During a speech Saturday at the VietNow Veterans Independence Day Celebration, Bob Parker, a Texas County rancher, announced his intention to form an exploratory committee for the 2010 race in Missouri’s 8th Congressional District.
“I think the 8th District is ready for new leadership in Washington,” he said.
Rep. Jo Ann Emerson, R-Cape Girardeau, holds the seat. Parker’s announcement did not state which party’s banner he might file.
Parker cited concerns over the bailout of failing financial institutions last fall, saying that the $700 billion bailout has failed to deliver on its promises.
“I will make you this promise: if I am elected to Congress I will read every bill before I vote on it, and if a 500-page bill is printed at three o’clock in the morning the night before the vote, I will vote no, because I won’t vote for any bill that I haven’t had time to read and give adequate consideration,” he said.
Parker said the bill, the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, was “rushed through Congress with pressure from former Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke saying that the plan was vital in order to prevent further erosion of confidence in the U.S. credit markets. The act was supposed to fund the purchase of toxic assets; however, the bailout money was not spent for that purpose.”
Despite the bailout, 57 banks have failed since last October, 789 Chrysler dealerships have closed their doors and the Bureau of Labor Statistics says 4.5 million jobs were lost, he said.