Inflation Continues to Surge Across All Items

Congressional Republicans need to say no to the partisan spending boondoggle

Fairfax, VA. – Consumer prices rose 0.9 percent in June, according to data released Tuesday by the Labor Department, heating up from the previous month.

The consumer price index (CPI), a closely watched gauge of inflation, increased to an annualized rate of 5.4 percent last month amid a summer rush of economic activity.

Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning issued the following statement in reaction to the news:

“Inflation continues to surge across all items at an annualized rate of 5.4%.  But prices are not really rising at that low of a level, in the five months since Joe Biden entered the White House, the rate has grown at .66% each month or a 7.9 percent annualized inflation rate.  Every consumer sees the price increases, and according to the BLS, the pain of higher prices was spread throughout the economy in June.  What is the answer to this hidden government tax which results from wanton spending?  Stop or slow the spending.  This means that Republicans in Congress need to just say no to the Biden/Pelosi/Schumer partisan spending boondoggle which they call an infrastructure plan.  America broke the bank to recover from the Chinese virus, it is time for the federal government to tighten its belt rather than accelerate price increases.

“Everyone loses under inflation, but those with the least disposable income and those on fixed incomes are hurt the worse.  There should be a bipartisan agreement to stop fueling the destruction of the value of the American dollar, but spending in DC is like heroin, it is hard for politicians to kick the habit.  The American people need to stage an intervention and tell Congress to stop the spending now.”

For media availability contact Catherine Mortensen at cmortensen@getliberty.org or 703.478.4643

FBI Caught Lying About ‘Lego Man’ Charged in Jan. 6 Capitol Breach

Lie Reinforces how out of control FBI has become

Fairfax, Va. – The Department of Justice now says a DoJ court document claiming to have  recovered a “fully constructed U.S. Capitol Lego set” from the home of a man charged in the Jan. 6 Capitol breach was “a miscommunication,” and the Lego set was actually unconstructed and in a box. Robert Morss, 27, is accused of leading fellow rioters in what prosecutors say was “one of the most intense and prolonged clashes” with officers on Jan. 6. The new court filing said, “In original detention memoranda, the undersigned stated that law enforcement found a ‘fully constructed US Capitol Lego set.’ That statement appears to be inaccurate. The Lego set was in a box and not fully constructed at the time of the search.”

Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning issued the following statement in response to this FBI lie:

“Once again, the Justice Department has had to admit that they lied about events surrounding January 6th. While the Lego lie may seem silly, it is part of a pattern that federal law enforcement has demonstrated in this case, and indeed over the past five years. The most egregious example of this lying for public relations purposes was the death of Capitol Police Office Brian Sicknick. He was the officer who laid in state and was eulogized by Democrat and Republican members of Congress alike for his bravery in dying in defense of the Capitol. Only problem was, while Officer Sicknick did die on January 7, the coroner’s report shows that it had nothing to do with the events of January 6th. He was not hit in the head with a fire extinguisher and the Capitol Police knew it. Officer Sicknick checked in at the end of his shift with no signs of physical injury, so the Capitol Police knew that his death was unrelated and certainly that he was not injured as was reported. Yet, it was this lie that was used as justification to impeach President Trump and it was this lie that the Justice Department continues to use as the justification for holding hundreds of people in solitary confinement without any semblance of a speedy trial.

“The Lego lie just reinforces how out of control our nation’s FBI has become. The hundreds of people being held without bail in inhumane conditions demonstrates that the very essence of our judicial system, the presumption of innocence, has been run over by the political weaponization of federal law enforcement. The time is now for the Justice Department to either move forward with trials, or grant bail for people from all over the United States, some of whom never even entered the Capitol complex. Much more than a stolen podium is at stake, the very essence of our liberties are on the line. It’s time for the Biden Justice Department to either put up or shut up.”

For media availability contact Catherine Mortensen at cmortensen@getliberty.org or 703.478.4643

 

Election Integrity Matters

States continue to fight for fair, honest elections

Fairfax, Va. – Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning issued the following statement in reaction to continuing efforts to protect election integrity at the state level:

“Yesterday the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania announced they were going to pursue a vote audit on the 2020 election similar to what the Arizona State Senate is doing in in Maricopa County, Arizona. These are both important steps toward restoring America’s faith in the electoral system. A newly-released poll shows nearly two-thirds of all voters reported that the issue of election integrity was either their top issue or in their top three when deciding how to vote.

“In the case of Pennsylvania and Arizona it is the state legislature’s responsibility to oversee the results of the election laws to ensure that the fundamental principle of one-person-one-vote is upheld.

“What is stunning, though predictable, is that Democratic operatives continue to oppose and impede an honest review of election results. Every voter needs to feel confident that their vote counted. Regardless of the outcome of these audits, the citizens of Arizona and Pennsylvania should be proud that their state legislatures are fighting to make certain that their vote counted.”

For media availability, call Catherine Mortensen at 703.478.4643 or email at cmortensen@getliberty.org.

