Rick Crawford for Congress

U.S. Representative for Arkansas' 1st Congressional District

Crawford Chides State Democratic Party for Lurching to Change Subject from Healthcare

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Rick Crawford today called Gabe Holmstrom’s PR stunt a blatant attempt to divert attention away from President Obama’s creation of a massive new entitlement program.  “Gabe is an incredibly clever political operative,” said Crawford.  “Changing the subject is something our politicians and their spinsters have been doing for far too long.  Instead of talking about the fact that every man, woman, and child in America each owes $184,000 as their share of the unfunded promises our politicians have made, Mr. Holmstrom wants to talk about the President’s birth certificate.”

“The sad fact is that Congressman Berry, who voted for and against this massive new entitlement program, wants to avoid addressing the long-term financial problem facing our country,” continued Crawford.  “While he talks about balancing the budget back home, he has enabled Speaker Pelosi and President Obama to push through a massive new entitlement program that will use taxpayer money to pay health insurance premiums for 32 million Americans.  We need elected officials who will stand up and say, ‘STOP!  Stop digging the hole deeper.’  We need an elected official who will stand up to say our government will not expand or create any new government programs until we restore fiscal soundness.  If we do not do this, our children and grandchildren will pay taxes that are double or triple what we pay today…and that is the best-case scenario.”

Healthcare Vote Highlighted Leadership Void

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As I watched last night’s healthcare debate, and the final vote that will enact a new massive entitlement program, I couldn’t help but think about how we got here.Unfortunately, Republicans and Democrats alike have failed us in recent years. Ethical violations, special interest deal-making, and saying one thing while doing another has led to the lowest approval rating of Congress in the modern era.

The primary reason why Republicans were unable to prevent passage of this multi-trillion dollar entitlement program is because they had played the same games when they were in power. Simply put, when you are a two-faced hypocrite, people don’t care what you say.

Folks, we need leadership. We need people who will go to Washington swearing on their life that they will fight the budget and process gimmickry regardless which party seeks to employ it. Country first, party second…period.

Our nation is truly at a crossroad, and I am not sure many have an appreciation for the trouble in which our republic finds itself.  Yes we now have $12 trillion in debt that has been piled up by both political parties. Yes our deficit, the yearly shortfall that adds to our total debt, has been averaging more than $1.5 trillion.  But what our “leaders” rarely talk about is the $56.5 trillion we have in total unfunded promises.

Add it all up and it equates to $184,000 for every man, woman, and child in America. While anyone with common sense would know that we must stop digging the hole deeper, last night Congress used a nuclear bomb to blast the hole even deeper.  And guess who gets to pay for it?

As I pondered this question myself, I realized that what we are doing is quite disturbing. Each generation leaves an inheritance for the next – usually a house, some land, etc.  In our case, we are leaving a brand new, 20,000 square-foot multi-level mansion. In the basement, however, is a dirty bomb of unpaid bills that will obliterate our kids and grandkids not long after we have slipped into the by-and-by.  While some may draw comparisons to certain spine-less acts of war, it really boils down to the superlative form of Selfishness.

Our elected officials have abandoned the founding principles that made our country great. If we are to return to these principles, and avert devastation for our kids and grandkids, then we must not only vote the self-serving hypocrites out of office in November but replace them with men and women who will swear to restore fiscal discipline.

Three Reasons to Oppose the Healthcare “Reform” Bill

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I wanted to take a moment and articulate three reasons why I would vote against the healthcare reform bill that will be considered in the House of Representatives Sunday afternoon.

  • The United States simply cannot afford to enact a new entitlement program. Our government is currently saddled with a burden of $56.5 trillion in unfunded promises, which is a burden far too heavy for our long-term economic and political stability. Ringing up trillions more in bills that our kids and grandkids will have to repay is unacceptable. Excluding the price for a new entitlement program, our government will have to more than double current tax rates to pay for these unfunded promises. Do we really want to triple tax rates?
  • The “reform bill” will do nothing to control cost. Sure the bill provides a few Band-Aids that make a good snake-oil pitch to people who haven’t studied the issue. However, it is mathematically impossible to provide taxpayer-funded healthcare to 30 million people and expect the initiative to “save” money. Interestingly enough, the Congressional Budget Office didn’t point to any provision that would provide meaningful healthcare cost savings. Instead, the bill raises taxes to offset some of the bill’s price tag.
  • The bill currently provides taxpayer money to pay for abortions. This is unacceptable. Period. The executive order that President Obama and Speaker Pelosi are offering as a fig leaf to protect pro-life Democrats whom they are pressuring to support the bill is meaningless. An executive order can be rescinded at any time by any president. As I have stated previously, one of Obama’s first acts as president was to rescind several executive orders.

