U. S. Representative Ike Skelton from Missouri’s 4th Congressional District has had the luxury of being an unopposed politician for most of his time as a public servant. Mr. Skelton has ran as a moderate Democrat since going to Congress in 1981, but some things have changed over the years.

Skelton who Represents a conservative rural area of Missouri has had to campaign as a moderate Democrat, and for awhile he was a moderate. In 1995 when Republicans had control of Congress he voted with Democrats only 65% of the time. As one of the most moderate Democrats in the house he became a pillar for other moderates to model themselves after.

But since the Democrats regained power of the House, Mr. Skelton voted with his party 95% of the time and Speaker Pelosi 99.6% of the time. As Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, Mr. Skelton is one of the most influential and notable moderate Democrats in the House. He is someone that Speaker Pelosi can point to on votes from cap-and-trade to bailouts and industry crippling health care legislation.

But as Skelton now faces several valid opponents in the upcoming election he has begun to try and hide his allegiance with the Party and Speaker Pelosi. Mr. Skelton’s voting record with his party is dropping faster than the temperatures here in Missouri. Since state Sen. Bill Stouffer and former state Rep. Vicky Hartzler announced their campaigns Mr. Skelton has started returning to his moderate roots. Once hailed as a voice of his district, Mr. Skelton is once again proving to be nothing more than a career politician, appeasing whomever to get re-elected or gain influence in Washington.

This entry was posted on Friday, December 11th, 2009 at 3:00 pm and is filed under politics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.