July 22nd, 2010, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government President Bill Wilson today condemned statements by the NAACP and members of Congress who he said are “attempting to create a false perception of the tea party movement and any other citizen activists who dare to speak out against Barack Obama’s radical agenda.”

Wilson said the “true message of the tea party movement is against endless bailouts, it is against too much spending and too much control over health care, the financial sector, and energy. It seeks to save America from the sovereign debt crisis and to restore the nation as the economic superpower of the world.”

Wilson called the attacks against the movement “shameless” and that they were designed “to intimidate and silence the American people who wish nothing more than to return the nation to the tradition of constitutional government with limited powers.”

“This is the way organizations, media outlets, and elected officials attempt to silence legitimate dissent through its delegitimization. We expect this from the Hugo Chavezes and Saul Alinskys of the world, not in America,” Wilson said.

“Ultimately, this is about control of Congress, and it is clear members of Congress will stop at nothing to discredit the primary threat to their keeping power, and that’s the American people,” Wilson added.

Wilson said the NAACP’s claims were based on prior statements by elected officials, and said the organization “is being misled and used to help construct a false narrative about the tea parties.”

Wilson pointed to House Majority Whip James Clyburn’s claim that tea parties were a “kind of terrorism.” Others have alleged that activists shouted racial epithets at members of Congress on March 20th at a protest against the health care bill, as reported by the American Thinker. Others have attested that acts of vandalism were linked to the tea parties.

“This has been Congress’ tactic against the tea parties since they began in 2009,” Wilson added, noting what he said were “consistent false portrayals of activists at tea parties and town halls throughout 2009 by Congressional Democrats.”

Majority Whip Clyburn’s attack followed House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer wrote an oped in USA Today calling opponents “un-American”. Congressman Steve Kagen called opponents “uncivilized,” and Congressman Baron Hill called them “political terrorists.”

Congressman Brian Baird called opponents of the legislation “Brown Shirts” and compared them to domestic terrorists, “Some of the rhetoric that we’re hearing is… eerily reminiscent of the kind of things that drove Tim McVeigh to bomb the federal building in Oklahoma.”

Wilson pointed to the bailouts of delinquent borrowers, Bear Stearns, AIG, GM, and Chrysler; the $150 billion nationalization of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac; the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program; the Federal Reserve more than doubling the money supply; the $862 billion “stimulus”; the government takeover of the financial sector; and the $2.5 trillion health care bill all as “the true motivation for this grassroots movement that only wants to restore government to its primary, limited functions under the Constitution by eliminating the entitlement state.”

Attachments:

“Dem Hour Energy,” Cartoon by William Warren, July 22nd, 2010.

“Who are the Tea Parties?” by ALG News National Correspondent Rebekah Rast, video by Andrius Vaitekunas, April 21st, 2010.

“Remember Newt Gingrich?” by ALG Communications Director Rick Manning, July 18th, 2010.

“An American Revolution,” by ALG News Senior Editor Robert Romano, April 15th, 2009.

“The Mad Tea Party,” by ALG President Bill Wilson, July 15th, 2010.

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July 21st, 2010, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government President Bill Wilson today issued the following statement in response to the signing of the Dodd-Frank financial takeover bill into law:

“Today, Barack Obama claimed that ‘the American people will never again be asked to foot the bill for Wall Street’s mistakes,’ and yet that is exactly what the Dodd-Frank financial takeover will do — it contains a hidden tax to finance a perpetual bailout fund.

“This is taxation without representation. The Dodd-Frank bill authorizes the FDIC to levy without any vote in Congress an unlimited bank tax on bank holding and insurance companies with $50 billion or greater in consolidated assets, the costs of which will be passed on to consumers of financial products, savers, and investors, with more fees, higher premiums, and other hidden costs.

“The bank taxes, which the American people pay for, will finance a so-called ‘orderly liquidation fund’, which will be used to bail out politically-favored firms and seize disfavored ones, redistributing their assets to privileged constituencies, as GM and Chrysler were redistributed to labor unions.

“Since Obama is saying that bailouts and government takeovers will ‘never again’ occur, he bears responsibility for signing a bill into law that institutionalizes ‘too big to fail’ and ensures that the next time there is a crisis the American people will be on the hook, paying hidden taxes to fund more government interventions to prop up failing institutions, all without any vote in Congress.”

Attachments:

“’Down a Rabbit Hole:’ The Threat Posed by the Dodd-Frank Bill to the Private Sector,” Updated June 28th, 2010, Americans for Limited Government.

“Big Brother is Watching You: The Threat Posed by the Dodd-Frank Bill to Privacy,” Updated June 28th, 2010.

Letter to the U.S. Senate, ALG President Bill Wilson, April 26th, 2010.

Interview Availability: Please contact Rebekah Rast at (703) 383-0880 or at rrast@getliberty.org to arrange an interview with ALG President Bill Wilson.

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July 15th, 2010, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government (ALG) President Bill Wilson today condemned the U.S. Senate for enacting the conference version of the Dodd-Frank financial takeover bill, sending the bill to the desk of Barack Obama to become law.

July 14th, 2010, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government (ALG) President Bill Wilson today issued the following statement against Barack Obama’s proposed $5 billion in additional funds for “green” jobs:

“Barack Obama and Harry Reid are proposing an additional $5 billion in taxpayer subsidies to businesses that apparently cannot profit on their own selling inefficient so-called ‘clean’ energy alternatives, like electric cars, wind and solar. This comes atop $2.3 billion in ‘stimulus’ funds that were dedicate to the same purpose.