The Healthcare Games Continue

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Today Congressman Berry told the Tolbert Report that he remains undecided on the house healthcare measure that will be considered on Sunday. News reports that President Obama has proposed addressing concerns of abortion by signing an executive order to bar public funding of abortion. This is one of the weakest possible ways to address this issue.

The biggest problem with this approach is that he or any future president simply can sign another executive order to reverse the previous one. One of the first orders of business President Obama conducted was to reverse a number of Bush’s executive orders.

Anyone serious about protecting unborn lives would never agree to this sham “solution.”

Members of Arkansas Delegation Complicit in Nationalized Healthcare

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Congressmen Berry, Ross and Snyder, who all refused to support a measure to block the House of Representatives from “deeming” the Senate healthcare bill as passed, are guaranteeing passage of the healthcare bill this year.  “Even though Congressmen Berry and Ross have pledged to vote against the healthcare bill unless it has substantial changes, their refusal to block the “deeming” process will ensure its passage this year,” said Rick Crawford, candidate for the First Congressional District.

While the House will amend the Senate bill once it has been “deemed” to pass, which would require additional Senate action on the bill, if either effort fails, the President will still be able to sign the Senate bill.  In order for a bill to become law, it must pass each chamber in identical form.  Once the House “deems” the Senate bill as passed, it can be sent to President Obama for his signature.

“President Obama, Speaker Pelosi and Majority Leader Reid have really pulled a quick one over on the American people,” said Crawford.  “The media has yet to pick up on the fact that Pelosi’s move to deem the Senate bill as passed will mean that the Senate bill, in its current form, can immediately become law.  I call upon all candidates in the First Congressional District to condemn this move immediately and demand that Congressman Berry offer a privileged resolution calling on the House to take an “up or down” vote on the Senate bill instead of deeming it as passed without a vote.”

“Republicans and Democrats alike throughout Eastern Arkansas are appalled when I tell them about the games these folks are playing,” continued Crawford.  “Every man, woman and child in American currently owes $184,000 each to cover all of the unfunded promises our government has made.  Now is not the time to add a new massive government entitlement program.”

Returning to Conservative Principles

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There are so many ideas and suggestions that are floating around right now as to what we should do in Washington and for the direction of our country.  I have occasion during the campaign to hear about some of these and while most of them are similar in nature, I have come across one that has resonated with me very deeply.

I am a Constitutional Conservative.  What that means is I apply all the challenges and problems we face in Washington to the Constitution and find the answers within the parameters outlined by our Founding Fathers.  I believe the wisdom found in that incredible document is the guide we need now and from here on forward.

I have signed The Mount Vernon Statement and I would encourage you to do the same.  Below, you can read the full statement and you will also find a link to their website where you can sign to show support for Constitutional Conservatism in the 21st Century:

“We recommit ourselves to the ideas of the American Founding. Through the Constitution, the Founders created an enduring framework of limited government based on the rule of law. They sought to secure national independence, provide for economic opportunity, establish true religious liberty and maintain a flourishing society of republican self-government.

These principles define us as a country and inspire us as a people. They are responsible for a prosperous, just nation unlike any other in the world. They are our highest achievements, serving not only as powerful beacons to all who strive for freedom and seek self-government, but as warnings to tyrants and despots everywhere.

Each one of these founding ideas is presently under sustained attack. In recent decades, America’s principles have been undermined and redefined in our culture, our universities and our politics. The selfevident truths of 1776 have been supplanted by the notion that no such truths exist. The federal government today ignores the limits of the Constitution, which is increasingly dismissed as obsolete and irrelevant.

Some insist that America must change, cast off the old and put on the new. But where would this lead — forward or backward, up or down? Isn’t this idea of change an empty promise or even a dangerous deception?

The change we urgently need, a change consistent with the American ideal, is not movement away from but toward our founding principles. At this important time, we need a restatement of Constitutional conservatism grounded in the priceless principle of ordered liberty articulated in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.

The conservatism of the Declaration asserts self-evident truths based on the laws of nature and nature’s God. It defends life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. It traces authority to the consent of the governed. It recognizes man’s self-interest but also his capacity for virtue.

The conservatism of the Constitution limits government’s powers but ensures that government performs its proper job effectively. It refines popular will through the filter of representation. It provides checks and balances through the several branches of government and a federal republic.

A Constitutional conservatism unites all conservatives through the natural fusion provided by American principles. It reminds economic conservatives that morality is essential to limited government, social conservatives that unlimited government is a threat to moral self-government, and national security conservatives that energetic but responsible government is the key to America’s safety and leadership role in the world.

A Constitutional conservatism based on first principles provides the framework for a consistent and meaningful policy agenda.

