and straight…
the republicanparty is going tov be the
whigs of my time.
The demographics and the way the voting
patterns are now moving tell me that
Hilary wins big.
I don’t care about Romney…he’s old hat except
to whinery who still havethat $3000 pic he
had taken with Romney….he’s a liar and a
phony trying to throw his medical policies
he got in mass. and deny e led for them.
I’ve won mamy elections….lot a couple too…
so I guess you’re probably 65-70 years old
and this I know…you’ll never see another
republican president in your lifetime again.
Point blank.
Nice stories for the historians…but Harley
knows the only thing that matters is who
wins and loses…
and for now…I’ taking Hillary
Wo do you support….the welfare king of
America: Donald Trump!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
thanks for your responses but I already
know politicians are drunks…money and
power hungry and to be honest I could care
less.
So no more excuses…no more bitching about the media…facts are facts and Harley deals
in facts.
thanks for the new info…its nice but really
not my bag of tea.
When you got your money you really shouldn’t
ever not get what you want…..evere!~!!!!!!!
aned here comes the little bald ditch digger.
Is bakers closed today?
jr…did not know anything about the man who
died.
sounded like a great man and probably
was.
I don’t read thestar…their worthless in their
stories 90% of the time. running for office
asyou know is a very hard task…and requires
self sacrifice and the ultimate in mental
ability o withstand what has become te
nastiest contests I’ve seen.
I don’t work much politics anymore…am doing
one campaign (small pece) for a friend.
Ilove politics from the outside…just too much
corruption/lying/hate/anger and vile comments for me.
Wrote a piecefor a state senate candidate who
won his seat and read it after writing it
then threw it out. Not my bag anymore.
Th star probably erred in their reporting…but
as I said don’t read it. If it upsets …go read
the right wing Newsmax or redstate blogs.
But beware of the medical frauds they advertise
on those sites (lol).
Our sytem is dysfunctional…it will cost our
nation soon. Beyond what anyone believes.
Politics is like gambling…picking wnners
and losers….rolling the dice….predicting the
numbers that come up…nothing more.
May the man rest in peace…writing hack job
articles after he’s gone is ridiculous.
But you have achoice to read or not read
them.
good luck…ad hopefully the man’s family will
one day come to grips with their loss.
thanks and good luck
Harley
if Danforth is the republican establishment
that you say he is…then can we agree that
that establishment will pick the one to
run against Hilary.
It appears they are going to put in bush
and the establishment of the party wants
bush…so if you agree…then it is true
that guys like Danforth (estblaishment
repubs) still control the party or will it
be some tea party candidate like Cruz
(I could pray that would happen)…or
Rand (now that would be a landslide
comparable to 72).
whats your opinion jr and who are you
supporting in 2012?
harley
Running for political office can be brutally nasty and began in America’s earliest days. Take a look at the campaign between Jefferson and Adams, two men who were friends before and after. It is not for the thin skinned. Unfortunately it causes quality people to avoid entering the arena but it is what it is.
Good piece, Rich and good comments as well.
John Danforth found out before many of us the true Republican agenda.
One of hate/vile language/and being Christians in name only!
They claim to be the “religious right…BUT IN fact they are the religious wrong.
They talk of jesus but then carry out an agenda of hate and ill will.
They never have followed the constitution…just the will of their billionaire
bosses. They preach from the bible on the campaign trail..and fool the
people into believing they are bringing the “word” then they forget what all
the good books say about caring for the needy/feed the hungry/help the homeless/
and do what’s right in god’s eye.
$25 a day to feed/clothe/take care of a family and pay bills.
Danforth is correct….they talk of their lord…but they pray to those who give
them the cash. He’s right! They’re not religious…they’re just purveyor of war/
hate/while they preach to their people to follow their book.
Roe has been known to run tough campaigns. Cruz is another clown on the
bus that gets dead ended in January of 2017. Another false religious
deadbeat who I hope gets the republican nomination..wait tl they get to his
background and see his lies. Just a matter of time!