Trump is Right to Sue Facebook and Twitter

Big Tech profited from Trump’s investment of  time and money 

Fairfax, Va. – Americans for Limited Government President Richard Manning today issued the following statement in reaction to former President Donald Trump’s lawsuit against Facebook and Twitter:

“President Trump’s activities on Facebook and Twitter made those platforms millions upon millions of dollars as they became must-use vehicles for communications. The President invested time and money in promoting the Twitter and Facebook platforms and growing his audience. Their denial of service to President Trump is a breach of the implied contract between those who use the platforms and drive traffic to the sites and those who profit from it.

“The courts must hold these platforms liable for violating the obvious agreement between content providers and the platforms that monetize them.”

View lawsuit here:

[embeddoc url=”https://getliberty.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/2461b9b5-69db-452a-b3b7-25a89366376f.pdf” viewer=”google”]

850,000 jobs return as economy continues reopening, but unemployment rate ticks up to 5.9 percent

July 2, 2021, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement on the latest jobs numbers:

“The jobs report is actually two distinct surveys, one of employers (the establishment survey) and one of people (the household survey).  It is not uncommon for these two surveys to significantly diverge in their findings.

“In June, the establishment survey found that payroll employment rose by 850,000 in June, a huge number normally, but not surprising as many large states effectively reopened their economies much more fully last month.  This increase reflects that belated decision.  The household survey however tells the story of what people are doing, with 18,000 fewer Americans saying they have jobs.  The unemployment rate did not go down as one would have anticipated, instead increasing to 5.9 percent. The percentage of people in the workforce actively employed or looking for a job remains disappointing, and while some try to explain this away due to the aging of America’s workforce, that factor can only explain a portion of the people who have not returned to the workforce post-Covid.

“The phenomenon of people voluntarily leaving their previous job to begin looking for new employment is accelerated by approximately 17 percent to 942,000 in June with the number of people on temporary layoff ‘essentially unchanged’ at 1.8 million since May.

“What does all this mean?

“First, the economic crisis from state and federal government reactions to the effects of the Chinese-manufactured and exported virus has been over for about six months, and it is time to end all the special programs designed to provide special assistance.  We know this because almost a million people who voluntarily left their employment to find better jobs tells us that a significant number of people are risking their livelihoods with the expectation that their next opportunity is right around the corner.  This practical optimism is the natural outgrowth of the positive policies implemented by Donald Trump which saved many small businesses, successfully created the environment for the vaccines to be brought to market months if not years earlier than what would be normally expected and discarded job killing regulations to encourage recovery.

“However, the massive spending that was put in place to negate the economically disastrous impacts of the virus in 2020, now threaten the recovery through creating a vicious wage/price inflationary cycle.  It is time for the federal government to declare victory and end the war on fiscal sanity now by allowing the labor markets to naturally finish the job of returning to the 2019 Trump economy, the greatest in our nation’s history, by simply getting out of the way.”

Interview availability: Contact Catherine Mortensen at 703.478.4643 or cmortensen@getliberty.org .

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Courts Shut Down Democrat’s Attempt to Expose and Punish Political Opponents

Fairfax, Va. – Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today released the following statement in reaction to the Supreme Court decision in the Americans for Prosperity (AFP) v. Bonta case:

“The Supreme Court today affirmed the fundamental constitutional precept of freedom of association in their AFP v. Bonta decision.  The case revolved around whether the state of California could require the disclosure of donors.  Citing the landmark 1958 Alabama v. NAACP decision, the Court held that donor identities can be withheld from the state on the basis that disclosing donor identification could subject donors to retaliation.  In the 1950s, Democrats in the state of Alabama attempted to require the NAACP to provide its donor list with the full expectation that the state would engage in retaliation against those people.  In the late 2010s, Democrats in the state of California attempted to impose the same requirements on non-profits for the same purposes.

“This decision should put an end to Congressional attempts through so-called “election law reform” to compel non-profit groups, which provide zero tax benefits to donors, to provide donor names to the highly politicized federal tax collection agency.

“This is great news for people on all sides of the political spectrum to be able to engage in political advocacy without risking their personal and professional safety.”

For media availability contact Catherine Mortensen at 703.478.4643 or cmortensen@getliberty.org.

Resounding Victory for Election Integrity

Decision affirms a state’s basic right to set its voter rules to ensure election security

Fairfax, Va. – Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning released the following statement on United States Supreme Court Brnovich vs. DNC ruling:

“Expect a renewed, desperate effort by Democrats in the House and Senate to destroy the chain-of-custody for ballots in the wake of today’s Supreme Court Brnovich v. DNC decision.

“The Court held by a 6-3 margin that the state of Arizona did not have discriminatory intent, nor did its policy of disqualifying votes cast outside of a person’s precinct and the prohibition on ballot harvesting  have a disproportionate impact on racial minorities.