  • It applies the principle of limited government based on the rule of law to every proposal.
  • It honors the central place of individual liberty in American politics and life.
  • It encourages free enterprise, the individual entrepreneur, and economic reforms grounded in market solutions.
  • It supports America’s national interest in advancing freedom and opposing tyranny in the world and prudently considers what we can and should do to that end.
  • It informs conservatism’s firm defense of family, neighborhood, community, and faith.

If we are to succeed in the critical political and policy battles ahead, we must be certain of our purpose.

We must begin by retaking and resolutely defending the high ground of America’s founding principles.

February 17, 2010″

I would ask that you join me in signing The Mount Vernon Statement as together we reclaim the conservative principles that our nation was founded on.  It is time to dust off the Constitution and start applying it again in the halls of Congress in Washington.  You can read more about The Mount Vernon Statement by going to their website here.

Campaign Garners More National Attention

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Today, the monthly blog featured in the Washington Post called The Fix ranked the top twenty congressional races in the country. Our race went from no where to number 10 on the list! Here is a clip from the article:

“Here’s what we know right now: Democrats currently have less open seats but far more vulnerability; eight of the 20 seats on this month’s Line are districts where a Democratic incumbent is retiring while just two are Republican open seats.

The number one ranked race on the Line is the most likely to switch parties in the fall. Disagree with our ratings? You can rank them yourself at the bottom of this post.

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10. Arkansas’ 1st district (D): Rep. Marion Berry‘s (D) retirement open up this northeastern Arkansas district where President Obama won just 38 percent of the vote in 2008. The two primary fields are still sorting themselves out but the demographics of the seat make it a hard hold for Democrats. (Previous ranking: N/A)

To read the entire post on The Fix, click here.

This is even more indication that the Crawford for Congress Campaign is garnering even more attention across the country!  Rick was the only candidate, from either side of the ticket, who last year said that enough was enough with Nancy Pelosi and Barack Obama’s liberal agenda in Washington.  Rick is a man who, as a small business owner and military veteran, has the background and experience to be a true conservative voice in Washington.  Rick was a true conservative before there was ever a vote to nationalize our healthcare, to take over the automotive industry, or saddle future generations with an impossible debt load.

Rick Crawford needs your support so that in November, the people of the First District will have someone who they can trust and know is a true conservative that will be fighting for conservative principles in Washington.

Crawford Endorsed by Governor Mike Huckabee

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First District Congressional candidate, United States Army veteran, and agri-business owner Rick Crawford today announced the endorsement of Governor Mike Huckabee.

“I am pleased to endorse Rick Crawford for Congress, representing the First Congressional District of Arkansas. Rick is a strong conservative candidate and is waging a campaign based on smaller government, and getting the economy back on track.

Rick is the kind of conservative Republican we need to send to Washington to act as a check and balance to the Obama Administration and the liberals in Congress. He recognizes that we have a lot of work to do, but his background and training make him uniquely equipped to help lead the return to fiscal sanity.

Rick Crawford grew up in a military family, and had a chance to live all over the United States, and experience overseas living as well. Rick graduated from Arkansas State University and he and his wife Stacy live in Jonesboro.

Rick knows that the importance of agriculture to Arkansas’ economy cannot be overstated, since it is the state’s number one industry. It is vitally important that our leadership in Washington take a hands on approach in protecting our industry.

As a strong conservative, Rick supports a Taxpayers’ Bill of Rights, which will limit federal spending growth to the percentage in population growth plus the rate of inflation. He also favors ending tax funded abortions and would vote to stop federal payments to Planned Parenthood and prohibit any taxpayer-subsidized health insurance plan from covering abortion.”

“I am honored to have such an incredible endorsement from Governor Huckabee for my campaign,” Crawford said.  “Governor Huckabee has been a trusted conservative voice not only in Arkansas but across the nation for many years and understands the importance of reclaiming our traditional American values and our voice in Washington.”

Crawford Endorsed by Statewide Republican Group

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Crawford Earns Key Endorsement from Statewide Republican Group

JONESBORO – First District Congressional candidate, former United States Army Sergeant, and agri-business owner Rick Crawford today received the formal endorsement of the Arkansas Federation of College Republicans in his campaign to unseat Marion Berry.

“Having grown up in Forrest City and graduated from Wynne High School I know the traditional American values of Northeast Arkansas and I know Rick Crawford exemplifies these qualities,” said Tom Norsworthy, Chairman of the AFCR. “ He understands the challenges that college students and young professionals face in the First Congressional District and will work hard to provide better paying jobs, decrease the tax burden on family farms and businesses, as well as control spending in congress.  I am confident that he will represent the First District’s conservative values.”

“I am honored to receive the endorsement from the future leaders of our nation,” said Crawford.  “I want to go to Washington and apply traditional American values to the legislative process to ensure that today’s college students will have the same opportunities that I and many others before me have had to start their own business, enjoy lower taxes, and the opportunity of better paying jobs.  I am proud to have their support,” said Crawford.