Sen. Lee Schoenbeck’s Colleagues Fire Back
Senator Lee Schoenbeck’s
recent op-ed in the Rapid City Journal is a feeble attempt to try and smear
some of the state’s top conservative republican legislators. Lawmakers such as, Representatives Phil Jensen,
Tony Randolph and Taffy Howard, with proven track records of defending the ideals outlined by those who elected them.
What's more, Schoenbeck has decided to use the left-leaning
Elevate Rapid City scorecard as the basis for his assertions. Ironically,
using this scorecard is the equivalent to Congresswoman Liz Cheney telling Americans which conservative republicans to vote for, based upon
the democratic party's platform.
Congresswoman Liz Cheney, also happens to be someone who Schoenbeck admires for
her “courage, in a room of wimps,” which he tweeted on May 12, 2021.
His assessment of Elevate Rapid City’s scorecard, as being a “fair scorecard … [that is]
only about making your lives and your family's lives better [with] no political
agenda,” is nothing but disingenuous. Elevate Rapid City actively opposed
legislation to stop forced sex changes on children (2020: HB 1057) , and they consistently
take taxpayer dollars for projects that could be easily funded by private enterprise
and a free market.
But it should come as no surprise coming from the self-proclaimed
“conservative,” Senator Lee Schoenbeck, who referred to Trump “as a con man”
in his tweet on Mar. 1, 2016, while chiding those that supported President Trump
as “fake conservatives infiltrating our party.”
Schoenbeck accusing real conservatives of supporting big government is also
extremely hypocritical. He has voted to increase our state’s budget by $1.226 billion dollars since 2018 (2018: HB 1320, 2019: SB 191, 2020: HB 1294, 2021: SB 195 & 2022: HB 1340).
He actively fought against repealing the half-cent internet sales tax this year (2022: HB 1327), saying
it was like “throwing money away.” This is the same tax that he “broke kneecaps”
to impose, during the 2016 legislative session. He has also voted an exorbitant
number of times to increase other taxes and fees during his time in the legislature, which began in 2015.
Perhaps worse of all, Senator Schoenbeck voted to expand emergency powers
during the pandemic (2020: HB 1296), supported medical arrests (2021: SB 3) and supported
President Joe Biden’s Executive Orders without review (2021: HB 1194).
Without a doubt, Schoenbeck is the proverbial
pot calling the kettle black.
Schoenbeck consistently receives low scores from conservative organizations. He has even received a lower score than some Democrats, like former Sen. Craig Kennedy from Yankton, who scored higher than Schoenbeck on the Family Heritage Action’s 2020 scorecard. Meanwhile, Schoenbeck has
received failing grades from the American Conservative Union Foundation (57% Lifetime Avg), The National Rifle Association (67% 2022 NRA-PVF), and even Americans for Prosperity (“F” 2020 & 2019).
With a liberal record like this, Schoenbeck and his Senate puppets should stop
deceiving voters and just switch parties.
His support of big government aside, his recent outbursts against his colleagues is
par for the course for Schoenbeck, who’s known for unprofessional behavior
and demeaning rhetoric. In 2016, after referring to Republican Majority Leader
Brian Gosch as a “coward,” “pond scum” and a “chicken,” which resulted in him
being banished from the Republican caucus by the Majority Leader, Schoenbeck
threatened to resign from his legislative seat early.
When it comes to scorecards, SD Citizen’s for Liberty scorecard is one of the best
for showing how your legislators are voting in alliance with the Constitution and
the South Dakota Republican party platform. Because of their strong scores, we
would strongly encourage support for Representatives Jensen, Randolph and
Howard. They are a few of the best conservative legislators, as nationally
recognized by organizations like the American Conservative Union and other
national groups, who are still fighting for your individual liberty and freedom.
Senator-elect Tom Pischke
District 25
Representative Aaron Aylward
SD Freedom Caucus Chair
District 6
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--Senator Tom Pischke and Representative Aaron Aylward| Post Date: 2022-08-04 13:14:12 | Last Update: 2022-08-04 12:22:19 |
