Another challenger enters 8th District race

A Texas County farmer will challenge U.S. Rep. Jo Ann Emerson next year for the 8th District Seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Republican Bob Parker, 52, is a cattle farmer from Raymondville. Once a dairy farmer, he now raises beef cattle and sells real estate. He and his wife, Karen, have four children, four granddaughters and a grandson.

Parker was a Wichita, Kansas, native who moved to Missouri at age 19. He has served in elected positions on the school board and other local boards and is part of the Republican Central Committee in Texas County.

Although he has always been politically involved on a local level, Parker believes it is time for him to be a voice for conservatives in Congress.

“I’m very concerned about our country and the loss of freedoms,” Parker said. “When I heard about their proposal to bail out Wall Street and the insurance companies, I was outraged.”

Parker has been active in opposing animal identification legislation that would require livestock to have identifying chips imbedded in order to track individual animals in the event of a disease outbreak. He fears Missouri will soon make the program mandatory.

“This is one of the most intrusive programs for livestock that we’ve ever had,” Parker said. “I’m an old-fashioned conservative Constitutionalist. I believe in our Constitution and I don’t find the authority in the Constitution for the programs the government is coming up with.”

Parker said the influence multi-national and international corporations have on Congress concerns him. He decided he would campaign against Emerson because of her votes in favor of bailing out Wall Street financial firms. (Emerson voted in favor of the bailout in the fall, but voted against the second half of the plan in February.)

“I think our founding fathers would probably have picked up arms by now, given what’s going on in Washington right now,” Parker said.

Paula Barr is a reporter for the Daily Journal and can be reached at 573-431-2010, ext. 172 or at pbarr@dailyjournalonline.com.