Skelly’s Principle

RATHER than alter or abandon his criticism of Supreme Court Justicenominee Sandra O’Connor, state Rep. Jim Skelly quit his job with the Greyhound Corp. In so doing, he not only showed the courage of his convictions, but he also struck _ a blow for a legislative process free of unwarrant.ed pressures. His bosses, concerned that the public might confuse Skelly’s legislative role with his Greyhound customer-relations role, attempted to moderate his public utterances on Judge O’Connor’s nomination. Skelly, who still seethes over Judge O’Connor’s votes in the early 1970s on abortion when she served in the state senate, is outraged by her nomination. He fmds it diametrically opposed to “the welfare of the innocent unborn.” During more than five years with Greyhound, Skelly undoubtedly has said or done things as a legislator that weren’t totally to the company’s liking. Meanwhile, most of the community probably was unaware that he even worked for Greyhound. Why the company felt the need to control his views on Judge O’Connor is difficult to underst.and. Neither U.S. Sen. Jesse Helms, R-N.C., nor any national group st.ands a chance of blocking her confirmation, much less a state representative. By leaning on Skelly the way it did, Greyhound bas given itself a black eye, and has done no great favor to business in general The company is correct when it says Judge O’Connor is “one of the most level-headed, intelligent justices, male or female, ever to serve on the bench.” But it does