By DAVID BOYLE
There sure is a lot of election noise on the radio, TV, and in our mailboxes and inboxes. How do you separate the truth from misinformation and disinformation?
Do you read and believe the mailers from the various candidates? Do you listen to the pandering, mudslinging and downright lies on radio and TV?
Wouldn’t it be great to actually know how your own legislators voted? Then you could be a much better-informed voter and be more satisfiedwith your vote decision.
And do you remember when you got a report card at school or a performance evaluation at work? Elected officials are supposed to work for you so don’t you believe they should get a performance evaluation?
Most Alaskans are busy working, taking care of their children, etc. and are just too busy to unlock the goings-on in Juneau. We make it easy and informative. We have scoring criteria (https://alaskapoliticsexplained.org/legislator-report-card-scoring-matrix/) which are based on less government/more freedom, less regulation, responsible fiscal policy, and free markets. We stay out of partisan politics and only rate legislation based on our criteria.
This report card evaluates Alaska Legislature bills to determine if your “employees”, aka legislators, are working for you. We only evaluate bills; we do NOT evaluate legislators. Once the bills are evaluated, the results go through an algorithm that produces the legislator “grades”.
Here is the report card based on legislators’ actual votes.
Here are the top-rated legislators, according to the report card:
And here are the bottom rated legislators, according to the report card:
Many legislators claim to be conservative, yet don’t seem to vote according to the criteria used to evaluate the bills.
If you want to see how your legislator voted on a bill, click on his/her name and their votes will appear. On the specific legislator’s name, such as Rep. Alyse Galvin, you will see her contact information and most importantly, who funds her (Follow the Money) in the upper left corner.
You don’t have to rely on mainstream media, politicians, or special interests to know how your legislator voted. You don’t even have to go to the state’s website, BASIS, because all the information you need to stay informed is right here.
This is not about party affiliation or labels like liberal, moderate or conservative. It is about a philosophical belief in the role of government.
But both liberals and conservatives can use this report card. The more liberal legislators’ votes rank at the bottom and the more conservative legislators’ votes rank at the top.
So, if you’re tired of the pandering and posturing of politicians, then you will like this report card.
Informed voters are vital and essential to a well-functioning government. Remember, get informed and vote by Nov. 5.
David Boyle is an education writer for Must Read Alaska.
Well done David Boyle!
I know the FACL crowd uses John Birch Society evaluation. Suspect to say the least since they are looking for NO votes and the more Yes, the lower the point score.
David Eastman is a -4, below some of the most hard core Socialists in the House! Hell, Josephson has a +8, Schrage a +10! The people that David and his followers attack all the time, Mike Mikey Shower, Senator Shelley Hughes, even Wilson are +23 and +24! In fact all the people David attacks are all in high teens, especially the one he goes after all the time, the Speaker of the House, Rep. Cathy Tilton who has a +20!
Sorry Office of Representative David Eastman, your voting record is terrible for all your constituents, including even your FACL cronies!
Vote Jubilee Underwood for State House, I bet if they did the same for the Matsu School Board she would be a 100!
Do you want more government or less? Your metrics are flawed. (Or knowingly corrupt)
Be a Kelley Merrick, vote Yes on EVERYTHING and get an 80.8 score. Just keep feeding the monster to grow government.
Be a David Eastman, refuse to “play ball” and primarily vote No to get a negative score. Because we definitely need more “Yes men” in politics, right?
Yeah, not falling for this “not so subtle” attack on Eastman. Living in Eagle River myself, unfortunately I am stuck with the RINO Kelley Merrick and would gladly trade her for Eastman 10 outta 10 times.
Ok, objectively and statistically he should agree on at least 30% of legislation. Heck, a trained pigeon could peck “yes” that much.
Eastman has found himself on the wrong side of many votes. His definition of purity and perfection torpedoes the good. The question is what positive effects have come from his persistent “no”?
Honestly, what has he prevented other than conservative legislation? What has he enabled beyond polarization and FACL? He pits believers against each other, yet leaves our opponents unscathed. He’s as useful as a dead engine in a stormy sea and as dangerous as an autoimmune disease.
” We have scoring criteria (‘https://alaskapoliticsexplained.org/legislator-report-card-scoring-matrix/)” So, this is created by a group here in Alaska? It really bothered an entire group of Republicans when they saw the John Birch Society scorecard. So, now another scorecard has been created that makes Rinos shine. This scorecard that David is sharing shows you who the Rinos are that will play along to get along instead of standing firm for the constitution. We keep giving up parts of our constitutional rights in order to get along with the democrats thanks to people, such as those listed as the top ranking legislators on David’s scorecard. Thank you for the list David. It helps define those who will not fight to keep Alaska as a Conservative state.