“This decision affirms a state’s basic right to set its voter rules to ensure election security and that the one-person-one-vote principle is upheld. It should be cheered across America as an affirmation that cheating will not be institutionalized so long as Congress is stopped from passing far-left election laws that attack voter identification, chain-of-custody, and accurate counting of election results. This is a victory but Americans must continue fighting to ensure that Congress does not overturn it.”

Background 
  • In Brnovich v. DNC, Democrats are asking the Supreme Court to transform the plain language of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, which forbids election laws that discriminate on the basis of race, into a blank check that would allow for courts to strike down ordinary election laws without limit.
  • The impetus behind this request are two common-sense, race-neutral Arizona laws: Arizona’s ban on ballot harvesting prevents bad actors with malicious intent from coercing voters or altering ballots, and its law requiring voters to vote in the correct precinct allows for the efficient administration of Arizona’s elections.

For media availability, contact Catherine Mortensen at 703-478-4643 or email at cmortensen@getliberty.org.

ALG to Congress: To offset $1 trillion infrastructure plan, Congress should use 3-year sequestration, not tax increases

Fairfax, Va.–Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement on the White House-announced $1 trillion infrastructure plan:

“President Joe Biden has announced a bipartisan $1 trillion infrastructure spending bill via budget reconciliation but has not told the American people how they can afford it under current deficit neutral rules. Given the massive growth in government spending due to emergency Covid spending, the only approach is to revive bipartisan sequestration rules from 2011 that prohibit the increase in discretionary spending for a minimum of three years, rather than raising taxes.

“If infrastructure is a priority for government spending, then it’s only logical that funds be shifted from other areas, including unspent Covid funds, to meet this priority. It would be a massive mistake to burden our recovering economy will killer tax increases. Flatlining government spending is the only acceptable approach to paying for any infrastructure plan.”

Motorists Reject Citation-Taxation Schemes: ALG Foundation Poll

Americans for Limited Government Foundation poll finds Virginians support motorist-friendly reforms

 

Fairfax, Va. – A new poll of Virginia voters commissioned by Americans for Limited Government Foundation found strong support for motorist-friendly reforms and strong opposition to predatory towing and policing for profit.

With more than six million drivers in the Commonwealth of Virginia, motorist advocates are putting politicians on notices that voters will be looking closely at their attitudes toward predatory policies that impact drivers.

“I think what this poll shows is that Virginia voters, from across the political spectrum, are overwhelmingly opposed to taxation by citation schemes. This poll also contains very bad news for two groups of crony capitalists: predatory towing companies and red light and speed camera companies. Candidates would be wise to take note and immediately get to work on finding solutions to address these voters’ concerns.” – Richard McCarty, Founder, Coalition for Motorist Rights

“Virginians clearly are overwhelmingly opposed by the automated vehicle tax cameras which have little utility except to act as speed traps. Not surprisingly, the car tax is particularly reviled in the state. The next governor should reform Virginia’s laws to reflect the concerns of drivers that the existing system is punitive with little redeeming value on the safety side.” Richard Manning, President, Americans for Limited Government Foundation

Key findings:

Predatory towing

73.7 percent support reform to curb abuses
52.4 percent strongly support reform

Traffic ticket quotas

81.9 percent support banning them
65.6 percent strongly support a quota ban

Speed cameras

72.3 percent support banning them
52 percent strongly support a ban

Red light cameras

75.1 percent support banning them
51.4 percent strongly support a ban

Speed trap towns

77.6 percent support state laws to rein in speed trap towns
60.3 percent strongly support such legislation

Mandatory annual vehicle inspections

68.4 percent support a change in state law to only require inspections every two
years, rather than annually

Annual car tax

80.5 percent support abolishing the tax
61.4 percent strongly support abolishing the tax

Hypermetrics conducted the poll by phone between May 3-6 with 855 Virginians statewide responding. The margin of error was 3 percent.

For media availability, contact Richard McCarty at 202-656-2653 or email rlmcca@yahoo.com.

ALG to Senate: Just Say ‘No’ to Schumer’s Election Rigging Bill

Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning is urging Senators to vote against S.2093, the so-called compromise election reform bill in the Senate. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is expected to bring the bill to a vote this week.

Manning issued the following statement:

“Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer will walk his party off of the election cheating cliff by having a vote that he knows will fail on S.2093, which is little more than the reviled S.1 in sheep’s clothing. The federalization of our nation’s voting system would ensure that the California way of counting the votes until election officials get the results they want will spread to the rest of the nation.

“Americans for Limited Government strongly urges every Senator to oppose this blatant attempt by Schumer to end basic ballot security requirements and common sense vote counting accountability measures by state governments. The principle of one person, one vote is precious to our republic, as is the expectation that every vote gets counted, yet Schumer’s bill would violate both of these foundational American principles.  It is time to put this attempt at a partisan election takeover into the annals of history under the chapter titled, really bad ideas that failed in the U.S. Senate.”

For media availability, contact Catherine Mortensen at 703-478-4643 or cmortensen@getliberty.org.