Rick Crawford for Congress

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

Crawford Endorsed by Iraq Veterans Group

by

Crawford Endorsed by Iraq Veterans Group

Iraq Veterans for Congress Announces Full Support


JONESBORO – First District Congressional candidate, agri-business owner, and former United States Army Sergeant Rick Crawford has accepted the endorsement of the Iraq Veterans for Congress (IVC), a Political Action Committee supporting the congressional campaigns of military veterans all across the United States.

“We are excited to support the candidacy of Rick Crawford because his lifetime of service to country and community reflect the PAC’s goal of helping citizen soldiers become citizen legislators” said D. Patrick Mahoney, Iraq Vets For Congress PAC’s Director of Communications.  Continued Mahoney, “Rick’s extensive military, business and communications experience make him an exceptional voice for the people of Arkansas’ 1st Congressional District and the United States.”

“As a military veteran I am humbled and honored to receive this endorsement.  I will work diligently to represent the traditional American values of Arkansans which includes many proud members of our military, both active and retired.  I will tirelessly work on behalf of our men and women in uniform as well as those who have returned home while protecting our country and our freedoms,” said Crawford.

Iraq Veterans for Congress PAC is a federally registered political action committee supporting conservative Republican Iraq Veterans. Founded in 2008, IVC helped elect two Iraq Veterans Congressmen Mike Coffman (R-CO) and Duncan Hunter Jr. (R-CA). IVC chooses veterans who are determined to become a voice for U.S. military veterans, their families, and hardworking patriotic Americans who believe that our country, our Constitution and our way of life are worth fighting for.

Crawford Announces Second Coalition, Farmers for Crawford

by

Crawford Announces “Farmers for Crawford”, Names Chairman, Experienced Farmer to Lead Campaign’s Second Coalition

JONESBORO – First District Congressional candidate and agri-business owner Rick Crawford today announced the chairman of the second coalition for the Crawford for Congress Campaign, “Farmers for Crawford”.

David Hundley of Bay, Arkansas, will chair the coalition, which will communicate, organize, and mobilize farmers to support Rick Crawford as the next Congressman in the First District.

“Rick has been a part of the agriculture industry in the First District for many years and understands how legislation in Washington impacts farmers.  Rick will be a trusted voice and advocate for farmers as our next Congressman,” said Hundley.

“I am honored to have someone like David leading Farmers for Crawford.  Farmers all across the First District understand how the current policies in Washington are negatively impacting their operations and are ready for someone with traditional American values to represent them in Washington,” said Crawford.

David Hundley is a native of the First District and spent his entire life being a part of agriculture and agricultural activities.  David graduated with a B.S. and an M.S. in Agriculture from Arkansas State University in Jonesboro.  Upon graduating from A.S.U., David has worked in the farm equipment, seed, and chemical areas of agriculture.  David has experience in every aspect of farming in the First District and his ability to understand issues facing farmers is unparalleled.  David and his wife Lori have three sons, Chase, Benjamin, and Mackenzie.

Crawford for Congress Announces First Coalition, Veterans for Crawford

by

Crawford Announces “Veterans for Crawford”, Names Chairman.

Jonesboro Veteran to Lead First Crawford Coalition

JONESBORO – First District Congressional candidate and United Sates Army veteran Rick Crawford today announced the chairman of the first coalition for the Crawford for Congress Campaign, “Veterans for Crawford”.

Ron Miller, a retired Major of the U.S. Army, will chair the coalition, which will communicate, organize, and mobilize veterans to support Rick Crawford as the next Congressman in the First District.

“I am proud to be able to work with Rick on his campaign to be the next Congressman from the First District.  Rick has served our nation admirably overseas in Southwest Asia during his service in the Army and understands the complex issues our soldiers face while in the service and once they come home.  Rick will be an advocate for both our soldiers and our veterans while in Washington,” said Miller.

“I am honored to have someone like Ron leading Veterans for Crawford.  Ron is a decorated military veteran who works every day for veterans and veteran’s affairs.  I am excited about partnering with Ron and other veterans as we work on taking traditional American values back to Washington,” said Crawford.

Major Miller retired from the U.S. Army after serving 20 years and 8 months in Army Aviation as a Master Aviator and Helicopter and Multi-Engine Instrument Instructor. During his career he was awarded 2 Distinguished Flying Crosses, 2 Meritorious Service Medals, 2 Bronze Star Medals, 21 Air Medals, 3 Army Commendation Medals and Vietnamese and Korean government awards. He presently serves on the National Advisory Committee for Veteran Business Affairs, U.S. Small Business Administration. He is the President of Miller Consulting and has served on the staffs of U.S. Senators Dole, Coverdell and Mattingly. President Reagan appointed him as the Executive Director, Georgia Vietnam Veterans Leadership Program where, in the fields of employment and training and small business, he placed over 3000 Veterans in full time career positions and captured over $500 million in direct SBA and bank guaranteed loans.  During his military career, Major Miller was a technical advisor for the John Wayne movie, Green Berets and was an Executive Producer of a Vietnam POW documentary and took 6 Vietnam POW’s back to Hanoi in l993 to film in all the prisons, except Son Tay. He also was a consultant for 2 local affiliate TV documentaries about Vietnam POW’s in Atlanta. Last year he was named the National Veteran Adviser for the National League of Families POW-MIA’s of Southeast Asia.

