According to its website, the members of the South Dakota Freedom Caucus keep busy by “fighting for the people’s rights.” If their legislative results this year are any indication, the people’s rights are taking a beating.
The Freedom Caucus is a group of Republicans in the South Dakota Legislature. Their website touts adherence to the vision of President Ronald Reagan, but their beliefs put them a little to the right of Genghis Khan.
The group’s chairman is the Legislature’s resident bad boy, Rep. Phil Jensen of Rapid City. Last year he lost the vice chairmanship of the House Education Committee for filing a bill that would have stripped the Huron School District of state funding because he had heard bad things about the district’s loose bathroom policy for transgender students.
This year he lost the committee entirely, shuttled to another panel when he threw a fit over a seating arrangement that didn’t meet with his approval. He stayed in the news weeks later when he disparaged the religious beliefs of other representatives. For that infraction, he was denied access to the GOP caucus for two weeks, a punishment akin to being stoned with popcorn.
The Freedom Caucus vice chairman is Sen. John Carley of Piedmont and the secretary/treasurer is Rep. Tina Mulally of Rapid City. The group’s website lists six other members, all representatives: Logan Manhart of Aberdeen, Dylan Jordan of Clear Lake, Tony Kayser of Sioux Falls, Aaron Aylward of Harrisburg, Tony Randolph of Rapid City and Josephine Garcia of Watertown.
The group’s “meet the team” page includes this cryptic phrase: “Not all South Dakota Freedom Caucus members are public members.” Why someone’s membership in the group would need to remain hidden is a mystery, much like their secret identities.
Not to be outdone by the bad boy chairman of the caucus, Carley put himself at the center of a news story recently, disappearing before a crucial vote on economic development incentives for data centers. His absence was seen in many quarters for what it was, a ploy to ensure that the bill was killed. Carley got the result he wanted by using a tactic that’s not usually found in “Robert’s Rules of Order.”
Perhaps Carley was called to a meeting of the double-secret members of the Freedom Caucus. Maybe he was desperately searching for someone — anyone — who would vote to advance some of his legislation.
Carley led all Freedom Caucus members this year as the prime sponsor of 21 bills. At this writing, his record is 1-20. Just one of his 21 bills made it out of the Senate to be considered by the House.
Despite that poor showing, Carley doesn’t have the worst winning percentage of Freedom Caucus members. That belongs to Mulally who, obviously swamped with secretary/treasurer duties, was the prime sponsor of just two bills, both of which failed to garner enough support to move on to the Senate.
Despite operating in the House, which boasts a Republican super-majority, other Freedom Caucus members did not fare much better. In most cases they saw their mix of protections for the unborn, cannabis restrictions, property tax reforms, election integrity changes and Second Amendment enhancements go down in defeat.
Jensen was 1-3, Jordan was 1-8, Kayser 1-3, Aylward 2-4, Randolph 3-4 and Garcia was 3-8. The member of the Freedom Caucus with the most success was Manhart, who was the prime sponsor of nine bills with five of them making it to the Senate.
Of the 73 bills proposed by the Freedom Caucus members — at least the members that we know about — 17 of them made it into the Senate. That 17-56 record is just what fans fear the Minnesota Twins’ record will be early in July. It’s hardly the kind of legislative showing to be expected from a group that bills itself as fighting for the freedoms of South Dakotans.
There could be valid reasons for the poor legislative showing of the Freedom Caucus. Maybe they’re just ahead of their time. Maybe other members are jealous of their insight and expertise. Or maybe they need to spend more time being lawmakers and less time garnering headlines.
— This commentary was written by Dana Hess of South Dakota Searchlight an online news organization.
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