relevance?

I worked with Amb. Schweich, and I don’t see how anyone can question his commitment to democracy when he’s spent a good portion of his career spreading democracy across the world and making America safer.

Further, voting seven times in Missouri elections during a stretch of eight years when he was fighting the good fight in New York at the UN, running a State Dept. bureau in Washington, and traveling to hot spots in Afghanistan, Africa, the Middle East, and Russia sounds pretty good to me.

Icet wins if Schweich changed his residency, Art IV section 13, MO Constitution, same qualifications as the Governor, 10 years as a MO resident prior to the election.

Taken from MO Constitution: (1972) Word “resident” as used in this section does not mean or require actual, physical presence, continuous and uninterrupted for ten years, but means that place where a man has his true fixed and permanent home and principal establishment and to which whenever he is absent he has the intention of returning. State ex rel. King v. Walsh (Mo.), 484 S.W.2d 641.

During his tenure in VA, Schweich was serving his country working for the State Department at the request of the President and traveling all over the world. He maintained a residence in St Louis during that time, which he rented to a guy who worked at Monsanto. Who, I know for a fact, had to leave at the end of Schweich’s tenure at the Dept of State.

I think if he changed his residency for voting purposes might be vulnerable to a challenge, owning a house or not; but I’m betting he didnt. anyone want to check if he registered in Virginia?
nice post, Tony. I like Schweich; ok for Republican, as I for a Democrat.:)

Schweich only has a residency problem under these circumstances if he changed his voter registration.

But he has a political problem for not voting in the crucial 2006 general election in which control of both houses of Congress changed. All he had to do was vote an absentee ballot, and he didn’t. And now he wants MY vote?

I don’t usually write comments like this but I will add a few facts to Tony’s accurate story. First, the citizenship issue is not, in my opinion, a real issue– I left Missouri because I got a series of three presidential appointments: at the UN, at the State Department law enforcement division, and as a US ambassador doing work in support of our effort in Afghanistan. I came back to Missouri as soon my service ended. I kept my home in Missouri (which I rented out for 2 of the 4 years I was gone), never purchased property in Virginia, retained my Missouri Bar membership, and visited home many times during the 4 years I was gone. I always intended to return, and the case law is clear on that point that I am and have been a citizen of this state.

With respect to the 2006 general election, there I have no excuse. By way of background, I was living in a rented place in Virginia in 2006 and traveling constantly as a State Department official. I distinctly remember wanting to vote absentee in 2006 as I did in 2004, but by the time I got around to trying to do something about it just a few days before the election, it was too late. (I even looked into voting in Virginia just because I wanted to vote, but did not do that either. I guess I am glad I did not do that in light of what people are writing.) I remember feeling really bad when Jim Talent lost the election, knowing that I had not voted. Just a simple mistake on my part.

Respectfully,

Tom Schweich

So he didn’t vote in EVERY ELECTION. Big deal. Does voting in every election make a candidate better than the other?

And why is it I’ve only seen stories targeting Republicans. I cannot ever remember seeing the voting records of Democrat candidates.

Did Obama vote in every election? Probably not. Big deal.

Good story Tony. It’s relevant simply because it’s more evidence that, for Schweich, Missouri is a great place to “be from.” His eyes seem drawn to the bright lights of the east coast and the U.N. Which is fine, it just causes me to wonder if he can really understand the struggles Missouri has faced when he hasn’t been here.

Remember, Schweich didn’t even want to be Auditor. He wanted to be Senator so he could get back to that beautiful Beltway, but he backed out when it became clear he was going to finish third (in a 2 person race no-less).

And I’m sure that all of those conservatives who fought hard for Talent in 2006 are assuaged by the fact that Schweich felt “really bad” when Jim lost…especially when Schweich himself supported McCaskill in the past.

I appreciate Mr. Schweich’s post and his honesty. As someone who has voted absentee several times in the past (and missed the deadline to apply for a ballot as well)I understand the mistake. I’m currently working for the U.S. Government in Washington, DC. The job market is tough. I was living in Missouri, got a job offer here, and I took it. Does it mean that I don’t miss Missouri? Absolutely not. And, like Mr. Schweich, I plan on returning in the future. Anyone who holds it against Mr. Schwiech for leaving his home-state to take a job serving at the pleasure of the President is, in my opinion, shortsighted. When given that sort of opportunity you accept - even if it means changing your zip code for a few years.