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Sowers to challenge Emerson on economy in electionSunday, November 8, 2009Tommy Sowers, the Iraq war veteran mounting the first well-funded challenge to U.S. Rep. Jo Ann Emerson in more than a decade said Saturday that he plans to make the economy -- and Emerson's record on economic issues -- the centerpiece of his campaign. In an interview before he spoke to Cape Girardeau County Democrats at their annual Fall Festival, Sowers said conditions in the 28-county Eighth Congressional District were poor before the recession hit. The national mess has just made things worse, he said. "That this is the tenth-poorest Congressional District in the country is unacceptable," Sowers said. "That one in four kids in the Eighth Congressional District live in poverty is unacceptable." In September 2008, unemployment across the district was 6.4 percent. This September the unemployment rate was 9 percent. Sowers, 32, raised more than $200,000 in the first month his campaign was active. That is more money than the last five Democrats who faced Emerson have raised in total, and about $80,000 more than the incumbent raised in the same period. "We are excited about having a viable candidate," Cape Girardeau County Democratic Party chairman Mark Baker said. "Not that we haven't had excellent candidates, but it takes money to run a campaign." Sowers was in the U.S. Army for 11 years, ending his career as a major. Currently working as a lecturer on American government at Missouri University of Science and Technology in Rolla, Mo., Sowers was an assistant professor of American politics at U.S. Military Academy before leaving the Army. His assignments as a Special Forces officer in Iraq included training Iraqi security forces, training and advising Iraqi counterterrorism units and advising the U.S. commander in Baghdad, he said. That military background, and Sowers' age, will help Democrats, Baker said. "He will bring in a whole new demographic we have never reached before." Sowers spoke as the Democratic leadership in the U.S. House was pressing members to a vote on a health care overhaul bill that sets a goal of providing health insurance coverage to 96 percent of the eligible population. Emerson announced Friday evening she planned to vote against the bill. Sowers said he would vote for it. "The people of the district need help," he said. "Insurance premiums are going up and people have less coverage. This bill addresses many of those issues." In a news release, Emerson said her opposition was based on a tax surcharge included in the bill, along with what she said was irresponsible spending, failure to address rural concerns and cuts aimed at Medicare. The tax surcharge would hit incomes above $500,000 for individuals and $1 million for families. "This bill does not reflect the changes we need to see in our health care system," Emersons said. "It's too big, too expensive and too bureaucratic to effect a positive change -- especially in rural areas where access issues are very real. We need more technology, more health care professionals in our rural communities and concrete savings on the medical expenses -- like prescription drugs -- that are causing family budgets to capsize all over southern Missouri." Emerson has been an advocate of drug reimportation from Canada and direct negotiations between Medicare and drug companies over prescription prices. When asked about those two issues, Sowers said he doesn't disagree with Emerson. But he said voters should look at the results she is achieving. He said Emerson hasn't heard the concerns of constituents. "I am much more of a results-oriented kind of guy," he said. "Look at the district. See what has happened since she has been in office. It happens in every district in every state -- the member blames somebody else for the problems. I will set an accountability mark for jobs and economic opportunity and ask voters to hold me accountable in November 2012." Over the next 12 months, voters across the district -- which stretches from Cape Girardeau almost to Branson, Mo., -- will see a real debate, Sowers said. "That debate and providing voters a true choice -- that is the mission of this campaign," Sowers said. "If you don't have a vigorous debate, if you don't have a true choice, that isn't democracy." 388-3642 Pertinent address: Cape Girardeau, Mo. U.S. Capitol, Washington, D.C. Comments  Note: The nature of the Internet makes it impractical for our staff to review every comment. If you feel that a comment is offensive, please Login or Create an account first, and then you will be able to flag a comment as objectionable. Please also note that those who post comments on semissourian.com may do so using a screen name, which may or may not reflect a website user's actual name. 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If this guy was not running as a Democrat I would likely vote for him. However, since his is the party of unbridled spending, I don't see where he could possibly affect any changes in their course.
Blaming this economy all on Bush is really getting tiresome. So before you go and blame this current economy on him alone, consider who has been in control of congress and the purse strings during this slide into a financial abyss. Anyone running against Emerson in the primary gets my vote as long as they are a true conservative and not a RINO.
