(Mr. Hyde (R) strikes again!-ColPols--I just updated with Jared's response - promoted by Danny the Red (hair))
Update with Jared's response
I voted against the HIRE Act along with 35 members of the Congressional Black Caucus and Progressive Caucus on grounds that it was simply too little, too late: its tax cuts will not bring about real job creation, and it did not include adequate funding or allocation methods for infrastructure projects or initiatives to help the poor.
Jared Polis
FRIDAY POLS UPDATE: Details emerge, from the New York Times:
Though the measure attracted bipartisan support when approved by the Senate last week, House Republicans were dismissive, saying it was cobbled together by Democrats for political purposes and would do little to spur new employment. And many Democrats, even though they backed the measure, considered it far too limited in scope...
House Democrats wanted several changes. They adjusted the bill to cover its costs more completely, to satisfy Democratic fiscal hawks. To attract liberal lawmakers who contended the measure was too meager, they added a provision to generate business for minority contractors. The revisions mean the measure will have to be reconsidered by the Senate, where it was unclear whether Republicans would seek to slow its progress.
The centerpiece of the legislation is a plan to exempt businesses that hire people who have been out of work for at least 60 days from paying the 6.2 percent payroll tax on those employees through year-end. It also grants a $1,000 tax credit if the workers are kept on for a full year.
Opinion is divided on whether the approach is effective or simply gives businesses a break on workers they would have hired anyway. But lawmakers said that given the dismal unemployment picture, they were willing to give it a try, and estimated the tax breaks would put 300,000 people to work.
That was not enough for some Democrats. "We should stop calling it a jobs bill, and instead acknowledge this is about business tax cuts," said Representative Barbara Lee, a California Democrat and chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus. She voted against the bill and said much more needed to be done to reach the chronically unemployed.
Original post follows--was it too much for Jared Polis, as he said about health care? Or not enough, as some members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus apparently decided? We retract our "Mr. Hyde (R)" crack above, but only long enough to get an explanation--which, given Rep. Polis' erratic record on Democratic legislative goals, should have been immediately forthcoming after last night's vote. As it is, people coming away with the "wrong impression," assuming it was wrong, of this vote can't be blamed for doing so.
--
There are no new stories that I can find, no floor statement, and no press release.
Since Rep. Polis has not issued any statements, and I would think that such a vote would justify one, I have to assume it's because he hates America and doesn't want anybody to get jobs.
House progressives organizing to rescue health care reform are pressuring their Senate counterparts to go back to the provision that has most energized the party and a majority of Americans throughout the debate: The public option.
Jared Polis, Diana DeGette and John Salazar announced on Tuesday that they are uniting with 80 other Representatives to move an immigration reform bill forward. The Comprehensive Immigration Reform for America's Security and Prosperity Act of 2009 (CIR ASAP) includes several provisions, one of which I find intriguing--the HR 4259 Employment Benefit Act, introduced by Representative Polis.
The EB Act would expand the current EB-5 immigrant investment visa program, which was established in 1990 to attract foreign capital to the US and create jobs for Americans. Current requirements include establishing a business or investing in an existing business that was created after 1990, a minimum investment of $1 million dollars, and the creation of at least 10 full time jobs or 5 full time jobs for American workers in a Targeted Employment Area (TEA.)
Rep. Jared Polis (D-Colo.), who made his initial fortune during the Internet boom a decade ago, is now backing away from an anti-net-neutrality letter that he signed last week.
Polis began soliciting co-signers Tuesday for a new letter to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski that asks the agency "to join us in our effort to ensure that it remains an open-access network" when the FCC begins writing rules this week on the contentious issue.
"We believe that the proposed rules enhance the FCC's historic commitment to competition and innovation, and are necessary to ensure that internet users can go to any legal web site and access any legal online service that they choose," Polis writes in the draft. "The internet is one of humanity's greatest cultural achievements and the most powerful infrastructure for free speech and innovation."
Polis' apparent change of heart is in marked contrast to an anti-net-neutrality letter that he signed off on last week along with 71 other House Members...
"We write to express both our hopes and concerns related to upcoming [FCC] proceedings focused on the deployment and use of broadband networks," Members wrote in the first letter. "As the FCC embarks on its much-anticipated rule making addressing the subject of 'net neutrality,' we therefore urge the commission to carefully consider the full range of potential consequences that government action may have on network investment."
Not too different from his eyebrow-raising statements on health care reform a couple of months ago, Rep. Jared Polis was forced into a full-scale backpedal after he signed onto a letter that was (sorry, no debate here) obviously intended to attack net neutrality proposals presently under consideration. In subsequent comments at Daily Kos and other "netroots" venues, Polis has denied that the original letter was ever intended as an attack on the principle of net neutrality.
