Schweich Pledges To Be Hyper-Partisan Auditor

At a fundraiser in Springfield yesterday, Thomas Schweich promised to be a "loyal Republican" partisan in conducting audits on behalf of Missourians if he's elected Auditor:

Schweich, who has conducted audits in the private and government sectors, has made auditing the nearly $5 billion in federal economic stimulus money Missouri will receive a cornerstone of his campaign.

"There's an important policy reason that this auditor's race is so important, and there's also a very significant reason from a political standpoint if you're a loyal Republican," said Schweich, a Washington University law professor and former ambassador to Afghanistan.

More partisanship!  That's what people really want from their State Auditor -- an overt partisan agenda. 

It also looks like Schweich needed to do some homework before taking this show on the road.

"If you have money going from President Obama through Sen. McCaskill to Gov. Nixon, don't you think we want a Republican auditing that money?" Schweich asked, gathering applause.

But Schweich's campaign rhetoric is at odds with the actual process of federal money flowing to Missouri.

Nearly half of the $5 billion is grant-based, and politicians have little control over how it's doled out. As a senator, McCaskill has almost no say over how it gets spent. But senators often announce stimulus grants, giving off the impression they played a role in securing the money.

The News-Leader's full story on the Schweich event is here.

Image Credit: Post-Dispatch