Danforth, in eulogy, decries 'whispering campaign' against Schweich

During his eulogy for the late Missouri Auditor Tom Schweich, former U.S. Sen. John Danforth, R-Mo., declared politics were to blame for the suicide, saying “politics has gone so hideously wrong.”

"The death of Tom Schweich is the natural consequence of what politics has become," Danforth told the crowd. "I believe deep in my heart that it’s now our duty, yours and mine, to turn politics into something much better than its now so miserable state."

Schweich was one of two Republican front-runners for Missouri governor in 2016. Prior to his death from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head last Thursday, he phoned reporters to discuss what he termed an alleged “whisper campaign” by newly elected GOP state Chairman John Hancock telling people he was Jewish. He was not.

“Tom called this anti-Semitism, and of course it was. The only reason for going around saying that someone is Jewish is to make political profit from religious bigotry," Danforth said in the eulogy. "Someone said this was no different than saying a person is a Presbyterian. Here’s how to test the credibility of that remark: When was the last time anyone sidled up to you and whispered into your ear that such and such a person is a Presbyterian?"

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports neither Hancock, nor former Missouri House Speaker Catherine Hanaway, who was Schweich's chief adversary for the GOP gubernatorial nomination and who has previously employed Hancock as a consultant, were in attendance at the funeral.

Read the complete eulogy here.

Read more from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.[[In-content Ad]]