Former Congressman Ike Skelton (D) in Marshall, Missouri in 2012.
Multiple news outlets are reporting that former Representative Ike Skelton (D), who represented Missouri’s 4th Congressional District from 1977 to 2011, died in Washington, D.C. this evening.
Representatives Ike Skelton (D) and Emanuel Cleaver (D) in Independence, Missouri
for then presidential candidate Barack Obama’s speech on patriotism – June 30, 2008.
With Jim Jackson and Missouri Secretary of State Robin Carnahan (D) in Warrensburg, Missouri – 2008.
With Congressman Kenny Hulshof (r) at the Governor’s Ham Breakfast
at the Missouri State Fair in Sedalia – 2008.
Then Representative Skelton’s last Twitter post as a member of Congress:
Ike Skelton @IkeSkelton 2 Dec 10
Last night, I gave my final address to the House. From the bottom of my heart, thank you for your many years of support. [….] 2:37 PM – 2 Dec 10
Ike was a very conservative Democrat. He knew that I disagreed with most of his positions. In fact, in one campaign his token Republican opponents was claiming he was a liberal. I told Ike that I would be glad to go to meetings with him and say, “I’m a liberal, some of my best friends are liberals, Ike Skelton is no liberal.”
However, most memorable exchange took place when Ike was attending a meeting of the Democratic Party in my county. Gingrich was the Speaker.
I told him there is only one vote that was important to me — who will he vote for to organize to House?
He got up in that meeting and answered my question:
Will I vote for some cracker from Georgia to be Speaker or a good Missouri boy from St. Louis?
Ike was a Democrat although he was not a part of my wing of the Democratic Party, but I remember him speaking at the rally for Obama in Kansas City in the 2008. He will be missed.