Utterly unqualified Jason Ravnsborg can’t refute the basic knock against his candidacy for Attorney General, the charge that he has never tried a criminal case in front of a jury. Recall his mealy-mouthed response on WNAX following his nomination:
Campaigns are vigorously fought, and a lot of misnomers were put out. I do believe I have a strong legal background. I’ve been an attorney for over fifteen years, and I have been in the courtroom both on the criminal and civil side. I’ve done a number of things in federal court, and we’ll be talking about that more extensively in the coming campaign [Jason Ravnsborg, transcribed from audio, “South Dakota Republican Attorney General Candidate Jason Ravnsboarg{sic} Defends Legal Experience,” WNAX Radio, June 2018].
Whatever Ravnsborg has been doing for the last month of campaigning, he hasn’t been talking about that experience extensively. He’s still on cruise control, hoping the “R” in front of his name and the “tcot” hastag will allow him to coast to a job he doesn’t deserve. His weak WNAX response, like WNAX’s misspelling of his name, stands unremedied a month later.
The fact that he has to say not just an empty “I believe” but “I do believe” before stating what should be an easy fact shows his own insecurity. That Ravnsborg has been “in” the courtroom doesn’t distinguish him from a guy who has sued and been sued, or from the court reporter or the lamp on the judge’s desk. Doing “a number of things” in federal court is a phrase that every composition teacher would strike and scrawl in the margins, “Be specific.”
Ravnsborg can’t even use words correctly, let alone say he’s ever used them effectively in front of a jury. A misnomer is an inaccurate name or designation. Saying, “Jason Ravnsborg has never tried a criminal case in front of a jury” is not an incorrect name; it is a statement about a glaring gap on Jason Ravnsborg’s resume, a gap Ravnsborg is trying to keep his voters from noticing.
I’m guessing that some commenter will soon be calling you an elitist because you called out Ravnsborg for not using “misnomer” correctly. It is a polysyllabic word, and our current President seems to get along fine with monosyllables like “sad” and “fake news.”
If Ravnsborg is going to issue opinions about whether something meets the letter of the law or appear in court on behalf of South Dakota, he doesn’t have the option of misunderstanding or misusing vocabulary. He certainly doesn’t get to limit himself to tweeting monosyllables.
This mistake points to a pattern of being careless. As I pointed out on my blog, Ravnsborg’s website has misspelled the name of one of his endorsers, Steve Huff. As of this writing the name still appears as Steve Hff. If he’s careless with details about those who endorse him, how’s he going to treat a regular South Dakota citizen?
The Attorney General is South Dakota’s top lawyer. You want a top lawyer for the job of top lawyer. Ravnsborg is not a top lawyer. Not even close.
Electing Ravnsborg AG would be like electing Jason Gant SOS – but on a much larger scale. This would be a debacle of epic proportions.
A real journalist, hats off to Cory.
“Jason Gant” came to my mind, too.
I can imagine Ravensbruck [sic] being elected AG, then forced to resign for incompetence, and stealing Bill Janklow’s tommygun on the way out the door.
He’s such a pathetic example of ineptitude. Sad. Very sad.
Vote for Mr. Seiler. He is grudznick approved, and supported by most Conservatives with Common Sense.
The Republicans will soon suffer from buyers remorse. It will be nice to have a Democrat for Attorney General. Little Fake Lawyer won’t have a chance when it comes to winning this election. He will suffer punch after punch until he’s on the ground covered in blood. Then he’ll pack up his fake law practice and head back to his native Iowa homeland.
The comparison to Jason Gant is apt. Republicans, don’t make that mistake again. Vote for the qualified person on the ballot, not a weak Republican who will only damage an important public office and the cause of justice in our state. Justice matters more than party affiliation, right?