Because we need another person claiming they are the expert on what is Republican. Despite not being one.

Have you had a chance to review your legislator’s “FreedomScore” lately? I had a legislator reach out to me today, asking me to review something I’ve seen mentioned across my facebook feed a couple times in recent weeks.

I have never seen such a thorough analysis of SD legislator voting records. Deserves credible review. Note the tabs at the bottom. By Lucas Kobat of Watertown”

Well, I’ve seen it, but I didn’t go into it and dig around because I suspected how it was going to come out. So, over my lunch hour, I went and took a moment. And once again, my biases were confirmed.

To debut my work, I’ve shown the Top 5 SD RINOs below. A RINO is a Republican In Name Only; someone who LIES TO YOUR FACE through a grinning facade…and then proceeds to stab you in the back. If you hold conservative values, these people are not our allies. They are NOT our friends.

Read that here.

Does the scorecard deserve a credible review? Well, I reviewed it. And my correspondent and I might have to agree to disagree.  I don’t see this new scorecard as any different than the Citizens for Liberty group picking and choosing bills to score on their scorecard because they want to highlight the people they like.  Just like the yutzes at CFL, the FreedomScore scorecard is one person framing votes after providing no advocacy on the issues they’re calling conservative or liberal.

It just comes down to personal biases.

The author Lucas Kobat claims in the facebook group he’s created that “this classification was guided by conservative principles found in documents like the US and SD constitutions, the Declaration of Independence, the Ten Commandments, and the Bible.”

So.. it might help if someone might explain to me.. which commandments are the liberal ones and which are the conservative ones?  Same goes with the Constitution. Are parts of the bill of rights good, and others bad?  I’d like someone to explain to me where in the bible does it say that 2019’s HB1232 was a conservative versus liberal issue, as in the “FreedomScore Bill List tab” Kobat termed it the “Give up on truant students” bill, as he claims the proper vote was no.

Considering the bill to lower the compulsory age for school attendance was brought by Representatives Greenfield (Lana), Brunner, Dennert, Glanzer, Marty, and Wiese and Senators Greenfield (Brock), Cronin, Langer, Maher, and Stalzer, I don’t think they’re what you’d classify as liberals. In fact, I doubt any of them would say that the proper vote was no.

Never mind the fact that the truancy issue in this instance is more of a matter of who gets the bill to deal with them – Keeping them in school until a higher age means that schools are stuck dealing with kids who cause trouble and don’t want to be in class until they’re 18, and a lower age means that bad kids are dealt with by court services.

Is either answer a conservative or liberal answer? Not really. Both options stink. All you’re doing is picking which bucket it comes from via different levels of government.  But, that doesn’t mean that legislators should be dinged as liberals for discussing it.

We also have the example with Mr. Kobat claiming that 2019’s SB 140 is a measure to “Give unequal advantages to native american students,” as he claims.  What was the actual purpose of that bill? According to the measure  – which was signed by Governor Kristi Noem – it was actually a bill to “develop programs to increase enrollment and improve retention and student supports for any student who is a member of one of the nine federally recognized tribes in South Dakota at state institutions.”

Is the legislature telling a branch of government to develop programs to try to “increase enrollment and improve retention” for a socioeconomic group of students that matriculates the fewest of the state’s students to college somehow giving Native American students unequal advantage?  Or is it actually doing what we expect government to do – identify problems and try to address them?  After some amending, it passed 52-12 in the house, and 32-0 in the Senate. Does that mean he thinks the Senate is packed with a bunch of RINOs?

Take another bill used in the score – 2019’s SB 4, to “revise certain provisions regarding the classification of agricultural land for property tax purposes.”  While only two in the legislature opposed it (Senators Cronin & Soholt in the Senate, none in the house) in the measure’s entire run, Kobat claims that the proper vote was to vote no and be against the bill he claimed would “Grant ivory tower university elitists the power to determine soil value.”

While some will look at the scores and like or hate the same people, when you dig into the basis for his scoring, it rapidly falls apart, and the cherry picking is strongly evident.

I couldn’t help it, but as Mr. Kobat started out his crusade by calling others a “Republican In Name Only,” I had to look what his registration actually is.