“At a time of unsustainable government spending and debt accumulation, if energy companies cannot make a profit selling these products and utilities, then it is not up to U.S. taxpayers to double-down on an unsuccessful ‘green’ marketing strategy with another $5 billion in taxpayers handouts.

“The American people want an end to government picking winners and losers in the energy sector with subsidies to politically-favored industries, and instead would prefer lawmakers to lift restrictions on producing nuclear, oil, coal, and natural gas resources that provide the foundation for meeting the nation’s power needs.”

Attachments:

“Is the U.S. Killing Green Jobs?” ALG News National Correspondent Rebekah Rast, April 13th, 2010.

“The Green Jobs Scam Unmasked,” ALG Chairman Howard Rich, February 12th, 2010.

Interview Availability: Please contact Rebekah Rast at (703) 383-0880 or at rrast@getliberty.org to arrange an interview with ALG President Bill Wilson.

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ALG Blasts New England Republican Senators for “Failing to Address the True Causes of the Financial Crisis”

July 13th, 2010, Fairfax, VA—New England Republican Senators Olympia Snowe, Susan Collins, and Scott Brown have indicated they will be voting for the Dodd-Frank financial takeover bill, prompting criticism from Americans for Limited Government President Bill Wilson.

“Senators Snowe, Collins, and Brown, through their support of this bill, are enabling government to perpetuate the easy money and loose lending policies that led to the crisis, to continue too-big-to-fail, and to institutionalize the regime that led to limitless bailouts by taxpayers and de facto government control of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac,” Wilson declared.

Recent polling by Rasmussen Reports indicates opposition to bailouts if “some of the largest banks in the country reach a point where they can no longer meet their obligations,” 56 percent favor the government letting them go out of business. Only 25 percent favor the legislation overall.

“This is precisely the sort of legislation that made America opposed in TARP. Lawmakers have made the same mistake again, and now they have Senators Snowe, Collins, and Brown to thank,” Wilson said.

In a statement, Senator Snowe said, “After thoroughly reviewing the 2,315-page financial regulatory reform conference bill during the July 4 work period, I intend to support passage of the legislation when it’s brought before the Senate for consideration.”

“Since Senator Snowe has thoroughly reviewed the legislation she intends to support, she is familiar with and agrees with the unlimited bank tax on pages 356 through 364, the racial and gender quotas from pages 441 to 450, and the bailout-takeover fund on pages 347 to 356,” Wilson noted.

In Senator Brown’s statement of support he said, “While it isn’t perfect, I expect to support the bill when it comes up for a vote. It includes safeguards to help prevent another financial meltdown, ensures that consumers are protected, and it is paid for without new taxes.”

“Senator Brown is just plain wrong. The bill includes an unlimited bank tax that will be passed on to consumers, and addresses not one of the root, government causes of the financial crisis,” Wilson said.

Wilson cited research by former chief credit officer of Fannie Mae, Ed Pinto, demonstrating that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac weakened mortgage underwriting standards and mislabeled high-risk mortgage-backed securities, defrauding investors; that the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) lowered down payments on mortgages; and that the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Community Reinvestment Act regulations and “affordable housing goals” reduced lending standards and forced banks to give loans to lower-income Americans that could not be repaid. “None of these root causes are addressed,” Wilson said.

“The Dodd-Frank bill even prohibits the liquidation of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac under the so-called ‘orderly liquidation authority’,” Wilson noted, pointing to page 171 of the bill.

Wilson pointed out there would be no audit of the Federal Reserve either, “whose easy money policies accommodated the housing bubble.” He cited research by Stanford economic professor John Taylor stating that “the Fed’s target for the federal-funds interest rate was well below what the Taylor rule would call for in 2002-2005. By this measure the interest rate was too low for too long, reducing borrowing costs and accelerating the housing boom.”

“Senators Snowe, Collins, and Brown have failed the American people, and have failed to address the true causes of the financial crisis that government was responsible for,” Wilson concluded.

Attachments:

“’Down a Rabbit Hole:’ The Threat Posed by the Dodd Bill to the Private Sector,” Updated June 28th, 2010, Americans for Limited Government.

“Big Brother is Watching You: The Threat Posed by the Dodd Bill to Privacy,” Updated June 28th, 2010.

Letter to the U.S. Senate, ALG President Bill Wilson, April 26th, 2010.

Interview Availability: Please contact Rebekah Rast at (703) 383-0880 or at rrast@getliberty.org to arrange an interview with ALG President Bill Wilson.

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July 8th, 2010, Fairfax, VA—Who do you support for Speaker of the House? It would seem to be a simple question for any sitting House Committee Chairman, but apparently not for House Budget Committee Chairman John Spratt.

Spratt was asked this seemingly innocuous question by a representative of the Speaker Education Project and his answer was hardly a stirring endorsement of current speaker Nancy Pelosi. Refusing to name names, Spratt said, “Well, I’ll wait and see who my party designates. You have to know who your choices are before you declare your choice.”

Undoubtedly Spratt’s caution is fueled by various polls showing him in a re-election dead heat with his Republican opponent, where his close ties to Speaker Pelosi and President Obama have become a major campaign issue.

Bill Wilson, President of Americans for Limited Government called Spratt’s statement, “either disingenuous or a strong signal that Nancy Pelosi’s days of running the House are numbered whether the Democrats maintain control or not.”

The Speaker Education Project has been launched by Americans for Limited Government to educate the public on the Office of the Speaker of the House, including the process of electing a Speaker. Citizen activists are leading the charge by asking candidates for Congress who they are going to support for the Office of Speaker should they be elected.

Americans for Limited Government launched the Speaker Education Project and neither endorses or opposes candidates for public office. For more information on the project, please e-mail info@speakereducationproject.com.

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