Danforth cites political bullying in Schweich eulogy

CLAYTON, Mo. (AP) -- Former U.S. Sen. John Danforth denounced the mean-spirited nature of American politics Tuesday while eulogizing Missouri Auditor Tom Schweich, who he suggested was led to fatally shoot himself by political bullying from a negative radio ad and a perceived anti-Semitic whisper campaign.

Danforth, a close friend, co-worker and political mentor of Schweich, was the featured speaker for a memorial service that drew many of Missouri's top elected officials and hundreds of others to the Episcopal church that Schweich had attended in suburban St. Louis.

"Words do hurt. Words can kill," Danforth said. "That has been proven right here in this state."

Schweich, 54, fatally shot himself last Thursday in what police say was an apparent suicide at his home in Clayton. He left behind a wife, two children and an apparently rising political career. He had launched a campaign for the Republican nomination for governor just a month before his death and was already locked in a contentious primary with Catherine Hanaway, a former Missouri House speaker and U.S. attorney.

Danforth, who is an ordained Episcopal priest, said he had talked with Schweich two days before his death. He said Schweich was upset about a radio ad from a political action committee that mocked his physical appearance and suggested he was a pawn of Democrats who would "quickly squash him like the little bug that he is" in a general election.

But Danforth said Schweich was particularly distraught by what he perceived to be an anti-Semitic whispering campaign by the chairman of the Missouri Republican party, who Schweich said had been telling people that Schweich was Jewish. Schweich was Christian, but had some Jewish ancestry.

The party chairman, John Hancock, has denied making anti-Semitic remarks, though he has acknowledged he mistakenly believed Schweich was Jewish and may have mentioned it in an off-hand way to some people. Hancock didn't attend the memorial service and didn't immediately return a call Tuesday seeking a comment about Danforth's remarks.

Schweich "was a person easily hurt and quickly offended" said Danforth, adding that he had tried to persuade Schweich not to enter politics six years ago because Danforth didn't believe he had the temperament for it.

Danforth said he is haunted by the fact that he had advised Schweich not to go public last week with the allegations of the anti-Semitic whispering campaign and had suggested Schweich should have someone else supply that information to the media.

"He may have thought that I had abandoned him -- left him on the high ground all alone," Danforth said.

On the day of his death, Schweich had invited reporters for The Associated Press and the St. Louis Post-Dispatch to his home for an interview, saying he was ready to go public with the allegations about the anti-Semitic campaign. He shot himself about 13 minutes after talking to the AP reporter.

"The death of Tom Schweich is the natural consequence of what politics has become," Danforth said.

Schweich was Danforth's chief of staff for a 1999 federal investigation into the deadly government siege at the Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Texas, and followed Danforth to the United Nations, where he was chief of staff for the U.S. delegation.