This scorecard was begun in 2020 and was not active for a couple of years. Legislators are not graded. Legislation is graded. It is a lot of work and requires listening to committee hearings, watching floor sessions, reading the documents under each bill, etc. Unlike the John Birch Society’s Index, only those bills that passed both the senate and the house are graded. Unlike the JBS rankings, we did our due diligence by watching, listening and reading legislation.
The JBS went all the way back to 2021 and cherry picked legislation for grading. I do not know why any State Representative would vote against harvesting beetle kill spruce, against concierge health care, against extending the K12 education tax credit, and against telemedicine.
10000000000000000000000000000%
If an outside radical group like John Birch is whom you follow and whom supports a turncoat like Eastman, that is your problem.
John Birch was listed a subversive organization when I joined the Air Force. Not sure if they still are, yet that history tells a lot.
The Birch card is based on no votes, not the actual legislation.
Rep Eastman has been constantly attacked by the entire group of Republican parties – the same people who are willing to entertain people like Jesse Sumner that is for Ranked Choice Voting, people like David Wilson who does not want his district’s endorsement (why not?), people like Kevin McCabe and his wife that are happy to viciously attack Eastman-especially as we get closer to election day. Why are the legislators fighting so hard to get rid of Eastman when his constituents want him in there working for them? Something is wrong with this picture. Kinda reminds me of the government trying to get rid of President Trump.
Speak on it! Ginny, you are spot on. These RINO legislators are so afraid of losing power that they will do and say anything. Make no mistake, Boyle has joined that RINO group of people who wish to ignore the will of the people. They most certainly do not care what David Eastman’s constituents want, even though they’re the ones who put him in office. They wish to ignore the will of the people outright. You’re smart enough to vote for them, but too stupid as a constituent to understand Juneau politics that’s what they consistently say with there own mouth.
Unfortunately, the scoring criteria ostensibly based on “….which are based on less government/more freedom, less regulation, responsible fiscal policy, and free markets” really should read “….which are based on OUR INTERPRETATION OF WHETHER THE BILL WILL RESULT IN less government/more freedom, less regulation, responsible fiscal policy, and free markets.” What if a legislator votes against any bill that either increases or does not decrease the budget (operating or capital) of the State? Maybe that legislator is not thinking things through, but he or she would get a negative rating for voting against a bill that might hit all of the report card criteria except 1. Any ranking methodology that results in Calvin Schrage being viewed as “more conservative” than David Eastman has to be immediately suspect.
…and for what it’s worth, the use of the John Birch Society “evaluation” as a pejorative seems misplaced: “Less government, more responsibility, and, with God’s help, a better world” would seem what a conservative should aspire to.
CRL, it is impossible to score either the operating or the capital budget. Reason: There are just too many items, some of which are good and some are not so good. That is left to the governor with his red veto pen which allows him/her to veto any line item in the budget. If you want to compare Representative Eastman with Representative Schrage, then click on each one’s picture and the bills and their votes will come up.
Thank you for your positive comments. I am beyond tired of the John Birch Society being maligned. There are obviously a few oddballs in that group as there is in ANY group of people. But very few people have ever investigated them to find out where they really stand. They are NOT in the same category as the KKK and other groups that are lumped together. When I first checked them out 30+ years ago, it was with great skepticism and disgust. I just wanted to find out more about such an awful group. I was absolutely shocked that they weren’t what the MAINSTREAM MEDIA had portrayed them. There was also a concerted effort to make sure that the MILITARY especially were told the wrong things about them. They are accused of being conspiracy theorists–kind of interesting that so many of their predictions are now accepted as facts. If you don’t believe me, do your own checking. I will never believe anything the media is trying to convince me is evil when I know it’s not.
I joined the Air Force in 1971. John Birch was listed as a subversive organization, same as KKK Communist Party, SDS, etc.
My girlfriend at the time asked me to go to a Bircher meeting. I went to two of them. Had real concerns with I heard at those meetings.
The problem with this score they give points for no votes. Not, like this other one tha per David Boyle, is based on the legislation.
Not sure if still on that list, heard it is off now. Yet I still have concerns.
Their rating is not based on what the legislation actually does, nor does it appear to follow the bill through committees, with th final result. The score Eastman gets is for how many times he votes no.
Your lies and accusations only make you look the fool on this thread.
A no vote on a bad Bill is totally acceptable.
Try reading the Bills and asking the hard questions like Eastman is willing to do.
He is like Alaska’s Ron and Rand Paul and we are thankful to have him in Juneau.
What an involved, convoluted, and very public way to announce you don’t know what a good bill is or how to evaluate them!! 🤣
Also: where’s the data on what you rated individual bills? Maybe I missed it?