Where are the Bob Doles and moderates in the repub party these days?
Where are the statesmen who understood the words “doing the right thing!”
Danforth is right….but it’s we’re tired of these religious bigots who are
two faced about their religion when preaching for votes and then becoming
horrid people after they gained their power and are nothing but puppets
to the money lords who finance them and show them how to be liars.
As far as this man who killed himself…its a horrible deed. But his enemies
are glad and his friends and family are saddened and left behind from the
grief and wonderment of WHY? FYI: NOT MY WORDS…THE WORDS
OF THEleader of the largest church in the area. !
Let the man rest in peace. Life is fleeting.
have a great day
Harley
why do all of you continue to read the star. There isnonews there you can’t
findon tonys blog or on tv or from becoming a part of the community.
I never read the editorials. Even theough you say they swing to the left
I never waste time on that paper or its digital edition.
And it makes you so mad to watch the unprofessional shows like ruckus where
the participants are not even educated in the topics to make more than
two sentence clips about the subject discussed.
Move on….you’ll find many brilliant people from around the world to get
opinions from on the net. KC has no one that compares to some of the
really informed/up to date/forward thinking liberals and conservatives
than you can find on the net.
Why get all upset about the star. As hearne said its dead man walking.
Get with the new world!!!!!
That’s silly, Harley…
There’s a ton of news still on the Kansas City Star (and the Lawrence Journal World for that matter).
It ain’t what it used to be, that’s true, but there’s zero news on Tony’s that isn’t some form of link to the Star or another news organization. Unless of course you count unconfirmed rumors which sometimes pan out and sometimes don’t.
And TV news? Get real.
You just earned my undying respect for service to your blog. I didn’t know anyone read harley’s stuff. You’re not taking meth to stay awake, are you?
steeles right…then why did the republicans cut VA benefits for mental health
specialties in the va hospotials/ why do they cut benefits and funds used to
help the ptsd patients in hopsitals for vets? why do they allow insurance
companies to delete coverage for metnal health patents and fight the
aca which was to provide benefits for those with mental issues?
Mental health needs to be discussed. Steeles right. Now lets get someone
in office who will do something about it.
When do republicans do all you are saying — we’ve heard from you and Obama that republicans are a do nothing Congress — you need to blame someone else. Who would that be? Obama has totally controlled the insurance industry since 2009. I’m sure someone as paranoid as you remember Obama’s private meetings with big insurance …. oops! I forget you are a democrat do or die.
Not really springer….but you only need to listen to what
the repubs say.
1. Obama has not controlled the insurance industry or the
pharmaceutical industry. Actually some say its the other
way around Had the insurance industry not wanted aca
they could have ended it real quick!
2. My commetns dealt with veterans and over the time
the repubs have voted against vet benefits over and over aganin
which has almost decimated the mental health side of the
va. But with the repubs fighting and onbstructing and
voting against those much needed va benefits thousands…
maybe hundreds of thousands have been denied the
help theyneeded.
3. repubs have mde congress a do nothing congress. Just look
at their absentee rates/their number ofbills passd and overall
lack of getting nothing done. Icould write a book on this.
4. Wasn’t paranoid about obamas meetings with insurance
exectvies. Obama always seems to come out ahead in
his work…and if you look at the aca numbers…AND THE NUMBER OF NEW REPUBLICAN GOVERNORS WHO ARE
NOW CHANGING THEIR MINDS ABOUT ACA…AND THEFACT THAT HEY NOW KNOW this
IF COURT DENIES ACA…OBAMA IS READY FOR THEM.
2. IF COUT DENIES ACA AND 16 MILLION AMERICANS
SEE THEIR HEALTH INSURANCE FALL APART THE
REPUBS WILL SUFFER GREATLY.
3 THE REPUBS NOW UDERSTAND THAT THEY CAN’T
REPEAL ACA…WHICH WAS THEIR CONCEPT IN THE
FIRST PLACE (remember newt/freedom foundation and
mitt Romney in mass?)
