Archive for the 'Press Releases' Category

Rhode Island Republican Assembly 2010 Endorsements

Published on June 14, 2010 in Press Releases and RIRA. Closed

On Saturday afternoon, June 12th, 2010, the Rhode Island Republican Assembly (RIRA) held its Biennial Endorsement Convention at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, from 12:00 until 4:30 p.m., to endorse candidates who were seeking the Conservative organization’s support. The RIRA’s by-laws require a 2/3rd’s vote from the voting membership for any endorsement.

The event was attended by over 100 people, including all of the Republican statewide and federal candidates. The candidates were all allowed to speak to the convention, putting forth why RIRA should endorse them, and were allowed to answer questions from all in attendance.

The following candidates were endorsed the Rhode Island Republican Assembly:

First Congressional District – John Loughlin

Second Congressional District – Mark Zaccaria

Governor – John Robitaille

Lt. Governor – No Endorsement

Attorney General – Erik Wallin

Treasurer – Kernan “Kerry” King

Secretary of State – No Endorsement

The Rhode Island Republican Assembly will meet again on July 15, 2010 to take up any additional endorsements based on last minute filings.

The Rhode Island Republican Assembly also voted on several resolutions pertinent to this year’s elections. These resolutions also required a 2/3rd’s vote in the affirmative from the voting membership:

1) PASSED – Abolition of the office of Lieutenant Governor. RIRA’s stance is that this office should be combined with the office of the Governor.

2) PASSED – Opposing binding arbitration / perpetual contracts. RIRA opposes any effort by the General Assembly to pass laws which would create unending contracts or require state and local governments and school committees to be subjected to binding arbitration.

3) PASSED – Urging Governor Carcieri to veto the FY 2011 state budget. RIRA’s stance is that the General Assembly has ignored its duty and responsibilities by putting forth a budget that is not balanced, relies on Federal Funds that have not been appropriated yet, and that said Federal Funds would be coming from an unbalanced Federal Budget with a $14 Trillion deficit.

4) PASSED – Opposing efforts to change the name of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. The Rhode Island Republican Assembly believes that the State of Rhode Island’s historic, formal name should not be changed.

5) PASSED – Support of Arizona illegal immigration law. The Rhode Island Republican Assembly supports Arizona’s use of the 10th amendment to protect the American Citizens and require all people who are in the United States of America to adhere to the laws of this sovereign nation and supports the efforts to enforce Federal Laws that have been written years prior to the Arizona law.

6) PASSED – Opposing Deepwater wind project. The Rhode Island Republican Assembly, while supporting green initiatives and technology to make our environment better and to create jobs in Rhode Island, opposes the effort by the General Assembly to intervene in the free market system on behalf of one company or any companies. If the Wind Project is valid and cost justifiable through private market investments and calculated Return on Investments, then it should go forward on its own merits without State guarantees or creating laws that allow for by-passing the due process that has been established over the years.

RIRA Says Time For Change: Daughters And Pole Dancers

Published on July 22, 2009 in Press Releases and RIRA. Closed

RI Republican Assembly Urges General Assembly Overhaul

What a wonderful feeling to be covered by the national news when you are from a state as small as Rhode Island. One’s pride must swell at such an honor! But wait…

Thanks to over 40 years of Rhode Island Democrat Control, we can legally Prostitute our Daughters and have Career Pole Dancers at Age 16 in our home state as was reported on Fox News, locally by the Providence Journal, posted on Facebook, and other outlets today and this evening.

As many of us heard this evening, even the big players in “Sin City”, Las Vegas, require their strippers to be of legal drinking age, which happens to be 21.

Rhode Island Democrats have financially bankrupted our state for years using the tobacco settlement to balance budgets and this past year used $266M of stimulus money to balance their 13% increased State budget.

Now we see that while the Democrat Controlled General Assembly was busy running businesses out of the State, giving free reign and benefits to illegal immigrants, not making the hard choices to control and shrink our government in these hard economic times, they quietly allowed laws to be in place that morally bankrupted us and brought us this infamous night of recognition in our nation.

With Law Makers enacting laws or creating Laws with such unforgivable loopholes that allow minor children to be exploited, there is no longer any room for discussion: The one Party, Democrat controlled General Assembly is bad for Rhode Island. The “General Assembly is bad but my Democrat Senator / Representative is good” lie can no longer be allowed.

