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COLUMBIA, MO. -- Ninth District Congressman Blaine Luetkemeyer said President Obama is in contrast with his district.

“I know the people in the ninth are generally pretty conservative," Luetkemeyer said. "They have Midwestern values. The people who are in charge in Washington have a different ideology. They believe in big government. They believe the government can solve all of your problems. We here in the ninth believe in the freedom of our people and the ability of the entrepreneurial spirit of our people to come forward and lead our country.”

Luetkemeyer said President Obama and the Democratic leadership in Washington are destroying our economy with legislation dealing with health care, the environment and immigration. Luetkemeyer said the President’s stimulus bill is a failure.

“The American people have seen that what was promised has not been delivered on," Luetkemeyer said. "They promised that we would never get above 8 percent unemployment. Now, we have 10 percent and wherever we go after this.”

The 58-year-old native of St. Elizabeth, Mo., operates a 160-acre farm and said helping agriculture and small business are two of his main legislative priorities.

Luetkemeyer has met with hundreds of small business owners throughout the Ninth District. He said he continues to hear their concerns about the negative impact of a national energy tax and the new health care law on small businesses.

You can read KRCG’S Mark Slavit’s entire interview with Congressman Luetkemeyer in this month’s issue of Inside Columbia Magazine.