Aug. 3, 2016, Fairfax, Va.–Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement responding to reports that senior Republican officials are “actively” considering options to replace Donald Trump atop the Republican presidential ticket:

“Donald Trump is the nominee and the establishment is going to have to deal with it. These anonymous GOP sources speculating on what the process would be if Donald Trump chose to withdraw from the race for president should be identified and forever run out of the GOP.

“Where were they when Mitt Romney was outed telling donors that 47 percent of the people were on government assistance, creating the exact class warfare narrative that the Democrats craved? These anonymous, cowardly whiners were more than likely busily making fortunes at the GOP trough.

“The only reason that this circular firing squad story exists is because the D.C. establishment class cannot get over that Jeb lost and with his loss, their every four-year financial windfall went away. And that’s the ugly truth, Donald Trump’s real failure is his unwillingness to spend millions in consulting fees to keep the GOP consulting vultures at bay. If these consultants had not lost the popular vote in five of the past six presidential elections, they might have some validity in their concerns, but they are proven losers, and Trump doesn’t like losers.

“So, now they are all-in in trying to stop Trump, and by fostering speculation that he might drop out, they give their cohorts in the mainstream media the excuse to replay some mistakes that Trump has made and the campaign is trying to move on from.

“It is time to root out these conspirators to elect Hillary Clinton president, and not allow them to hide under the cloak of invisibility that cockroaches and vermin depend upon.

“For the rest of us, Donald Trump is the only chance to end the Obama expansion of federal government power, his disastrous EPA regulations, Obamacare and his use of the enforcement powers of the Executive Branch as weapons against his political enemies.”

Interview Availability: Please contact Americans for Limited Government at 703-383-0880 ext. 106 or at media@limitgov.org to arrange an interview with ALG experts including ALG President Rick Manning.

###

July 18, 2016, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement agreeing with Sen. Jeff Sessions’ (R-Ala.) response to Joe Scarborough’s question on MSNBC on U.S. trade policy asking, “So does Paul Ryan need to change [on trade]?” to which Sessions stated, “Absolutely he needs to change. Just like I have,”:

“Senator Jeff Sessions gets it exactly right. Speaker Paul Ryan needs to change on trade and particularly the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP.) Even President Obama’s own economic analysis shows TPP will have virtually no positive impact economically for the U.S., with almost no growth thanks to the deal. Jeff Sessions has had a change of heart on trade, and it is time Republicans in Congress follow his lead, look at the data with clear eyes, and ask if the U.S. lowering trade barriers while other nations engage in currency manipulation — subsidizing their goods and taxing ours — is a good deal for American workers and our economy as a whole. Free trade requires rules, namely, that everyone involved lowers trade barriers. Otherwise it’s not really free trade. Donald Trump and Jeff Sessions are right and GOP leaders like Speaker Ryan need to just say no to President Obama’s attempt to shove his bad trade deal down the throats of Congress after the November election.”

Interview Availability: Please contact Americans for Limited Government at 703-383-0880 ext. 106 or at media@limitgov.org to arrange an interview with ALG experts including ALG President Rick Manning.

###

July 8, 2016, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement in opposition to legislation proposed that would result in retroactive sentence reductions of federal prison, resulting in the early release of thousands of felons:

“It is repugnant to engage in the language of violence against those who are sworn to uphold the law, and in fact it is an attack on the rule of law itself. We’ve seen riots in Ferguson, Baltimore and elsewhere around the nation justified even as the facts supported the police. The assassination of five law enforcement officers in Dallas is the fruit of this poisoned tree.

“Incredibly some Republican Members of Congress in the face of this accelerating disintegration of the rule of law, continue to press forward with the agenda of the loudest voices attacking the thin blue line that runs between civility and chaos on our city streets through their support of so-called Criminal Justice Reform.

“Republican leadership need to put an end to all discussion of the ill-conceived legislation which would release additional hard core criminals back onto the streets at this perilous moment where respect for the law and those who enforce it has been at least partially thrown out the window.  It is obscene that out of some misguided attempt to assuage the concerns of those who have engaged in the harshest rhetoric against the police, those anti-police voices should be rewarded with a major rewrite of our nation’s federal criminal laws.

“The terrorists who killed five and injured seven Dallas law enforcement officers trying to protect a Black Lives Matter rally are not excused due to the historic inciting language of BLM aimed at those who died protecting them.  These terrorists need to feel the full brunt of the law.

