Back on February 26th, Missouri's State Auditor, Tom Schweich, a Republican who had announced a candidate for governor in 2016, committed suicide in his home in Clayton, MO -- a St. Louis suburb.
Four weeks after Schweich's suicide, on the 27th or 28th of March, Schweich's spokesman, Spence Jackson, committed suicide in a Jefferson City apartment. Jackson left a note, possibly stating that he did not want to be "unemployed". This seems strange in the Jackson was involved in the campaigns of and on staff with a number of prominent Republican politicians over the years. It seems unlikely that someone would not have found a place for him.
The circumstances surrounding Schweich's suicide opened some questions about possible infighting among Missouri Republicans. Schweich was supposedly going to make some sort of accusation against other Republicans prior to his death. There is talk that he was upset over a "whispering campaign" started by State Republican Party Chairman John Hancock regarding Schweich's Jewish ancestry. Schweich's father was Jewish, and Hancock has admitted he may have told someone that Schweich was Jewish before learning that the late Auditor was actually an Episcopalian. In any case, it seems an odd thing over which to take such a drastic action.
Only the week before his death Schweich was featured ... at the Missouri GOP's annual “Lincoln Days” convention in Kansas City, he cheerfully joked with reporters as he scooped ice cream for conventioneers. He also gave an impassioned, rousing speech that whipped up the hundreds of attendees and prompted another official on stage to joke that Schweich had had too much coffee [link].
Bob McCarty ponders the situation and asks if investigative journalism is dead and why the results of Tom Schweich's autopsy have not been released.
Jackson's suicide only enhances the mystery and adds to the questions. Politics is a dirty business. Perhaps, as we have noted recently, it is too dirty for decent people. It could be that both Schweich and Jackson were both too decent for it. I am not one who thinks that suicide, as selfish and devastating as it is to those left behind, is an unforgivable sin. If these were both suicides, it may well be that one or both were not in their right minds. In any case, may they rest in peace.
Four weeks after Schweich's suicide, on the 27th or 28th of March, Schweich's spokesman, Spence Jackson, committed suicide in a Jefferson City apartment. Jackson left a note, possibly stating that he did not want to be "unemployed". This seems strange in the Jackson was involved in the campaigns of and on staff with a number of prominent Republican politicians over the years. It seems unlikely that someone would not have found a place for him.
The circumstances surrounding Schweich's suicide opened some questions about possible infighting among Missouri Republicans. Schweich was supposedly going to make some sort of accusation against other Republicans prior to his death. There is talk that he was upset over a "whispering campaign" started by State Republican Party Chairman John Hancock regarding Schweich's Jewish ancestry. Schweich's father was Jewish, and Hancock has admitted he may have told someone that Schweich was Jewish before learning that the late Auditor was actually an Episcopalian. In any case, it seems an odd thing over which to take such a drastic action.
Only the week before his death Schweich was featured ... at the Missouri GOP's annual “Lincoln Days” convention in Kansas City, he cheerfully joked with reporters as he scooped ice cream for conventioneers. He also gave an impassioned, rousing speech that whipped up the hundreds of attendees and prompted another official on stage to joke that Schweich had had too much coffee [link].
Bob McCarty ponders the situation and asks if investigative journalism is dead and why the results of Tom Schweich's autopsy have not been released.
Jackson's suicide only enhances the mystery and adds to the questions. Politics is a dirty business. Perhaps, as we have noted recently, it is too dirty for decent people. It could be that both Schweich and Jackson were both too decent for it. I am not one who thinks that suicide, as selfish and devastating as it is to those left behind, is an unforgivable sin. If these were both suicides, it may well be that one or both were not in their right minds. In any case, may they rest in peace.
Completely Off-topic link of the day from Gay Patriot: Japanese girl version of the Ramones covers Karen Carpenter.
ReplyDeleteTwoicides? Very odd.
ReplyDeleteAs for the video. Liked it much better than the original.
It's difficult to see how this could be a coincidence. Not impossible, I suppose but it sure seems as if there's more than meets the eye.
ReplyDeleteApparently, the band you linked to has been playing for thirty years. I would never have guessed.
ReplyDeleteI'll be up in Jeff City all next week for work. I'll see what I can find out. I had a friend from church who worked for the State Auditor's office, but she's probably retired by now.
ReplyDeleteSome years ago I told a guy the joke about Stevie Ray Vaughn and Karen Carpenter. His response was, "She was a pretty good drummer." But the Japanese girls are still better. I would never have guessed thirty years either.
And in case somebody doesn't know the joke: SRV dies in the chopper crash. He wakes up with his guitar in his hand.
ReplyDeleteHe looks over and sees Jimi Hendrix, the guy he idolized, tuning up.
He looks at the guy on bass and sees it's Barry Oakley from the Allman Brothers.
"Wow," he says to Hendrix, "I guess this must be Rock'n'Roll Heaven!"
Before Jimi can answer, Karen Carpenter walks in, sits down behind the drums and says, "'Close to You' -- hit it, boys."
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!
ReplyDelete(hadn't heard that one before)
Okay, I admit it, I love Karen Carpenter's voice, although, as far as bands go, I like Shonen Knife better. Cool name, too.
ReplyDeleteWhy do birds, suddenly appear...Um, Did I just say that out loud?
Gee, thanks a lot, you guys. Now that song is stuck in my head.
I used to sing it:
ReplyDelete"Why do birds fall out, of the sky, every time, you walk by? Just like me, can't stand to be, close to you...."
Hey, I was 10 at the time.
It wasn't that Karen Carpenter didn't have a good voice. The lyrics were sometimes a little sappy, but it was that they were like the sound track of the '70s. Every time you turned on a radio or the television for years there was a good chance you'd hear one of their songs. They just wore us out.
ReplyDelete