Posted: March 10, 2011 at 12:12 pm
Big Yawn….
..at the Capitol yesterday, in response to a newly released document (available at Intelligent Discontent) that rates every legislator according to how conservative he or she is.
The document comes from Roger Koopman, the former legislator from Bozeman, who has, in the past, organized primary challenges against moderate Republican legislators who he believes are not conservative enough. Yesterday, Koopman figured he’d try to scare the moderate Rs in the legislature by giving them liberal ratings, and so guys like Jim Peterson, the Senate President, got dinged as a “liberal” on Koopman’s rating scale, according to Peterson’s votes on a number of bills that serve as a collective litmus test for Koopman’s crazy group, Conservative Alliance of Montana.
Of course, Koopman has been sort of quiet ever since it was revealed that he was using state government resources, illegally, to earn himself a tidy personal income. (At the time he got busted, he was ranting about the need for “less government”).
The added problem for Koopman and his group right now is that the Tea Party is acting like a bunch of loons and has become a state-wide joke, so I doubt anyone is taking a person seriously who is advocating for Republicans to be as far to the right as possible. But if Koopman wants to put more Tea Partiers on the ballot and fewer moderate Republicans, amen. It would quickly reduce the Republicans’ majority.
How did Alan Hale not score in the low 200s?
@51 Dimes – because even Alan Hale, a noted tea party nut, is too liberal for Koopman.
Roger Koopman is so far to the right, he almost makes Tim Ravendal look like a legitimate conservative. Almost…
As for Koopman’s ratings?? Laughable.
The hypocrisy I’ve seen is quite remarkable, when house members who DRAW substantial FEDERAL benefits vilify the commander-in-chief, the federal government and principles of open and fair government. Tactics of no-notice meetings, shutting out citizen testimony do NOT enhance the integrity of the majority, and we can only wonder what the Tea Party might have tried if the Governor was T/P, as you can see what happened in Ohio and Wisconsin, where legislative honor and integrity thrown in the gutter, when GOP ‘swap’ committee members who disagree and do ‘no-notice’ bills like what happened in Madison yesterday.
Koopman is the problem with the Montana Republican party. He has driven them soooooooo far to the right that they are not just driving in the ditch they are out in the pasture. In what world is Wendy Warburton a liberal, or Jim Schockley or Janna Taylor, or several others? Basically this guy is doing damage control because he knows he is going to have egg all over his face as soon as the session is over with and the Montana voters are so pissed off that they wont elect Republicans or teabaggers to the legislature in 2012.
Just because legislators put in extreme bills does not make them “conservative” (or liberal). Look at and actually read the criteria used and look at the bills that were used. The vast majority of bills used increase the powers/scope of government, grow new government programs or restrict the freedoms of the people. Sessos’s HB 594 is a great example. It requires government to do something that it is voluntarily doing now in many cases. Although I doubt that most that comment here can understand that and why Koopman considered that a conservative vs liberal bill. If you look at the bills used, you don’t see the extreme bills like a “militia” bill or nullify the endangered species act. HB 324 is another example – it grows a government program (and only 8 people voted against it). It expands eligibility from 19,600 people to 152,400 people. Sometimes growing government programs is acceptable to most legislators, sometimes it isn’t. It really is not that hard to understand.
Yeah I guess Koopman is right, if you vote for a republican bill that modestly increased eligibility for disability insurance then clearly you are therefore a ‘liberal’. There are only 8 true conservstives in the house. Hopefully they’ve been preg tested so they dont reproduce.
But once they were preg feted they would be worth more and voting for 2.
Preg tested. Auto correct is a pain.
Pure ass Bircher Bullshit, Empty Liberty. People are ON to you nazis. Goverment exists to help the PEOPLE, not just billionaires like the Kocks! It AIN’T communism to help your fellow American, moron! Get a clue. The country has! You boys done been outed, and YOU apparently don’t even realize it yet! We WANT things for our tax dollar, dufus, besides another billion fo the Big Kocks!
You been hittin’ that medical MJ a bit? Kinda early in the day, even for you. It is clear to see that you did not understand the explanation I attempted for some of the Koopman ratings – as I predicted.
Sorry, Empty, but you’re right. I never made it past your first sentence. Yes, it was THAT dumb! But here, I allow you a chance to NOT look like an extreme asshole koch sock puppet. Name just ONE “extreme” bill from the left!
You lose…again! Sorry to be so blunt. Ya got no precedent, ya got no argument, dude.
LMAO – Dude – the fallacy in your argument is using the word “extreme”. I am sure that you and I define that differently. And why would you answer your own question?
I’ll give you one from the top lefty in the State. I would consider the Governor’s proposed budget to be extreme. I doubt you do because we use different definitions.