“Similarly, the agents of hate who inspired these brazen assassinations should not be rewarded by having their faulty agenda moved forward through Congress.  It’s time for GOP leaders to finally just say no to the empty the prisons agenda of Black Lives Matter and other agents of Blue hate.”

Interview Availability: Please contact Americans for Limited Government at 703-383-0880 ext. 106 or at media@limitgov.org to arrange an interview with ALG experts including ALG President Rick Manning.

###

July 5, 2016, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement in response FBI Director James Comey’s statement that the FBI is not recommending that Hillary Clinton be charged with any crime for storing and disseminating classified information from her private email server:

“It is inconceivable that David Petraeus and Scooter Libby could be convicted for disseminating classified information and Hillary Clinton is getting a get out of jail free card.  In 1973, Attorney General Elliot Richardson and Deputy Attorney General William Ruckelshaus resigned rather than fire Watergate Special Prosecutor Archibald Cox gaining praise for their integrity. FBI Director James Comey’s decision to bow to political expediency erases all pretense that Lady Justice’s blindfold has not been stripped away by the Obama Administration.

“The FBI acknowledges that crimes were committed but recommends no charges as a matter of prosecutorial discretion. No greater miscarriage of justice and the rule of law can be contemplated than high officials being held to a separate standard than everyone else. The politicization of justice in the U.S. may be the most consequential of all of Obama’s fundamental transformations.”

Interview Availability: Please contact Americans for Limited Government at 703-383-0880 ext. 106 or at media@limitgov.org to arrange an interview with ALG experts including ALG President Rick Manning.

###

June 29, 2016, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement blasting Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) for voting against legislation that restructures Puerto Rico’s $72 billion of debt:

“It is ironic that Elizabeth Warren, who made her name fighting against too big to fail and bank bailouts, voted no on the Puerto Rico debt restructuring that makes banks pay for betting poorly in the bond market. Apparently, Warren’s time in D.C. has already taught her it is better to be cozy with the hedge fund bond traders than with the American people.

“While no legislation is perfect, PROMESA protects American taxpayers by putting unsecured creditors at the bottom of the list for payment, and guarantees that those who bet poorly on Puerto Rico debt get a cramdown and not a bailout.”

Attachments:

U.S. Reps. Sean Duffy, Rob Bishop and Raul Labrador protect taxpayers from bailing out Puerto Rico creditors, Americans for Limited Government statement, June 10, 2016 at https://getliberty.org/u-s-reps-sean-duffy-rob-bishop-and-raul-labrador-protect-taxpayers-from-bailing-out-puerto-rico-creditors/

Interview Availability: Please contact Americans for Limited Government at 703-383-0880 ext. 106 or at media@limitgov.org to arrange an interview with ALG experts including ALG President Rick Manning.

###

June 21, 2016, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement to support an amendment by U.S. Reps. Sean Duffy (R-Wis.) and Tom Marino (R-Pa.) that would decrease funding to the Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) account by $20.7 million

“The Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) account at the Department of Justice has received $20.7 in illegal monies from legal settlements. The Duffy amendment will offset these illegal increases in the program outside of the congressional appropriations process by the Obama Administration. Only Congress should appropriate money, not the Department of Justice through legal shakedowns.”

Interview Availability: Please contact Americans for Limited Government at 703-383-0880 ext. 106 or at media@limitgov.org to arrange an interview with ALG experts including ALG President Rick Manning.

###

June 21, 2016, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement praising Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Ben Sasse (R-Neb.), Mike Lee (R-Utah) and James Lankford (R-Okla.) for backing an amendment to the Senate Commerce, Science and Justice appropriations bill by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and U.S. Rep. Sean Duffy (R-Wis.) that would make transitioning by the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) functions to any entity outside the U.S. government illegal:

“The Internet’s naming conventions, which have always been under government oversight, should not be transferred. The domain name system is too important for Congress to allow the Obama administration to relinquish oversight on a whim. We thank Sens. Grassley, Sasse, Lee and Lankford for backing this important legislation.

“Renewing this provision of the 2016 Omnibus is even more necessary as it is clear NTIA is already proceeding with the Internet surrender despite being explicitly prohibited from doing so in under the law. While Congress pursues options for enforcing the existing defund, passing the Cruz-Duffy language again would send a clear message to NTIA that Congress takes the power of the purse serious. That makes Sen. Grassley’s support particularly important due to his powerful position as Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee.”

Interview Availability: Please contact Americans for Limited Government at 703-383-0880 ext. 106 or at media@limitgov.org to arrange an interview with ALG experts including ALG President Rick Manning.

###