Is Congressman Ike Skelton out of touch with his district?

Reprinted from the Missouri Political News Service's blog on Facebook:
Ike – Finally Out of Touch?
June 29th, 2009 by Mark Twain on Facebook

Recent decisions by Congressman Ike Skelton have many wondering if Ike has lost touch with his voters, as his actions are beginning to look more like those of an east coast liberal Democrat than the midwest conservative Democrat that his district elected.

Cap and trade legislation – potentially the biggest tax increase ever imposed upon the American people – narrowly passed in the House. The Democrats had many conservative defectors, and were scrambling to get enough of their party to hold together to serve as a majority. Conservative Democrats had a real chance at blocking this legislation by standing against it on principle – a decision that many of them made.

Skelton, was rumored to vote against the bill, but he joined Speaker Pelosi and the left-most reaches of his party in saying yes to this misguided policy. This bill will costs his constituents greatly as most power in the 4th Congressional district - nearly 90% - comes from coal which is one of the cheapest sources for power generation. Cap and trade will have an especially negative effect on rural areas while having little environmental impact, meaning Skelton has turned his back on most of his district to support something that amounts to little more than “feel-good” legislation dreamt up by liberals.

Cap and trade isn’t the only issue that Ike has gone liberal over lately. Skelton has agreed to hold hearings on the repeal of the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy – a shocking decision given his district’s strong support for the policy. After his recent actions, one wonders if Ike will cow tow to Pelosi’s will and vote yes on the health insurance bill. Time will tell.