There is no such thing as “too big” to not be run out of office. It is time for the Taxpaying, hard working American Citizens of Rhode Island to rise up and to “tar and feather” those that will embarrass us and make a mockery of this once great State.

In 2010, we Rhode Islanders must take back our State, our integrity, our honor and replace all those that are in the General Assembly.

Media Contact: President Raymond McKay
president [at] ri-ra [dot] org / 487-2514

RIRA Urges Protest of Congressman Kennedy and Speaker Pelosi

Published on July 10, 2009 in Press Releases and RIRA. Closed

It is times like these when opportunity presents itself, that a grassroots movement must seize the moment and make itself heard.

There are a number of different organizations who are planning to get together this Saturday afternoon, July 11th — people from the RI Tea Party, We the People, the RIGOP, and people from RIRA — to Protest against Statism, Liberal Fascism, the Obama Administration, PATRICK KENNEDY and House Speaker NANCY PELOSI, who will be in Rhode Island on Saturday hosting a swanky fundraiser for Patrick Kennedy and other House Dems.

Tickets for the event are about $20,000.00 a plate, but we are going for FREE!

After the Democrats attend another event in Middletown, they will be heading to Jamestown for the big backyard fundraiser under a tent at a waterfront home located at 13 Walcott Ave, in Jamestown, RI.

All the groups of protesters will be set-up across the street from there from about 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. For maximum flexibility, you can drive directly there and park nearby. The home for the fundraiser is just beyond Jamestown Center, past the BankNewport branch.

If you’d like, you can also meet others at 3:30 p.m. sharp at the ‘Park and Ride’ on Route 102 (next to the North Kingstown Home Depot and across from the Stop and Shop Plaza), where there will be a caravan to 13 Walcott Avenue. The Peaceful protesters will be setup across from the home to assemble at about 4:00 p.m. It is thought that the “guests of honor” will arrive sometime around 5:00 p.m.

Things to bring and remember: Signs expressing feelings towards Speaker Pelosi and Congressman Patrick Kennedy, and the Cap & Trade, lawn chairs or blankets, snacks and drinks, and possibly rain gear (however, the current forecast looks okay). This is a peaceful protest to send a message to our congressional delegation and our “leaders” in Washington that we are fed up! The Tea parties across America have been a great success. By organizing peacefully and legally across the street from the home we will send Nancy Pelosi, Patrick Kennedy and the Democratic Socialist movement a message: GET BACK TO WORK for all Americans! or get FIRED!

RIRA needs to support this Call for Freedom / Peaceful Protest by coming out in force!

Jamestown is a beautiful little town with quaint restaurants and shops for your extra-curricular enjoyment, supporting the American economy the way true conservatives do, with our own earned money, not with government tax handouts that came from other people’s pockets. So after the protesting is done, feel free to go shopping or go out to dinner, or stop by nearby Newport for the music festival and other weekend activities!

It should be a night to remember! Hope to see you there!

P.S. If you have access to a boat, we understand you can also protest from the water on Narragansett Bay, as this is a waterfront home. ;)

Best Regards and Conservatively yours,

Raymond T. McKay
President, RIRA

RIRA Urges Gubernatorial Veto of General Assembly Budget

Published on June 29, 2009 in Press Releases and RIRA. Closed

Republican Assembly Urges Governor to Veto Budget

The Rhode Island Republican Assembly (RIRA) urges Governor Carcieri to veto the budget bill passed by the General Assembly last week and recommends the Governor’s original budget be approved.

Governor Carcieri submitted a balanced budget to the General Assembly that directly addressed three of the most important economic issues facing our state: reform of an actuarially unsound pension system that is far more generous than what prevails in the private-sector; a fair contribution by state employees to healthcare costs in line with what private-sector workers are paying; and reform of our tax system which is a primary factor in making our state one of the most unfriendly business environments in the nation. The Governor’s budget recognized that the best way to grow revenues to our state and local governments is to grow the economy by encouraging job-creating businesses to stay in, or come to Rhode Island.

