GOP aims at Skelton

Republicans targeted U.S. Rep. Ike Skelton, D-Lexington, over his vote on "Cap and Trade."

One seemingly routine duty of being a federal legislator is absorbing criticism – especially from television and radio advertisements. But for the most part, U.S. Rep. Ike Skelton has avoided it all.

But the status quo has been shaken a bit after the National Republican Campaign Committee aired a radio ad criticizing Skelton’s vote on “cap and trade” legislation. The bill passed last week by a 219-212 margin.

The ad, which can be heard here, specifically strikes Skelton, D-Lexington, over his 'yes' vote on the bill. That ad came after the Missouri Republican Party released a statement condemning Skelton's vote.

For his part, Skelton said it was "important to move the bill forward" so it can be altered in the U.S. Senate.

"Truth be told, Congress has an obligation to enact energy reform legislation this year, especially given that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is working right now to create tough, costly regulations on greenhouse gases emitted from livestock, farms, factories, and utilities.  Without congressional action, EPA will have free reign.  That is unacceptable to me and ought to be unacceptable to every farmer and business owner in Missouri," said Skelton, according to text of his floor speech. "Unlike the EPA proposal, the House bill would exempt livestock and farms from greenhouse gas regulation.  And, it would provide farmers an opportunity to potentially profit from their carbon friendly farm practices by participating in the carbon market."

When asked why the GOP was going after Skelton, Missouri Republican Party spokesman Jonathon Prouty said in an e-mail that "the simple answer is that it was long overdue."

"This vote was so egregious that we are compelled to him accountable," Prouty said.

On the surface, the ad and the statement should be a no-brainer. Skelton, who chairs the House Armed Services Committee, resides in a fairly Republican district. The conventional wisdom is that as soon as Skelton leaves offices, the U.S. Fourth District has a very good chance of flipping.

But this is the first instance in some time that Republicans have gone after Skelton in any substantive way. Skelton hasn’t faced credible competition for his seat in a long time. He's also cultivated good relationships with some Missouri Republican lawmakers.

The Politico also noted the oddity in attacking Skelton. An article about the ads noted that Skelton was one of four targeted Democrats who has "faced next to no competition in recent years.

"But Republicans believe their energy vote could potentially put their conservative-minded seats in play next year," the article notes.

There are certainly a number of potential Republican state lawmakers who could hypothetically square off against Skelton. But it remains to be seen whether any of them could defeat a lawmaker adept at winning in enemy territory.

Comments

[Chuck]

The link to the ad is wrong. Can you fix?

[Resident of the 4th]

Way to go GOP & NRCC...keep wasting your money attacking one of America's best Congressional leaders! We like Ike!