Major Miller is a graduate of Arkansas State University with a BSE degree and is a member of the University’s ROTC Hall of Heroes. He received additional schooling at USC, Arizona State University and the Federal Aviation Academy.

The Perfect Storm

by

As we head towards the end of 2009 and look towards 2010, there is a perfect storm brewing in regards to our nation’s economy that should cause us all to have great pause.  As we have seen so far this year, our national debt has ballooned at a quicker pace than we have seen in decades.  What has happened as well is the Federal Reserve has kept interest rates at or near zero percent for much of this duration.

Perfect Storm

These interest rates will remain low only for a short time.  Necessity will demand they go higher. Foreign countries, namely China, have continued to purchase our debt but the interest they are earning on that debt has been minimal and they will more than likely look to increase that very soon.  And when China and other countries want that to happen, we will have to oblige their request because if we don’t, we will have even greater economic problems to deal with.

That is where the perfect storm comes in to play.  Not only will we have to increase the interest payments to those who hold our debt, but we will have to start to raise our interest rates here at home.  As reported in the New York Times today, the storm looks to be very menacing:

“With the national debt now topping $12 trillion, the White House estimates that the government’s tab for servicing the debt will exceed $700 billion a year in 2019, up from $202 billion this year, even if annual budget deficits shrink drastically. Other forecasters say the figure could be much higher.

In concrete terms, an additional $500 billion a year in interest expense would total more than the combined federal budgets this year for education, energy, homeland security and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.”

When you put in perspective — our interest payments in proportion to our overall federal budget — it is troubling what is looming on the horizon for our country.

If the Federal Reserve does not act precisely in tandem with the White House and Congress to address these upcoming issues, we could be in for a prolonged period of economic distress that shows no signs of turning around.  But there are solutions we can deploy that would not cost taxpayers and would restore our economy at a much more advanced pace while also curing many other ills.

Where our Congress has failed miserably over the last three years has been in its desire to create more programs that spend money we do not have.  So to counteract that, we need to cut government spending and taxes for individuals and corporations so we can put more money back in the private sector.  The private sector needs more of its own money now than it has in the last twenty plus years.  The Obama-Pelosi-Berry agenda is to raise taxes in all areas of our country to pay for programs we do not need and that are not fiscally responsible.  Marion Berry

We also need to restore the dollar so we can keep its prominence in the world as the reserve currency.  When we have a strong dollar all nations prosper.  If we do not have a strong dollar, our nation suffers.  By employing fiscally responsible economic policy we can restore many segments of our economy and more people will be able to go back to work to good paying jobs.

There are common sense solutions that we can use and have ready for the perfect storm that is ahead.  If we chose not to have leaders in Washington who will draft legislation that will reinforce these principles, then what is coming will hurt us even worse than what is going on right now.  If we chose to send people to Washington who want to cut federal spending, who want to restore our economy through conservative fiscal policy and cutting taxes, I believe we can turn our economy around.

I want to be your next Representative of the First District and be your voice in Washington to see that these things come to fruition.  We need people in Washington who are not afraid to act and act decisively when it comes to our nation’s economic future.

Statement on Healthcare Reform Vote

by

“Tonight we saw history made where a liberal congress decided they know how to deal better with healthcare decisions than the American people do.  Marion Berry voted in favor of this legislation and in doing so, completely ignored what his constituents wanted.  Marion Berry proved again how he is nothing more than a Yes vote for Nancy Pelosi and her liberal agenda.”

A Time for Choosing

by

Forty-five years ago this week, Ronald Reagan gave a speech for Barry Goldwater in which he appealed to the country to choose a conservative candidate who would lead with conservative values in 1964.

Some of the issues they faced were an ever expanding national debt, out of control spending, unprecedented growth of the federal branch, and an increase in funding for welfare programs. What Ronald Reagan outlined in his speech was a call to chose correctly – to chose a candidate based on conservative values, leadership, and principles the candidate would apply to the nations highest elected office, the office of the President.

Here is an excerpt of his speech in which Reagan outlines a story of what our country meant to an immigrant and his perspective on our great nation:

“Not too long ago, two friends of mine were talking to a Cuban refugee, a businessman who had escaped from Castro, and in the midst of his story one of my friends turned to the other and said, “We don’t know how lucky we are.” And the Cuban stopped and said, “How lucky you are? I had someplace to escape to.” And in that sentence he told us the entire story. If we lose freedom here, there’s no place to escape to. This is the last stand on earth.”