The changes made to that budget by the General Assembly do not represent a constructive compromise or even “kick the can” a few months down the road. We note that the Assembly’s budget increases taxes on investments in businesses, fails to reduce any taxes, and increases the gasoline tax at a time when Rhode Islanders are already hard hit by the recession. The token changes in the state pension system and health-insurance premiums for government employees are ineffectual in the face of enormous, and increasing, unfunded liabilities that Rhode Islanders in the private sector simply cannot afford. We note that the Assembly, in a self, cynical gesture, voted to continue free health insurance for themselves. The longer we wait to address these issues head-on, the worse they will be.

RIRA believes that raising taxes beyond the level that the people consider fair has the perverse effect of reducing, rather than increasing, state revenue. We have the current examples of California, Maryland, New Jersey and New York as evidence of that simple economic reality. The exodus of once-proud Rhode Island companies to other states or overseas will not be turned around by higher taxes. We believe that the Assembly’s budget will fail to meet its revenue projections and even worse, that shortfall will be due to lower incomes for Rhode Islanders as our economy is damaged further.

The Rhode Island Republican Assembly believes that the solution to our state’s fiscal problems lays in reducing the burden of government on our economy and making Rhode Island an attractive state for job-creating, private-sector businesses to locate. Governor Carcieri understands this businesslike approach to Rhode Island’s cash-flow problem. RIRA supports the Governor and hopes that when given a chance to reconsider its budget, the members of the General Assembly will focus realistically on the key issues of pension and tax reform.

Press Release: For Immediate Release
Media Contact: Raymond T. McKay at president [at] ri-ra [dot] org or (401) 487-2514.

RIRA Adopts Resolution in Support of ‘Tax Day Tea Party’

Published on April 20, 2009 in Press Releases. Closed

After substantial discussion, the following resolution in support of the general goals of the present-day “Tea Party” movement was adopted by the members of the Rhode Island Republican Assembly during its Annual Convention on Thursday evening. Specifically, the RIRA strongly encourages participation in the “Providence Tax Day Tea Party,” to be held on the steps of the Rhode Island State House in Providence, on Wednesday, April 15th, 2009, from 3:00 PM to 6:00 PM.

A RESOLUTION

By the Convention of the Rhode Island Republican Assembly – April 9th, 2009
In support of the “Tax Day Tea Party” to be held in Providence, RI
April 15th, 2009

Whereas; On December 16th, 1773, a group of American colonists, in protest of the imperial British government’s Tea Act (a tax on tea), boarded British ships and dumped their cargo of tea into Boston Harbor. This single act of defiance sent a bold statement to the British government that colonists in America would no longer accept the burdens of excessive taxation from a distant land, without representation.

Whereas; The “Tea Party” protests, in their current form, began in early 2009 when Rick Santelli, in a broadcast from the floor of the Chicago Board of Trade, set out on a spontaneous self-described “rant” to expose the bankrupt agenda of the White House Administration and Congress; specifically, the flawed “Stimulus Bill” and pork-filled federal budget. He called for a “Chicago Tea Party” where advocates of the free-market system could join in protest against out of control spending, excessive and unsustainable borrowing, and the coercive involvement in the private sector by the federal government.

Whereas; On February 27th, an estimated 30,000 Americans took to the streets in over 40 cities across the country in the first nationwide “Tea Party” protest. Organizers of the February 27th events pledged to continue on with an even bigger and better protest to follow the first.

Whereas; With April 15th being “Tax Day” in the United States, it was decided by the organizers to schedule the second round of Tea Party protests to coincide with the tax deadline.

Whereas; The Tea Party effort is just a small piece of a much larger movement aimed at restoring the basic free-market principles our country was built on. We believe that the Constitution, for the most part, is being ignored by our current government and we intend on working together to correct the problem.

Whereas; The Rhode Island Republican Assembly, as a chartered affiliate of the National Federation of Republican Assemblies, believes that the federal tax system is abusive to the American people and discourages investment and growth. We believe in growth-oriented tax policies which would gradually eliminate punitive income taxes and move our tax system toward that which was originally established by our Founding Fathers.

Whereas; The Rhode Island Republican Assembly, as a chartered affiliate of the National Federation of Republican Assemblies, believes in the free enterprise system as the best hope for the most people to fulfill their economic hopes and dreams. We know that the free market is the most efficient and the least costly system to deliver the highest quality goods and services at the lowest price to the consumer. We will support only those who support the free enterprise system through legislation to reduce or eliminate intrusive government intervention in the marketplace.

