At Cardinals game, Bond expresses support for Ike, infielders
Bond
ST. LOUIS — U.S. Sen. Kit Bond’s farewell tour hit Busch Stadium yesterday, where the retiring Republican joined play-by-play man John Rooney in the broadcast booth during the Cardinals matinee loss against the Houston Astros.
On the air, Bond, a life-long Redbirds loyalist, compared emerging shortstop Brendan Ryan to Hall of Famer Ozzie Smith
Bond also did some partisan flips of his own, offering support for Democratic U.S. Rep. Ike Skelton, who Bond’s own party has targeted as a vulnerable incumbent in 2010.
Skelton, 77, is the most tenured member of Missouri’s delegation in the U.S. House, and chairs the influential Armed Services Committee.
“It’s very very important for us to have a man like Ike Skelton,” Bond told Rooney.
Rooney, as it turns out, knew Skelton since the broadcaster, as a teenager, worked for KLEX-AM in Lexington, Mo., Skelton’s hometown.
Listen to the interview below, courtesy of Fired Up! Missouri.
Senator Bond is a class act. He has done a lot of good for our state. I don’t agree with his politics nationally but he knows how to take care of Missouri.
Our esteemed Senator Kit Bond understands that as long as Congressional power is linked to seniority, Missouri needs to treasure what seniority it has left on Capitol Hill once he retires. The dean of the Missouri Congressional Delegation is Blue Dog Democrat Ike Skelton. Congressman Skelton chairs the House Armed Servives Committee, which Senator Bond knows can have great sway in protecting Missouri jobs such as those at Boeing. These are Republican and Democrat statesmen working across party lines. If I could vote in Ike’s district, this Republican would gladly cast a ballot for Blue Dog Democrat Ike Skelton. I am urging all of my life-minded Republicans in Ike’s district to do just that.