Reagan goes on to outline what he believed at that time, 1964, the election was about.  When you read this excerpt, I think you will believe, as I do, that our election in 2010 is no different:

“And this idea that government is beholden to the people, that it has no other source of power except the sovereign people, is still the newest and the most unique idea in all the long history of man’s relation to man.  This is the issue of this election: Whether we believe in our capacity for self-government or whether we abandon the American revolution and confess that a little intellectual elite in a far-distant capitol can plan our lives for us better than we can plan them ourselves. You and I are told increasingly we have to choose between a left or right. Well I’d like to suggest there is no such thing as a left or right. There’s only an up or down—[up] man’s old—old-aged dream, the ultimate in individual freedom consistent with law and order, or down to the ant heap of totalitarianism…”

2010 will indeed be a year, and a time, for choosing between taking our country back and putting it on track to prosperity for every American or for choosing to let our federal government continue down its path of nationalizing more and more segments of our economy and eroding the core of what has made America great and what America is, in the words of Ronald Reagan, “the last stand on earth.”

What is this nation worth to you and your family?  What are our freedoms, our liberties, and our constitution worth to you? Below is the full video of this great speech Ronald Reagan gave to the nation in 1964 where he made the case for a similar choice we are facing in 2010.  Some things have not changed in forty-five years.  The faces have changed; the words have changed; the intent remains.

It’s About Jobs, Mr. President

by

With weekly jobless claims remaining above 500,000 for the last several weeks, it’s a constant reminder that the single greatest problem right now in our country is the lack of quality employment.  The Obama Administration is doing everything they can to distract the American people from the real problem we face and it is time we confront the real issues we have and make it a priority to resolve those problems.

One example of this distraction is the Administration’s attempt to demonize Fox News and making the claims it’s not a news organization but rather an entity that is promoting a perspective.  They are also putting forth an all out attack on businesses in the form of Cap & Trade legislation.  These are just two examples of how the American people are being put to the side in an effort to further this Administration’s agenda.

What our President is not doing is addressing the calamity that is our job market.  The sentiment among private employers is cautious, at best.  They are not confident in what is going on or what is on the horizon for them and their companies.  And because of this they are not hiring for positions they currently have open and for jobs that would help them expand.  They are also cutting pay so they can lower overheard in order to buckle down and weather this storm in the hopes they will still be open a year from now.

If Americans were able to have good jobs I believe most of what we are seeing would correct itself.  If Americans were able to provide for themselves and their families, I believe you would see most of the major economic indicators show that our economy was back on track and improving.  As long as people have jobs, they can pay for services, products, and other items themselves.  When people have jobs, there is money flowing through the economy and a whole host of problems are usually corrected and corrected faster than what government spending might try to do.

It’s all about jobs, Mr. President.  If you are willing to do what you can to put Americans back to work at good paying jobs, many of our financial problems would correct themselves.  And it would not cost the taxpayer a single dime.

It is time for common sense and free market economic principles to show their faces in Washington among the mass dementia that is institutionalized politics.  As your next Representative, I will apply common sense and free market policies so we can get our economy back and put our country on a track to prosperity.

Moral Leadership in Washington

by

From record deficits in our Federal budget to the onerous economic policy being enacted by both Houses of Congress in the form of bailouts to the Federal Reserve devaluing our currency – all this raises a significant question for me.  That question is, “Where is the moral compass used by legislators and federal employees when enacting policy and legislation that impacts lives of people both here in the United States and across the world?  Where is that compass?

When our forefathers were crafting our Constitution, and even before that with the Declaration of Independence, they based their entire process on seeking guidance from God because they wanted to ensure moral decision making.  They also wanted to ensure the process would benefit all Americans and would create a limited government that would provide checks and balances to ensure our Republic would not become what they had fled from in Britain.

What they wrote – the laws and founding precedents — were set forth in our Constitution.  And within our Constitution lies a moral compass that all three branches of our government are required to follow.  That moral compass continues to offer direction in the articles and amendments of our Constitution. However, it would seem that lately even those time-tested elements of our government have been tossed to the side for both political expediency and gain of those in office.

If our current group of elected officials do not hold to a high standard in everything they do legislatively, what kind of government will we have?  What legislators do in Washington requires moral decision making.  What they do, with the stroke of the legislative pen, impacts the lives of every single American. That significant impact should compel our leaders to make moral decisions in every case and especially in regard to the costs it will inflict on us, the people.