And I quickly found and have to point out that many of those he’s calling names successfully ran in and all were able to vote in the Republican Primary a couple of months ago. But unlike these legislators, our RINO caller would not seem to be able to do that very thing himself. Because the only Lucas Kobat I find in the voter database is registered as an Independent.

So, an Indy is telling everyone how to be a good Republican? I think Lora Hubbel was doing that for a while. Pardon me if I don’t put much stock in that.  If Mr. Kobat is going to claim to be an authority on who is a good or bad Republican, and call officeholders RINO’s.. he might start by actually registering as Republican.

Otherwise, it might seem as if the author “LIES TO YOUR FACE through a grinning facade.”  Or so, as he might say.

Update – Good catch by another legislator:

Did you notice that the district map that the freedoms score project used is not even close to correct? If they can’t even get that right why should we trust them to even begin to comprehend what went into the votes?

And they’re 100% correct..  I’m not sure what maps Mr. Kobat was using.. but they weren’t any maps drawn within the last 9-9 1/2 years.

20 thoughts on “Because we need another person claiming they are the expert on what is Republican. Despite not being one.”

  1. This just seems to be stupid. Many of his bill explanations don’t even seem to fully understand the bills. Not only did he not lobby the bills or state a position, he didn’t take the time to fully understand them.

  2. The only Kobat I know of in Watertown is a Democrat. Never heard of this guy

  3. I’m telling this story here for two reasons: First, it is itching to get out and I won’t be able to work until it does. Second, nobody really cares about Ahler’s and a thread about him probably needs some traffic, out of sympathy.

    I stop at a gas station/convenience store on the way to work. I walk in and there is 7 or 8 people in the store doing their thing (getting coffee, milk, a breakfast pizza, a fountain drink) and a guy is talking to the gal behind the til who was in a mask. He is dressed in nice slacks, ironed oxford long sleeve shirt, really nice perfectly polished shoes, and a mask. Myself included, none of the rest of us have a mask as we are all keeping our distance and making sure we don’t spit on anyone.

    Anyway, because he is talking louder than he’d have to, I tuned into what he was saying (one way conversation). He was talking about he fair and going on and on about how the hillbilly rednecks were all over the fair without masks, Darwin, and a bunch of other insults (I was waiting for a comment about Noem and/or Trump but it never came).

    My first thought was does he really think he is going to shame us into running out and getting our masks or wearing our masks? Insulting people is not a way to make friends and influence people. Just set a good example, do your thing, and offer advice when asked.

    Then I looked around and the people are smirking at him so it was clear if he had any influence it was the opposite of his intention.

    After he left a nice looking young mother with a baby in her papoose said “to the baby” in a fake hillbilly drawl “Aint y’all glad he isn’t your baby daddy.”

    The place busted out in laughter. As I drove to work, my thought was I wish she wouldn’t have waited until he left to say it.

    1. Guess you won’t mind when I show up for coffee and a donut tomorrow morning wearing nothing but a mask. I promise not to say anything, though.

      1. Now Ike I know you obviously play for other side of the fence but, I would support this and I think it would be hilarious. People are taking this mask thing WAY too seriously. If you want to wear one, cool rock it out. If you don’t want to wear one, cool, dont wear one. The thing that trips me out is if they don’t even work to block a virus as a virus is too small and can get through. Not to mention people touching them all the time, rubbing their eyes, etc. Its really not effective but, the mask shaming on both sides is out of control. Mind your business people and take care of yourself. Be kind to your disagreeing neighbor and love on them.

  4. Excellent come back from Mom to Baby there Troy!!
    I’d have thought about saying it five miles down the road!!
    Heheh

    Takes about three beers for me to get that snappy. Sober -never. 🤭

  5. You dont need the Sturgis rally for a big test. Here are the rules
    – If you go to Church the virus spreads there
    – If you go to a Conservative Rally or event , the virus spreads there
    – If you go out and protest, the virus is not present as its so smart not to mess with protestors. This also includes riots and any kind of party that burns buildings.
    – If you attend John Lewis’s funeral there is no need to social distance or quarantine as the virus does not affect Democrats, Socialist, Communists, or Evil people.

    So it will depend on what the Sturgis rally is classified as by the media as to if the virus spreads or not. Come on man, keep up with the rules

  6. I agree. And that is why I’m anti-mask.

    The illusion of its efficacy is more dangerous than no mask as when one has mask social distancing is the only defense.

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