Citizens for Liberty fails it’s own cherry-picked scorecard again, scoring 10% for bills they bothered to testify on.

State legislators make sure you remember that you need to vote against the budget every time. Or Citizens for Liberty are going to give you a liberal blue mark!

You can groan now. It’s that time of the year again.  Faux-conservative group Citizens for Liberty just issued their annual cherry-picked scorecard for the 2019 State Legislative Session.

Who would have thought Jim Bolin, Al Novstrup, and Jordan Youngberg were liberals? Or that Citizens for Liberty would attack Republican Senate Majority Leader Kris Langer as conservative only 39.3% of the time.

But, what else would you expect from the Pizza Ranch outlaws?

Just as in previous years, they’re full of beans, as my mother would say.  Because again, at the same time they’re attacking legislators they want to label as liberals, the group completely failed their own cherry-picked scorecard based on their same criteria for who is conservative and who should be considered a liberal.

Looking at the bills they ranked versus the bills they actually appeared to testify in committee on, in 2018, they got 11.5% on their own scorecard, ranking them lower than the lowest ranked Senator.  So, how did they do in 2019?

Citizens for Liberty actually scored lower on their 2019 card than they did in 2018 for legislation (basing it on which bills they actually bothered to appear and testify on), achieving a score of only 10%, somewhere between Liberal Democrats Reynold Nesiba at 12% and Craig Kennedy at 6%.

Regular readers know that in the few years that this scorecard has been issued, it has never been one to take seriously. The bills that comprise it are ridiculously cherry-picked to the benefit of those producing it.

Looking at the scorecard, Senate Bill 191 is the budget. The actual budget. But according to the CFL goofballs, if you voted for the budget, then you cast a liberal vote. Or if you voted against Stace Nelson’s abortive abortion related Senate Bill 6, which South Dakota right to life directly and vocally opposed, then you cast a liberal vote.

If you vote against Right to Life then you cast a liberal vote? Only to the Citizens for Liberty.

The scorecard is mainly designed to give their supported candidates and allies something to put on campaign material for voters who don’t care or know any better.

We’ll see the fake rankings brought up in primary election attack ads this next year, just to be quickly forgotten after that.

Because otherwise it’s not memorable enough to do anything more than mock the group’s hypocrisy.

9 thoughts on “Citizens for Liberty fails it’s own cherry-picked scorecard again, scoring 10% for bills they bothered to testify on.”

  1. The scorecard has no validity except to classify general philosophy: 95% and above are ultra-nut jobs (look at the names and tell me I am wrong), 90-95% are nut-jobs, 70-90% compose the bulk of reasonable, thoughtful conservatives, 60-70% are moderate Republicans, and below 60% is liberal. The people rated in the top 5% and bottom 5% are all about philosophy and have no ability to solve SD problems.

  2. SB6 was one of many of Senator Nelson’s bills that never made it out of committee. This bill was opposed by Right to Life because it was felt to be unconstitutional, and more importantly because it worked against the organization’s current effort to overturn Roe. The AG can fight suits brought against bills like SB6 that other deem unconstitutional, but many draw the line when a bill is brought that is contrary to the efforts of Right to Life.
    Interestingly, the Citizens for Liberty didn’t score pro-life bills HB1177 and HB1190. Each was supported by Right to Life. There bills were developed by the good Senator to try to reintroduce his failed SB6 in the House as two separate bills. Two Reps hoghoused each to make them constitutional. Both were passed and signed into law. Why not score these two pro-life bills supported by right to Life?

    1. Because it did not fit Nelson’s agenda. He authors or sponsors the bills selected for the scorecard…no big secret among colleagues. This is corruption at its finest.

  3. Mr. Nelson is a cherry picker and completely insaner than most. He is oft mocked and ridiculed in the hallways of the legislatures. They guffaw at him openly and he hangs his head in shame.

    1. That is something to be proud of. Those politicians should be ashamed of themselves for not supporting Christian values. Making fun of people in the hallway is what school yard bullies do. We all know Republicans rarely practice what they preach.

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