Our leaders in Washington have a moral obligation to be fiscally responsible in everything they do.  Our elected officials in Washington should faithfully adhere to our Constitution. We do not want tyranny from either the legislative branch, nor from our financial systems.  These issues plagued our founding fathers and moved them to found our great nation.  Our founding fathers had a vision of a country with limited government and the liberty of every American being preserved.  They had a vision that put the people ahead of the government.  They had a vision where a limited government would be the catalyst to prolonged prosperity and longevity.

It is no mistake that the creation of our Constitution has led to our high standing in the world, and that it has led us to become a shining city on a hill.

Our liberty, our freedom, and our future is being challenged in Washington by legislators who hold no regard for their moral obligation to our nation’s future.  And, more importantly, the future of our children and grandchildren is at stake if we stand by and do nothing.

I am a traditional American who believes that you can not spend money you do not have.  I am a traditional American who believes what is outlined in our Constitution should be both our moral and legislative compass for what is done in Washington.  As your next Representative of the First District, I pledge to every resident that I will reference our Constitution in all that I do with each proposed piece of legislation and will grade the legislation according to the articles and amendments in our Constitution.

Its time to make a change in Washington! Together we can put our country back on track where every American can enjoy what this country is capable of providing – freedom to have prosperous employment, limited government, and the promise of a better future.

Congressman Berry Calls Delta Director “Incompetent Moron”

by

Congressman Berry’s temper and name-calling is at it again. The members of the Mississippi Delta Grassroots Caucus, which lobbies Congressional members who represent the federally designated Delta Regional Authority, are meeting in Washington this week and Congressman Berry could only muster insults and name-calling as way to work on behalf of the people in the First Congressional District of Arkansas:

On the first day of the two-day meeting, Rep. Marion Berry dismissed Johnson, a George W. Bush appointee, as someone who “steals 120 or 130 thousand dollars of taxpayer dollars,” in the form of his annual salary. “He’s a burr in my saddle,” Berry, a Democrat from Arkansas, told the group on Tuesday evening.

“He’s an incompetent moron,” Berry later said in an interview.

Congressman Berry also voted in favor of the censure of Congressman Joe Wilson for his conduct in the House last week during the President’s speech. Congressman Berry, on the floor of the House, referred to a fellow Congressman, Rep. Adam Putnam, R-FL, as a “howdy doody looking nimrod” during debate on a piece of legislation:

This is just another prime example of how Congressman Berry works with others in Washington and how his temper and resort to name calling has been a detriment to the people of the First District. Its no wonder why the First District remains in the position it is in, especially with federal programs like the Delta Regional Authority, when our Congressman can only muster insults in his efforts instead of results in funding for important initiatives.

The people of the First District deserve better representation than someone who can only resort to insults and name calling when it comes to vital legislation that impacts the First District.

It is time to make a change in the First District!

What You Can Do

by

Just over the last week, there has been enough major stories come out of the Obama White House to leave just about everyone scratching their heads and wondering what we can expect next. And while we keep reading about things like the President asking Congress to raise our debt ceiling to over $10trillion dollars, to having unconditional talks with dictators who want to harm us, to an administration who wants to nationalize our health care system, we want to know what we can do to put a stop to things like this.
The first thing is we start at home. We start by electing people that will go to Washington and represent the First District not Washington being represented in the First District. Congressman Berry has, for 14 years, served in a capacity that has over time become less and less beneficial for voters. Just this last week, Congressman Berry said publicly that he is supportive of a public option on health care and it is not a deal breaker for him. Congressman Berry has also voted, just this year, to nationalize some of our largest banks and automotive companies. And while these companies and programs are getting billions of our tax dollars, the average American citizen still does not have the job he or she lost this year or last. They still don’t have the promise of better days ahead. And there is no prospect of either of those coming true any time soon.
I want to be the person you send to Washington that will take conservative values, principles, and leadership back and exhibit those on a daily basis. I am a true conservative and I don’t need any caucus to label me otherwise. I believe in spending within our means as a nation and since I am the owner of my own company, I know I can not spend money I do not have.

I understand the many implications that our fiscal policy has on our ag policy. You can not have good ag policy if you don’t have good fiscal policy. Congressman Berry does not represent the single greatest aspect of the First District in our farmers and ag producers and as your next Representative, I will be your voice in one of the most critical aspects of our district.
Lastly, I am a veteran. I have served in the current flash point of Afghanistan and Pakistan and understand what it means to operate during a time of war. I understand the issues, the challenges, and the problems our veterans face in being one. Congressman Berry is not a veteran and can only understand so much what it means to have served, to come home, and to be faced with the many issues our veterans are faced with.
With your help, we will start here, in the First District, and take conservative principles, values, and leadership to Washington so our collective voice can be heard again. It is time that we start fresh and I want to be the one who helps establish this new beginning. This is not an issue of Democrat or Republican. This is an issue of conservative principles over liberal ideologies. I believe that the people of the First District are ready for conservative representation.