Tribune's View: 'Why On Earth Would Fourth District Voters Turn Skelton Out?'
The Tribune's Hank Waters publishes his take on the Fourth District race today:
One prominent Republican in Lafayette County said Democrat Rep. Ike Skelton has voted “about the way Republicans would want him to.”
The popular congressman from Missouri’s Fourth District is said to be more vulnerable this year than in the past. His Republican opponent tries to link him to Nancy Pelosi and congressional Democrats, but my bet is Whiteman Air Force Base, B-2 bombers and Ike’s social conservatism will trump any allegations the GOP right wing can muster....
Beyond all this, Ike Skelton is a genuinely nice man well known for generations to people in his district. No candidate can possibly please every constituent on every issue. Skelton is the acknowledged military expert in the House and chairman of the powerful Armed Services Committee. Fourth District voters not only have reason to return Skelton to office; they might want the Democrats to keep their House majority so their own can keep his committee chairmanship.
Even if Republicans take control of the House, as many think possible, Skelton will remain its most influential voice on military affairs. Why on Earth would Fourth District voters turn him out?