Eli, if you click on any legislator’s picture, you will see how they voted. And you will also see the comments for the bill rating. Sources used were floor sessions, committee hearings, documents associated with each bill under BASIS.
exactly.
Boyle’s Bill 29 wa vetoed because it was unconstitutional…guess he is not as smart as he thinks he is!
Oh look, establishment bootlickers want entitlement programs because they’re old and didn’t invest right, so now they’re socialists and have to make up fake score cards to feel better about their terrible votes.
always hiding behind their own stupidity…its actually laughable.
Vote Eastman.
Some truth in advertising would be appropriate here, David Boyle.
You published this “scorecard” (which paints David Eastman as farther to the left than every single one of the Democrats/Communists) AFTER you had already donated money to his opponent and launched a campaign of criticizing him publicly. Apparently you have chosen a methodology that makes RINOS look great and conservatives look lousy.
Tragic that Must Read Alaska is publishing this as though it were from an objective source.
I did contribute to Mr. Eastman’s opponent. But this report card was done many weeks before that donation. I have not launched any campaign criticizing him. I merely use the Freedom of Speech mentioned in our First Amendment to the US Constitution. We rate bills that are passed by both bodies. We do not rate legislators.
Must Read always leans left…
here is a good read:
OPINION: When the good guys go bad
By Fred Dyson
“Currently, I am saddened to watch a nominally Christian advocacy group, Alaska Family Council, drift far away from Christian principles and the heart of the gospel. We Americans are scrappers, and we like to “win.” The values that Christ taught are very different than current cultural values. Christians are encouraged to be servants of all and to treat everyone with dignity and respect. We are encouraged to love our enemies and stand against evil.”
What a joke. Sorry, I ain’t buying a word of it. You only rate bills not legislators? How about rating results! Are
Alaskans becoming better or worse off? Go peddle this garbage and propaganda elsewhere.
well said.
Wow Mr. Boyle, this is great. I never knew Dems & Rinos could looks so good on paper. Must Read Alaska must not have much of a standard for what it publishes.
Thanks for making it easy to see the results…ALYSE Galvin receives contributions from a person who also gives to Stacy Abrams! Corruption to the highest degree.
Contrived. Glad to see most people are on to the charade. Eastman was #1 rated in 2020 according to Boyle’s scoring and is now dead last. What happened except for refusing to go along to get along? The vote is the score and I trust the freedom index for state and nationwide rankings based on “their adherence to constitutional principles of limited government, fiscal responsibility, national sovereignty, and a traditional foreign policy of avoiding foreign entanglements.”
Kassie, we can agree to disagree. But why would anyone vote against harvesting beetle killed spruce? Why would a conservative vote against extending the K12 education tax credit and thus impacting children who choose other than a public neighborhood school? It seems as if the vote against making Juneteenth a state holiday is more important than either of the aforementioned bills.
I agree…stink of desperation, aye?
why is Boyles so afraid of an actual conservative?
Virtue: “A virtue (Latin: virtus) is a trait of excellence, including traits that may be moral, social, or intellectual. The cultivation and refinement of virtue is held to be the “good of humanity” and thus is valued as an end purpose of life or a foundational principle of being.” ~ ‘https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtue
Rep. David Eastman has virtue. Who else has virtue?
very well said.
this column sounds like just a another GOP cabal hit piece when someone is smarter and more virtuous than the lot of them!
When are us conservatives going to start expecting our Republicans to start working together to get our goals accomplished? I am specifically talking about Rep. Eastman. I agree he is a conservative, he is smart, and I like his values. With all that said he needs to be replaced by Jubilee Underwood. Rep. Eastman works and pleases himself only. He sabotages fellow Republicans every chance he gets in Juneau and then he cries about his fellow Republicans. I do not understand how after Rep. Eastman decided to vote down a full PFD in 2022 which stole $2,000 from every Alaskan, people still support him? With that vote Rep. Eastman told everyone in district 27 the government deserves your money not you. Rep. Eastman only cares about his agenda and that only destroys our Republican party in Juneau. In the world of politics you need a Representative that is able to do a few things, be able to work with their fellow party members i.e. fellow Republicans, must be able to be on committees, must not sabotage their own party, and must be able to compromise. Rep. Eastman has a proven record of not being able to do any of those things. On the other hand district 27 has a candidate Jubilee Underwood who has a proven record of being able to do all those things I listed. So district 27 you can keep sending a person to hang out in Juneau and accomplish nothing and continue to hurt the Republican party, or you can send Jubilee Underwood who will actually work with fellow Republican party members and get things done not only for district 27 but accomplish great things to benefit all Alaskans, like getting a full PFD.
don’t hold your breath, you should be smarter than that….look at all the fake “conservatives” supporting Eastman’s opponent.
What does that say about yourself?