We're sinking deeper, people. Think about it.
There's not a dime's worth of difference between Republican or Democrat philosophy any more since big business and big pharma have taken over our elected "representatives" who refuse to represent us. These folks are most arrogant and the last to employ introspection as a working model. I can't see any changes coming down the pike unless we embrace third party candidates.
mythoughts2 I've been trying to find out which Bush policy took us from 4.7% unemployment to 10.2%. Do you know?
Beats me, bebo, except to say he wimped out on the first batch of bailouts. He swallowed the opposition's bait just like his "read my lips, no new taxes" father did.
Rocket_Surgeon, casting a vote for a third party candidate is the same as throwing your vote in the Ol' Mississippi. Instead, work to elect someone in you party with a backbone who wont burn their campaign speeches as soon as they are elected like the newly elected congressman from NY-23 just did.
Show of hands here, who would like to take back their 2008 vote?
"bebo" You ask an easy question! It was the "Obama Change" whick allowed (caused) unemployment to jump from 4.7% to 10.2%. It will "change" again when a bunch of liberals lose their "jobs" in Washington after the 2010 election.
...and so it goes.
mythoughts2, as has happened in the past, NOT supporting third party candidates will continue to bounce us back and forth between failed and expensive policies, countered by more expensive counter policies. A third party's time has come, but may not have enough voter backing before it's tool late.
This guy finally takes a position on something and it's in favor of Pelosi's healthcare bill. Typical college prof.
mythoughts2
"Beats me, bebo, except to say he wimped out on the first batch of bailouts"
If I recall correctly this is the same batch that Mrs. Emerson voted for as well.
After watching the results in the NY 23rd election. Maybe Mrs. Emerson seat is not so "secure" after all.
yeah gman, the dem won. is that what you want?
Unfortunately, the results of the healthcare bill will not be felt by us in the 10th poorest district for a while after this upcoming election. However, the increased taxes are going to come with it sooner or later, and this will further in debt us to our already growing government. And I would like to ask Mr. Sowers how he thinks the government can run an insurance option when medicare, medicaid, welfare and even the VA are all failing institutions that are all swimming in our tax dollars and producing little results.
It is easy to say you support a new idea, it is harder to fix a broken one. Emerson seems to be trying to fix the problems we have now before charging full speed into a whole new world of problems that tenderfoot Mr. Sowers cannot even fathom.
Oh look, Rudy Keller wrote another ad for a Democratic candidate. I bet he "felt a tingle go up his leg" when he was talking to Sowers.
At least we finally got a stance on an issue from Sowers. Knowing that Sowers would vote for Nancy Pelosi's job-killing, freedom-hating government takeover of healthcare is enough for me to know that he won't get my vote.
He's got my vote!
Semoguy: He wouldn't have gotten your vote no matter what position he took. A person must have an "R" beside their name before you endorse them.It looks to me that Keller's article was pretty well divided between Sowers and Emerson.
Jo Ann votes a lot with the Dems. Check her position on abortion. If you are 100% pure pro-life, then you will not support her position. One of the Repug's new mottos is "Love the fetus..forsake the child." Bring 'em into this world and then you are on your own, even if you live below the poverty level. There is no such thing as a compassionate conservative. This is proven day in and day out.
According to this article, Mr Sower has never held a private sector job, been on the govt teet his whole working life. ANOTHER one of those is just what we need.
What we need is a CONSERVATIVE to run against Mr Gladney's (the Liberal Lobbyist) wife. I suggest Scott Lipke, but I don't think he wants to move his nice family to the trash heap, literally and morally, that is Washington DC.
Looks like Mr Sower is already bought and paid for. TOO left of center. We need center.
Ike you will vote for any socialist.
many of the citizens of this "tenth poorest Congressional district" remain poor because of the four decades of Democratic policlies of welfare. If they were not given money for just siiting around on their porches drinking and smoking they might have had to go out and find a job. Now the Dems want to give them free medical care. They will never have a reason to go find work. The Dems have created a permanent underclass of government funded and supported non-producing individuals and families. Locked in to circle of government dependency.The great idea that the goverment could stamp out poverty has been shown to be an abject failure.
