The Conservative Democrat Dan Boren The Washington Post has been following four members of Congress as they grapple with what to do about the Iraq war in the coming months. The focus during Congress's August recess is on what these lawmakers are hearing from voters in their home districts. Future installments will feature Rep. Jan Schakowksy (D-Ill.) and Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.). By Jonathan Weisman HUGO, Okla. R ep. Dan Boren (D-Okla.) was settling into his chair in the snug broadcast booth at K95.5 Country as the station's Jo Ann Matthews sing-songed her way through the subjects she wanted him to touch on. There was the bridge collapse in Minneapolis. Of course, talk about federal livestock assistance, she went on. Rep. Dan Boren (D-Okla.) meets with constituents in Hugo, Okla. At more than a dozen town hall meetings in the past two weeks, Boren has heard the subject of Iraq come up voluntarily only once. (By Jerry Ward For The Washington Post) "And I know the war is a big issue on everybody's mind, but," she said haltingly, her sweetly twanged voice tailing off to silence. Then, "I'm real impressed with the work you're doing on cancer," she finished. If lawmakers in most parts of the country are being accosted with questions about the September showdown on Iraq, here, in the sleepy southeastern corner of Oklahoma, the war is the subject that almost cannot be discussed. The McAlester Army Ammunition Plant in Boren's district supplies virtually all of the war's munitions. The hamlets and small towns, such as Antlers and Hugo, Miami and Nowata, have sent their sons and daughters to fight. About 3,200 Oklahomans are deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan; 18,428 have served since the wars began, from a state of 3 1/2 million. Most of the parents of those warriors split their tickets and voted for President Bush as they voted for Boren. Read more... Related: Sooner Thought: "DINO Dan Boren Takes the Heat for Supporting Bush" "Man Up, Grow A Pair And Stop Sniveling"

Labels: Cong. Dan Boren

Posted at 8/20/2007 02:06:00 PM