5. I am not a do or die democrat. Have ran campaigns
for some of the most liberal dems and some of the most
right wing repubs not only in ks. ut in other districts.
Just believe the repubs are about to implode…they haven’t
learned their lesson that they themselves clamied to
have leanred…that they are a party of the old ideology and
that this group of clowns running now (where even
don trump shows up in the middle packin polling)…is
so stupid they will eat each other and will lose in a landslide
in the next presidential election.
I blame one group for the obstruction…the repubs who couldn’t even get the att. gen. approved even with 6 or 7 repubssaying
she should be sent thru.
Please keep up with me and my articles. I you want they
are also available on other much larger sites which you can
receive if you respnd to law4life1000@yahoo.com.
But thanks for thinking aboutme. Next time…do your
homework.
Harley
Again, you can’t blame someone for doing something if you argue that they do nothing.
I’m going to assume you are too old to ever acquire common sense.
Not sure what circles you run in, but within my crowd it was unnecessary to wait until Schweich’s death to mark Roe as scum.
nick…heard this roe guy ran mean mean campaigns…the worst ever seen.
beside that don’t know much about him. How’s his winning record…
I did hear it worked mostly in Missouri.
But he’s small time compared to the other reginal/national power
house political advisors from Missouri.
Exactly!
My final year in graduate school (1976-1977) a very popular and respected young professor killed himself. He was widely published, and just gotten tenure, and was married to a wonderful, supportive woman–who when he developed depression abandoned everything she was doing in school to be with him 24/7. After this terrible tragedy, I talked to one of the psychiatrists involved, and he said that these sorts of cases have to be examined as mental health crises–that people should not look for easy answers in things like the person’s work environment, marriage, financial situation, etc. Yes, cruel things are said in campaigns, and like most people I wish our elections could be run without the vitriol that characterizes them these days. But blaming Mr. Roe, with all his faults (And they are numerous), for Schweich’s death is a crude distortion of reality designed to fit a political agenda–rather like how after JFK was murdered in 1963 the “party line” among the media was that “hate killed John Kennedy.” No, John Kennedy was killed by an unhappy and troubled man who considered himself a Communist (But whom even the Communists did not want)–but facing the sad and painful reality that a talented and beloved President could be killed by such a person would not have served a lot of people’s agenda. Hate did not kill John Kennedy–and the Tea Party and the Christian Right did not kill Mr. Schweich. Sincerely and Respectfully, Dr. Ernest Evans
There are many campaign ads that are not aired on the basis of being offensive, and that should have been the case here. In most ads for candidates, there is a disclosure, required, indicating who paid for the add, and it is usually done by the candidate, a way of acknowledging that the ad was approved, but it is not required for ads that deal with issues. Some may cheer, a moderate, berating the Supreme Court over Citizens United. Such is not the case. This was clearly not an issue ad, should never have been run, and the authorship should have been disclosed earlier, not later. When I read the news on Yahoo, the Star, Huff Po, Fox, Breitbart, or Salon, I know what I am getting. I know that the Koch Brothers are offset by the liberal contributions of Soros and others, but this was over the line. I do not care about the ancestry of a candidate, the infirmities, marital status, shoe size, or hat color. If I want to know what a candidate believes, his or her opponents is the last person I would ask, and honesty is my first criteria. If a candidate or advertiser is afraid to acknowledge their position, hiding behind, another group or name, I am less inclined to believe it, whether it is Karl Rove or George Soros. I understand that there can be no collusion between the candidate and an issue attack ad, and I understand that collusion is one of those things that will always be impossible to prove, a law that cannot be enforced. Being politically alive, there have been times when I have wanted to smack the advertiser for partial truth, context, or any number of other omissions or outright untruths, but perhaps that is the nature of the advertiser, whether the advertiser is selling a product or buying a vote. Hopefully, there are lines that candidates won’t cross. Hiring Jeff Roe is now one of them.
+1