If this guy thunks that the Health care give-a-way is good policy, then he will never win in this district.
mythoughts2,
Here is a link to Emerson's challenger's website in the GOP primary...
http://www.electbobparker.com/
He'll get thrown under the bus by the usual gang of local Republicans and will end up running on the Constitution Party ticket.
The LP is about ready to lose their automatic ballot status if they prop up another college kid doing research for a term paper.
Mr. Sowers will end up with the usual 30 - 35% of the vote that every Democrat finishes with in the MO 8th.
I think I'm just gonna sit this one out and let you guys decide for me.
Emerson has been in her inherited office for 14 years and has done nothing but toe the big government line and sink ever farther into the corruption that is Washington. She voted for the $700 billion bailout a year ago, the cash for clunkers boondoggle, supports NAIS via the farm bureau, NAFTA/CAFTA, and has openly admitted that she doesn't read the bills before signing them.
Sowers has raised a lot of money from out-of-state military sources, is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and as someone else said, has never had a job in the private sector. In fact, very little is known about him except that for some reason a lot of people outside the 8th district want him in congress. This is not a good sign.
There is however, an alternative, and a good one.
Bob Parker of Raymondville, MO will be running against Emerson in the primary. Parker is what I would call a "Constitutional Conservative". Small government, low taxes, pro life, Second Amendment supporter, no bailouts, no socialism, no corruption. Your basic Liberty package as the founders intended. Check his website at http://www.electbobparker.com/index.html
I've gotten aquainted with Bob in recent months and have heard him speak several times. This guy's the real deal.
Mo_Key_Fellow said it best. Vote out em out (Libs). Can I get a witness?!!
The politics since Reagon left remind me of the change made to Lincoln's reconstruction policies.
All the gains made for justice were gradually reversed by democrat communtiy activist like the KKK. It took nearly a century to undue the damage
that state's Jim Crow laws inflicted.
The way to have third or new party influence would be to start it and prove it right on a more local level. I do agree Emerson could be defeated by a true conservative, but more easily if done in the primary. That would not insure a win though. So here we are sill debating.
This Sowers guy has been on the scene all of a minute and is already off in la la land. He would have supported Pelosi Care? wow. Pelosi Care, which Jo Ann voted against, if passed will increase our national debt and size of our government to even higher levels and saddle our economy with even more problems at a bad time. He's a real blue dog alright, ha.
Jo Ann Emerson has worked so hard for ALL the people of southeast Missouri these last 14 years. She wants everyone to have a good job and affordable health care and has worked hard to that end on our behalf for many years now. I respect everyone's opinion, but if you don't see that I'm sorry, it's true.
Hello RUSH LIMBAUGH anal rimmers!
Pleased to meet you all !
8 Disastrous Years Of TAX CUT FOR THE RICH & DEFICIT SPENDING and you RED STATE KOOLAID DRINKERS still defending that TRAIN WRECK ?????
8 Years of Borrowing from the CHINESE & JAPANESE to fund our wars, while passing that debt down to future generations???? When those 10, 15 and 30 years bonds mature we have to pay them back with interest!!!!
You selfish pricks ejaculated over those BUSH TAX CUTS for the rich, when we could've kept taxes at the CLINTON levels and it could've helped to pay for the wars.
Where was your sacrifice, when our troops were sacrificing their lives in IRAQ ????????
Since World War I, we financed our wars by raising taxes on the citizens & corporations here at home, as part of the sacrifice a nation must endure during wartime while our troops sacrifice their lives overseas.
Again let me repeat: You are a bunch of selfish pricks!!!!!!!!!!
Republicans we better run someone against Emerson. I am tired of the same people going back to DC over and over again. I'm tired of the Carnahans, the Blunts, and others who get these office by who thier family is or who there Husband was. I am one Republican who voted for the Democratic candidate last time and I can't even tell you what his name was. I have heard Emerson speak publicly and she is not a lot different from the Democrats. My family will be voting Democrat if she is the Republican candidate again.