Sowers: A fact-based campaign

EDITOR'S NOTE: According to Rep. Jo Ann Emerson's staff in Washington, D.C., Emerson did not actually attend the American League of Lobbyists luncheon. Emerson also didn't have a fundraiser that same night at Charlie Palmer Steakhouse. Information in the letter below is inaccurate.

In Sunday's front-page article, Jo Ann Emerson spokesman Jeff Connor was quoted as saying that I have made trips to both coasts for fundraisers. This statement was false.

We are running a fact-based campaign. Apparently Jeff Connor is not encumbered by facts or the truth. Before readers accept future statements from Mr. Connor or the Emerson campaign, I would recommend they do their own fact-checking.

Here are the facts that Mr. Connor will unlikely speak about. Tuesday, I met with farmers and veterans in Pemiscot and Dunklin counties. Jo Ann Emerson spoke at a lunch sponsored by the American League of Lobbyists. Later on that evening, she had a fundraising dinner at the Charlie Palmer Steakhouse in Washington, D.C., at the price of $1,000 per plate. This is the second fundraiser she's had at Charlie Palmer in 2010. I am betting that not many folks from Southeast Missouri attended.

TOMMY SOWERS, P.O. Box 1396, Rolla, Mo.