Schweich Swears Off Special Interest Cheeseburgers, Remains Open to Persuasive $100k Checks

Schweich at one of his insurgent outsider campaign events in April

State Auditor candidate Thomas Schweich has boldly sworn off gifts he's never been offered in an attempt to demonstrate his superior ethical code in his primary contest against House Budget Chair Allen Icet. 

There are several layers of irony here.  First, as the Post-Dispatch's Tony Messenger notes, Schweich's stance suggests that public officials "who accept gifts are compromising their integrity."  This broad statement presumably includes one Peter Kinder, the man who gave Schweich a cool $100,000 last fall, and happened to top all statewide office holders in lobbyist gifts last year.

Second, I'm still confused by politicians who express great concern with relatively small lobbyist gifts, happily cash enormous campaign checks.  Is a lobbyist meal really more corrupting than a $100,000 check from an self-interested ideologue or corporation?  Are we supposed to be impressed by Schweich's promise when his entire campaign demands on huge donations and insider support?

Here's a (partial) list of Schweich's big dollar donors:

Image credit: Post-Dispatch