Unfortunately, nobody involved with the issue bought that for a minute. This is a bigger problem for Polis than it is for others who signed the original letter--Polis heavily courted the "netroots" during his run for office, and net neutrality is one of their biggest issues. Said one influential net neutrality activist in response to Polis' 'surprise' at taking heat, "perhaps you should have thought twice before signing on to a letter that was orchestrated by the phone and cable lobby to be a warning shot across the bow of FCC commissioners." To try to claim that the letter somehow didn't say what it plainly said...well, these activists know better and they don't appreciate being patronized.
Having already upset this influential base of support with his string of regrettable comments about health care, Polis surely didn't need this gaffe. We're not saying he's in real career-threatening political trouble, but he'd be foolish to think people aren't paying attention.
In a statement just released today two years ago, congressman congressional hopeful Jared Polis '07 took sides in the ongoing debate on funding health care.
votepolis.com 2007
I strongly believe that access to quality, affordable health care is a right and not a privilege, and it is imperative that we take action to meet the pressing health care needs of our nation...
...putting patients above special interests...
...I oppose the Bush administration's proposed deductions that provide the largest tax benefits to high-income individuals who can already afford health insurance and add substantially to already-large budget deficits.
The House Committee on Energy and Commerce has made available a website with district-by-district breakdowns on how the current health care plan will affect consumers and small businesses. It's a great resource, but we pity the poor bastard who had to put all this information together.
As for the tax surcharge that Democratic Rep. Jared Polis used to unhelpfully insert himself into the discussion, the numbers don't back up his argument very well: The surtax would not affect 98.3% of taxpayers in CD-2.
We were critical on Friday of Rep. Jared Polis' self-serving attempt to inject himself into the discussion on health care reform for a couple of reasons.
We thought that his criticism (in leading 20 freshman Democrats to sign a letter against some of the funding mechanisms) of the House legislation would only give footing to those who oppose reform, and it also gives credence to those who worried last year that Polis would not actually represent his district, but would largely represent himself. After all, there are surely very few Democrats in CD-2 who are going to be happy with Polis, who campaigned in a tough three-way primary that in large part dealt with the urgent need for health care reform.
We're not sure what Polis thought he was accomplishing with his letter last week, other than trying to act like he had some sage advice on an issue that he is not an expert on, but we wonder how much he thought (if at all) about what his "leadership" might do for the public and private debate over reform. As The New York Times Caucus Blog writes today:
Congress charges ahead with thee separate health care reform bills this week, but under slightly reduced pressure from the White House. The administration does not seem to be driving quite as hard at the August deadline, perhaps under the weight of wary lawmakers, particularly Democrats...
...The Wall Street Journal adds that a group of Democrats elected in some of the nation's wealthiest congressional districts may stand between President Obama and his efforts to pay for the reform with increased taxes. The article points out two Democrats who broke with the party line when the legislation came up in their House Education and Labor Committee last week - Representative Dina Titus, of suburban Las Vegas, and Jared Polis, who represents Boulder, Vail and some wealthy Denver suburbs. [Pols emphasis]
That's what happens when you are one of the wealthiest members of Congress whose reputation is largely as someone who "bought" his seat, and then you go and publicly attack a funding mechanism that would tax the richest Americans. Polis looks like a dunce over this one, and if his opposition ends up crippling the health care reform legislation, he won't be living this one down for a long time.
Polis can say whatever he wants in defense, but the bottom line is that his criticism of this bill and leading the way on the letter from 20 other freshman looks to cause real harm to the health care reform efforts. This was a boneheaded move for a Congressman representing a Democratic district.
WASHINGTON - The House of Representatives passed legislation by a wide margin on Thursday to give the Food and Drug Administration sweeping new powers over tobacco products, which kill an estimated 400,000 Americans each year [rsb emphasis].
Despite the 298-to-112 House vote, though, a closer battle is likely in the Senate between public health advocates and some tobacco industry supporters. Senator Richard M. Burr, Republican of North Carolina, the nation's leading tobacco producing state, has threatened a filibuster.
Naturally the Republicans will always try to obstruct any attempts by the government to control one of the most dangerous and costly products on the market today. Of course, they're just taking orders from Big Tobacco, right? Well, sort of.
And while the cigarette leader Philip Morris supports the legislation [rsb emphasis], other big tobacco companies oppose it.
So even the largest tobacco company in the country is supporting tough regulation of its business. The rest of the industry, along with their southern Republican allies, is going to do everything they can to stall this attempt.
