The gays are putting our national security at risk. And Congressman Ike Skelton, a Democrat who represents mid-Missouri, is helping them do it.
That's the message we got last week from Republican Vicky Hartzler, a former Missouri state rep and author of Running God's Way: Step by Step to a Successful Political Campaign. Hartzler is challenging Skelton, who has held his seat since 1977 and looks mighty vulnerable to the Republican Party right now.
Skelton is anything but a flaming liberal. His career voting record has earned him a 46 percent rating from the American Conservative Union, as opposed to, say, Emanuel Cleaver's 5 percent or Roy Blunt's 93 percent. But according to Hartzler's analysis of President Barack Obama's State of the Union speech last week, Skelton is helping to promote the president's country-destroying agenda:
Sadly, the President doesn't or won't understand what Missourians know, that the failing policies his administration has been proposing need to be abandoned, not pushed further. He advocated continued support for failed policies advanced by Congressman Skelton and Nancy Pelosi. Both are out of touch with the wishes of the Heartland.Hartzler went on to crib from the National Republican Congressional Committee's talking points, complaining about "job-killing" policies that will destroy small businesses and impose communistic, apocalyptic tax increases.
The president says he was for national security yet supports measures to further put us at risk including cuts to missile defense programs, prosecuting terrorists in criminal court, and reinstating the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy. Ike Skelton has allowed the military to be used earlier to pass Nancy Pelosi's radical agenda. What will he do now?
Ike Skelton has allowed the military to be used to pass Pelosi's radical agenda? That sounds as if he dispatched troops to citizens' homes to force health care on us!
And wait a second -- reinstating Don't Ask Don't Tell? The policy still exists -- and Skelton has said he's against repealing it. In fact, gays and their friends held a rally downtown last week to demand that Skelton, who chairs the House Armed Services Committee, at least hold a hearing on the issue.
I sent a note to Samantha Hill, Hartzler's spokeswoman, asking for clarification. Thus began an exchange that started out friendly but ended much too soon.
"Hi Samantha," I wrote. "Two questions about this statement." Those questions, as sent to Hartzler's office:
When Vicky writes: "The President says he was for national security yet supports measures to further put us at risk including cuts to missile defense programs, prosecuting terrorists in criminal court, and reinstating the 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' policy. Ike Skelton has allowed the military to be used earlier to pass Nancy Pelosi's radical agenda," does she actually mean "repealing" Don't Ask Don't Tell?Hill got back to me within a few minutes:
Also, when she says Skelton "has allowed the military to be used earlier to pass Nancy Pelosi's radical agenda," can you give me an example of what she's referring to?
Yes, she does mean repealing the policy. I apologize for the typo, that's a significant mixup.So Hartzler's claim that Skelton "allowed the military to be used ... to pass Nancy Pelosi's radical agenda" rests on his having voted in favor of a defense-spending authorization bill that included an attachment making it a federal crime to assault someone because of his or her sexual orientation.
Andthe primary example she would be referring to was the attachment of the "hate crimes" legislation to the defense spending bill last year.
Thanks again for the questions, and just let me know if you need to know anything else!
Samantha
I guess I'm not sure how repealing Don't Ask Don't Tell "puts us at risk"?I sent that at 11:20 a.m. on Thursday, January 28. Hill had been pretty speedy on the reply button until then, but I still haven't heard back on that last question. Which makes me sad, because I really want to know.
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