Jetton missteps

Attempts in recent days by Missouri House Speaker Rod Jetton of Marble Hill, Mo., to smear the reputation of state Rep. Scott Lipke of Jackson are not only falling flat, they are beneath the dignity of a legislative leader whose forthrightness and passion have been considered his strongest assets.

Twice in the past week, Jetton has attempted to cast Lipke, who served last year as chairman of the House Committee on Crime Prevention and Public Safety, as devious and deceitful.

First, Jetton used the power of his speaker's post to order two Republican committee members -- both former sheriffs -- to write a letter in support of the speaker's decision to remove Lipke as chairman of that committee. That letter was a response to a previous letter written by Cape Girardeau County Sheriff John Jordan in support of Lipke.

Second, Jetton held a news conference in Cape Girardeau during which he passed out a timeline of events and a lengthy letter to the Southeast Missourian (published on this page Wednesday).

The letter refers, no fewer than seven times, to what Jetton describes as deceit and a lack of trust on his part -- as well as that of other House Republicans, a claim that was not supported by interviews with a sampling of those legislators.

Reputation above reproach

In targeting Lipke, Jetton picked a capable legislator whose career as a prosecutor, his standing in the community and his personal reputation have been above reproach.

While Lipke's independent thinking as a legislator may not match Jetton's preference for kowtowing representatives, calling him deceitful and untrustworthy is beyond the pale.

Those who know Scott Lipke, both personally and professionally, are deeply offended by Jetton's allegations that were meant to destroy his good name.

The crux of the issue is Jetton's contention that Lipke, as committee chairman, did not keep the House leadership informed of a change in Missouri statutes made during committee deliberations of Jessica's Law, which imposes tougher penalties on child molesters.

In that process, 14 words that made gay sex illegal were removed from state statutes.

The change was made to bring Missouri law in line with an earlier U.S. Supreme Court ruling.

Red-faced retaliation

In his letter to the Missourian, Jetton said, "Thanks to that deletion, it is now legal to engage in deviate sexual intercourse with someone of the same sex here in Missouri."

That assertion is flat wrong.

The Supreme Court's decision made state bans on gay sex unconstitutional.

The real issue, it appears, is Jetton's own embarrassment that he did not read -- nor have any members of his staff read -- the bill he and other representatives voted on.

If he had even read the summary of the bill provided by Lipke, he would have known of the change.

Jetton was further chagrined because he has opposed taking the ban out of state statutes in spite of the Supreme Court's decision. "I unknowingly voted for the very thing I have been fighting against," Jetton said in his letter to the Southeast Missourian.

It's one thing to be red-faced about being sloppy.

It's another to attempt to destroy a decent man's reputation in retaliation.

This is not the first time Jetton has used a ham-fisted handling of a situation to make his point only to have it backfire. Certainly, Jetton is entitled to his own opinions on issues that are important to Missouri and to Southeast Missouri. And he certainly has a bully pulpit to make his case. But efforts to undermine and belittle those with whom he disagrees is disappointing.

Missourians deserve more from a man who holds what many consider to be the second most important political office in the state. The House speaker is expected to show leadership, not spite.