Crawford Condemns Injunction on Immigration Law in Arizona

JONESBORO – First District Congressional candidate, United States Army veteran, and agri-business owner Rick Crawford has condemned U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton’s temporary injunction against critical parts of the recently-passed Arizona immigration law.  The law was set to go into effect today.  Crawford also called on the Administration to back down on its lawsuit against the law and promised to push for passage of legislation that will crack down on illegal immigration.

In April, Arizona passed SB 1070.  The most controversial parts of the sweeping law require police officers to “make a reasonable attempt to determine the immigration status of a person stopped, detained or arrested.” The law also makes it a crime to “for an unauthorized alien to solicit, apply for or perform work.”  It is already a violation of Federal law for an employer to knowingly hire or employ an illegal alien.

Crawford says, “The Arizona law is a common sense law.  A police officer should be free to run a background check on anyone he stops for violation of a traffic law. The officer should not be the subject of a Federal lawsuit; he should be applauded for doing good police work.  The Administration should drop its lawsuit.”

This month the Obama Administration, acting through Attorney General Eric Holder, sued Arizona, claiming the Federal government has sole responsibility for addressing immigration issues.  Judge Bolton issued the injunction in response to the Obama Administration’s lawsuit.  The injunction temporarily prevents the above-described sections from going into effect.

“The old joke used to be, ‘we’re from the government and we’re here to help.’  However, now the Obama Administration is telling Arizona, ‘we’re from the government and we’re here to prevent you from helping.’”  Crawford continued, “It is hypocritical for Eric Holder to sue Arizona for dealing with a problem the Obama Administration has failed to address.  The residents of the First District can be sure when I’m elected; I will not duck the tough issues.”

Pawlenty Endorses Rick Crawford

ST. PAUL, Minnesota – Today, Governor Tim Pawlenty’s Freedom First PAC endorsed Rick Crawford for Arkansas’ First Congressional District. Rick Crawford shares Governor Pawlenty’s commitment to a limited government and fiscal responsibility.

“I got to know Rick a year ago, and he’s exactly the sort of fresh voice we need in Congress,” Pawlenty said. “We need to stop the out-of-control spending Washington, and that’s exactly what Rick will do.”

In addition to direct support from the PAC, candidates endorsed by the Freedom First PAC benefit from a donation feature that allows supporters to contribute directly to endorsed candidates through TimPawlenty.com.

“I am honored to receive the endorsement of a true conservative leader like Governor Pawlenty,” Crawford said. “Governor Pawlenty has shown that if you stick to your fiscally conservative principles, you can govern effectively. That’s what I plan to do in Congress, and that’s why I am honored to receive such an endorsement from him.”

Tea Party Straw Poll Results

The Arkansas Tea Party conducted a straw poll April 15th for the U.S. Senate and U.S. House races. I am proud to announce that voters overwhelmingly supported the agenda that I presented by giving me 81 percent of the total vote (complete results are listed below).

There is indeed a growing sentiment that we can no longer ignore our nation’s mounting fiscal crisis, which is $56.5 trillion and growing by roughly $3 trillion each year. With interest on the national debt soon to be the largest single line item in the entire federal budget, we CANNOT afford to put this off any longer.

I appreciate everyone who gave me his or her vote of confidence. I am excited about the gathering momentum that will enable me to join the band of reformers who will be sent to change Washington in November.

Tea Party Straw Poll Results (1st District)

Name                                   Number of Votes                 Percentage

Rick Crawford (R)                       149                                        81%

Princella Smith (R)                      31                                          17%

Tim Woolridge (D)                        3                                             2%

Steve Bryles (D)                             1                                               -

Is Nancy Pelosi’s agenda good for farmers, businesses, or families?

National Journal reports today that several reporters who closely follow national elections believe momentum is growing for Nancy Pelosi to lose control of the House of Representatives.  You can read the brief article at this link:

http://hotlineoncall.nationaljournal.com/archives/2010/04/where_the_house.php

What does this mean for you, your family, our state and our country?  For starters it will enable us to begin the process of repealing the multi-trillion healthcare entitlement.  The bill’s major thrust was to create a permanent guarantee, much like food stamps, for health insurance.  While states and the federal government currently provide Medicaid coverage for the poorest Americans, this new entitlement expands the coverage to an additional 32 million people.

So while our country suffocates under a financial burden of $56.5 trillion for programs for which there is not sufficient revenue, Speaker Pelosi and President Obama’s solution is to saddle our nation with trillions in additional costs.  This irresponsible behavior will have significant adverse ramifications in the not-so-distant future.

Excluding the recently-passed healthcare entitlement program, every man, woman, and child would have to pay $184,000 to cover his or her share of the $56.5 trillion shortfall.  Unfortunately, our financial hole is getting deeper at a rate of about $3 trillion annually as our elected officials do nothing to stop the problem.  To cover the shortfall, budget watchers estimate that taxes will have to double or triple for all Americans.  Can you imagine the job-killing impact this would have?

Before you dismiss this as nonsense, consider that the top marginal tax rate throughout the 1970s was 70 percent.  That’s right, a person in the upper income bracket only kept 30 cents of every dollar he or she earned.  Let’s assume that this applied to the top 10 percent of all income earners (joint returns included).  A person–or couple filing jointly–at the bottom of the top ten percent, according to the IRS, makes roughly $119,000.  The federal government would take $83,300 and the taxpayer would be allowed to keep $35,700 (before state and local taxes, of course).

A sobering thought on the day after Tax Day.

Of course, the problem with raising taxes back to the level of the 1970s is that it would crush our economy.  However, Congress spends as if it has ample money in its pocket.  Apparently Congress’ “money” has burned a hole through its pocket, through the floor, and halfway through the planet!

If this troubles you and you are interested in becoming involved in taking back our country, I urge you to join my campaign team and share this article with others.  As the National Journal story indicates, there is a growing sentiment in America that it is time to boot Speaker Pelosi and her liberal agenda.  But we cannot do it without you and others emailing and calling friends to share the facts and contributing to our campaign so that we can continue to run a strong race that will end Speaker Pelosi’s control of the House of Representatives.  Remember, a government by the people requires active participation by “We the People.”

You can read more of my thoughts about the budget at my website: http://www.MeetRickCrawford.com/issues/americas-budget-crisis

Next Page »