Sowers: I'll fight for our home

On Labor Day, we celebrated and thanked the hard-working men and women who built our country.

But today we make far fewer products in America than we used to. Today, there are twice as many Americans employed by the government than in manufacturing. Since Jo Ann Emerson took office, Southeast Missouri has lost an estimated 16,000 jobs as 150 plants have closed or laid off workers.

My opponent says, "We need jobs." That is clear. We also need more than empty words. We need a plan. Jo Ann Emerson has repeatedly voted to send our jobs and factories overseas. Her legacy is one of votes for bad trade deals like CAFTA. Instead of bringing jobs home, Jo Ann Emerson has bailed out Wall Street and now wants to bail out union pension plans. If Jo Ann Emerson had a plan to bring jobs back, I think we would have seen it, or the jobs, by now.

My plan is simple and comes from listening to thousands of voters. No more bailouts. Renegotiate bad trade deals. Invest in 21st-century infrastructure. We deserve to be represented by an actual native of Missouri. I'll fight for our home in a way that Jo Ann Emerson, a native of D.C., never has.

TOMMY SOWERS, 614 N. Pine St., Suite 202, Rolla, MO 65401