Whereas; The Rhode Island Republican Assembly, as a chartered affiliate of the National Federation of Republican Assemblies, believes in the supremacy of the power of individual citizens over the powers they choose to delegate to the state, a principle enshrined in the Tenth Amendment of the United States Constitution. We believe that only small government truly serves the needs of the people and that those governments closest to the people are most responsive to their needs. We affirm the principle of Federalism, and its establishment in the form created by the Founders.

Therefore, Be It Resolved: That this Convention of the Rhode Island Republican Assembly – our state’s largest and most active conservative organization – supports the general goals of the present-day Tea Party movement. As such, the RIRA strongly encourages the active participation of its statewide membership, as well as that of all concerned citizens of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, in the “Providence Tax Day Tea Party,” to be held on the steps of the Rhode Island State House in Providence, on Wednesday, April 15th, 2009, from 3:00 PM to 6:00 PM.

Founded in 2001, the Rhode Island Republican Assembly is a chartered state affiliate of the National Federation of Republican Assemblies, our nation’s oldest and largest conservative Republican volunteer organization.

Press Release: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact: Raymond McKay, President, RIRA
(401) 487-2514 | president [at] ri-ra [dot] org | http://www.ri-ra.org

RIRA Strongly Opposes “Comprehensive Amnesty” Legislation now before Congress

Published on May 21, 2007 in Press Releases and RIRA. Closed

PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MAY 21, 2007

RIRA Strongly Opposes “Comprehensive Amnesty” Legislation now before Congress
 
Certain members of the United States Congress, in collusion with our President, have introduced legislation which they are calling “comprehensive” immigration reform, but in reality is “comprehensive amnesty” for illegal aliens. The Rhode Island Republican Assembly (RIRA) strongly opposes this legislation, which if enacted will undermine the sovereignty of our country. It will render American citizenship nothing more than a mere formality, rather than what it is: a privilege. This is not merely a partisan call by “the Republican Wing of the Republican Party,” but a plea by citizens who love this country and the bedrock principles underlying its founding – all of which are under assault by this Legislation.
 
This Legislation – crafted behind closed doors to the general public – has provisions for the so-called “enhanced enforcement” of our nation’s immigration laws. The infamous Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 did as well – and its enforcement provisions were themselves never enforced. “But it will be different this time, right?” One definition of insanity is said to be “doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” This Legislation truly is insane, because it not only richly rewards past lawbreaking, but it actually encourages future lawbreaking. The Legislation now before Congress also makes a mockery of the valiant efforts of all those immigrants throughout our nation’s history who obeyed our laws to emigrate to here legally. The “enforcement” provisions included are merely a thinly-disguised “bait and switch” mechanism used in order to provide political cover in a desperate attempt to gain enough congressional support to pass it, despite overwhelming public opposition.
 
A classic example of the “bait and switch” occurs as when a lender offers one set of loan terms when you apply, then pressures you to accept higher charges when you sign to complete the transaction. The “open borders” proponents of this legislation are, in effect, attempting to impose a “reverse mortgage” on the “equity” that citizens have in the United States of America. Citizens will “make the payments” through increases in taxation to provide numerous services - including increased welfare, medical, and educational expenses in Rhode Island - and ultimately will “lose title” to our country as the privileges of citizenship, and indeed the very sovereignty of the United States of America, are eroded into irrelevance by the pounding waves of uncontrolled illegal immigration.
 
This “immigration reform” Legislation is not about the “melting pot,” but about the meltdown of our nation’s sovereignty. It boils down to is this: Cynical politicians betraying our country in a shallow and unscrupulous effort to buy political support from a defined voting bloc. This Legislation must not stand!  We urge all Americans to contact your senators and representatives to let them know that you oppose this misguided Legislation.
 
On behalf of the Board of Directors and Membership,

Raymond T. McKay
President, Rhode Island Republican Assembly

RIRA
19 Bakers Creek Road
Warwick, RI 02886
(401) 487-2514
State website: http://www.ri-ra.org
National website: http://www.gopwing.com