Leading the charge on this from the Colorado delegation is Rep. Jared Polis, who takes the matter of holding tobacco companies more accountable for their products very personally because of a family tragedy. He also points out the stupidity of regulating a harmless product like lettuce, but not cigarettes--a product that is well known to kill those who consume them.
On Saturday, Democratic activists from around the state got together for the Colorado stop on the Netroots Nation Salon Series: Netroots Nation in Your Neighborhood. Among the panelists at the gathering (which was sponsored by local progressive organizations like AM 760, Progress Now, and Square State) was Colorado AFL-CIO director Mike Cerbo, who let everyone present know how one of the newest members of the Colorado Democratic Congressional delegation feels about the contentious Employee Free Choice Act.
During our last panel, Governing as Progressives and Taking Over the Democratic Party, the discussion went to The Employee Free Choice Act ... CO AFL-CIO director Mike Cerbo said:
Betsy Markey, one of the people that has probably more incentive than any of the others to sit there and hand wring and hide in the weeds about this stood up front and said 'I'm going to cosponsor. I believe in it.' [rsb emphasis]
In the comments of that diary, Rep. Jared Polis--fresh off his keynote address to the Netroots Nation in Your Neighborhood crowd--chimed in with his own position on the EFCA:
I strongly support the right to organize and plan on supporting the Employee Free Choice Act both in my Committee (Education and Labor) and on the House floor.
We have to make sure that our recovery lifts all boats, and the ability to organize is, now more than ever, critical for working families.
The fact that Polis is supporting this bill should come as no surprise (though the vociferous nature of business-minded Polis' endorsement does, perhaps, induce a mild eyebrow raise.) Dems in safe Democratic districts should have no trouble voting yes, but without their support, there's no way frosh Congresswoman Betsy Markey would be able to do so as well.
The direction of this bill in the House is clearly heading toward approval--it's when the bill goes to the Senate, where Mark Udall and Michael Bennet must decide their positions on it, that the future of the EFCA becomes significantly murkier.
Speaking today on the House floor, 2nd congressional district Rep. Jared Polis gave his reasons for supporting the President's stimulus bill.
Say what you want about Jared Polis, but the man knows how to create two of the things that can help us out of the recession: wealth and jobs. Congressman Polis' entrepreneurial expertise--from his diverse business ventures, to his use of the internet and technology--gives him a leg up on many of his colleagues.
And for all those Republicans who say it's one of the largest spending bills ever, Polis has a reminder:
"Madame Speaker, we can and will regain the world's confidence in our economy, and retain our global competitiveness, and, indeed, save capitalism and free enterprise with one of the largest tax cuts ever."
Earlier today the campaign for Democrat Joan Fitz-Gerald called on Jared Polis to pull a misleading ad. According to a press release:
Today the Fitz-Gerald campaign sent a letter to Mr. Robert Becker of the Jared Polis campaign requesting that the Jared Polis campaign pull an ad in which he makes statements that he and his campaign manager had already acknowledged as false. (See attached letter.)
The advertisement knowingly and willingly misleads voters with the statement "Joan Fitz-Gerald Negative Ad," which is in direct violation of Colorado Revised Statute 1-13-109 and is a class 1 misdemeanor. According to Colorado Revised Statute 18-1.3-501 a class 1 misdemeanor is punishable by a minimum sentence of six-months imprisonment or $500 fine or both and a maximum sentence of 18-months imprisonment and a $5,000 fine or both.
"This ad is false and violates Colorado statute," said campaign manager Mary Alice Mandarich. "I would like to give you the opportunity to pull this false advertisement. CD2 voters deserve better. As someone who has made campaign reform and clean elections the cornerstone of his campaign, we know Jared will correct this mistake."
This letter was also forwarded to Denver television stations who are running a false commercial.
In response, Polis campaign manager Robert Becker issued a curt, comma-filled response:
Anyone remember Gilligan's Island? Even a group as clueless as that was focused on getting off the island. You're stuck on a deserted island - primary focus is getting off the damn island.Why is that so hard to figure out?
Ok, the 3 amigos were asked the standard Daily Camera question "If you were stranded on a deserted island, what three things would you want with you?" And the answers range from poor to excellent.
UPDATE: The audio of Polis's appearance is up. Neither Polis nor talk show host Jay Marvin are likely to remember this as their finest hour, but only one of them is running for Congress.
Say this for Jared Polis - the man has an incredible talent for self-flagellation.
After reportedly confronting a producer of The Jay Marvin Show yesterday, which generated some unwanted press, Polis appeared on the radio show this morning and didn't exactly distinguish himself. Marvin repeatedly asked Polis to apologize to his producer for yesterday's confrontation, but Polis refused to do so and instead continually changed the topic.
Look, we don't know if Marvin or Polis is in the right here, but it doesn't really matter. As a candidate for political office, you don't pick a fight with the media, and if you do, you apologize when given the opportunity. Voters are much more apt to forgive and forget if a politician apologizes sincerely, but instead of taking that route, Polis came off sounding like the bully he was portrayed to be.
It's one thing to hold your ground and refuse to apologize for something that is truly important. But this was not a stand Polis needed to take. The smart play here was to apologize and move on - really, that choice was so obvious that it's bizarre Polis chose any other route. But that's what makes him the strange and confounding candidate that he is; in retrospect, perhaps this really was the only option that made sense for him.
.
I just got home from the meeting.
I wish Jared,
running to represent CD-02 (Boulder) in Congress,
would conduct more of his meetings in Colorado Springs.
That would save me a lot of driving.
Think about it, Mr. Polis.
Anyway, he pulled the meeting together,
his staff made all the arrangements,
and then he put the main focus on guest speaker David Mann,
an Iraq War vet.
That showed some real class.
.
Democrat Jared Polis today loaned his campaign for congress in CD-2 another $450,000, bringing his total personal contribution to his campaign to $1,056,098.
Jared Polis publicized seven years' worth of tax returns Thursday, a day after his major Democratic rivals in the 2nd Congressional District race made similar disclosures.
Joan Fitz-Gerald and Will Shafroth, who released their tax returns Wednesday, said they did so in large part to prompt their wealthy opponent to open the books on his income and tax information.
Polis' returns show five years -- from 2001 to 2005 -- during which the Internet entrepreneur paid no taxes. He showed a net loss of income for four of those five years.
The returns also show a couple of years when he posted a total of more than $120 million in adjusted gross income and more than $18.4 million in taxes paid.
Polis, 32, said the discrepancy in tax and income data over the seven years is primarily based on whether he was developing companies -- which would often operate at a loss in their initial years -- or selling a company.
"In my business career, I only make significant money when I sell a company," Polis said Thursday.
Two years ago, Liberty Media Inc. bought Provide Commerce Inc., which operated Polis-founded ProFlowers.com. The sale was valued at $477 million, $116 million of which went to Polis.
Polis said in many of the years he didn't owe taxes, he was reporting income losses -- in 2005 his losses reached $2.6 million -- as he tried to bring companies he helped found into the black.
"I founded several high-growth companies, and we would manage those for growth rather than for profit," he said. "When I make money, I pay taxes. When I don't make money, I don't."
Is Polis legally correct here? Maybe, but it sure looks terrible. The ads write themselves: "Jared Polis, millionaire, doesn't pay taxes."
Given the harm that will come from this disclosure, it probably would have made more sense for the Polis campaign to refuse to open up his books. He still would have taken a hit, but it wouldn't have been as bad. "Polis Refuses to Disclose Tax Records" is better than "Polis Doesn't Pay Taxes."
The campaign manager for congressional candidate Jared Polis is moving to an advisory role so she can spend more time helping her husband's restaurant business.
Wanda James said today she will remain "very" involved in Polis' campaign as a strategist, but won't be overseeing the day-to-day operations. Her successor has not been named.
James' husband, Scott Durrah, owns 8 Rivers Cafe in northwest Denver, and is opening another Caribbean restaurant in LoDo this summer.
"One of the first things we're going to do is have a fund-raiser for Jared," James said.
We haven't seen a statement yet from the Polis campaign on this, so the News story seems to have come out of James' efforts to get ahead of any announcement.
The Polis campaign has been an absolute mess almost from the beginning, culminating in a near-disastrous Democratic caucus effort that saw Polis come dangerously close to falling below the 30 percent support level needed to make the ballot. Polis badly needed to make a staff change in order to salvage his flailing campaign (if you really think James "resigned," you're smoking something), and it will be interesting to see who he brings in to right the ship.
...Just keep having press conferences and hope someone eventually pays attention.
We wrote last week about Democrat Jared Polis joining a coalition of congressional candidates from across the country in proposing a new plan to end the war in Iraq. The plan, cleverly titled "The Responsible Plan to End the War in Iraq," was unveiled at a press conference in Washington D.C. that was basically ignored by national and local media despite heavy attempts by liberal bloggers to promote the event.
So what do you do when the media ignores your press conference? You hold another press conference, apparently:
Jared Polis, joined by thirty Democratic challengers from across the country, will participate in a press conference call tomorrow to discuss the recent breakthrough policy paper, The Responsible Plan to End the War in Iraq, which has been endorsed by national security experts and retired generals.
The only coverage that Polis received locally for "The Plan" came last week when the campaign of fellow candidate Joan Fitz-Geraldfoolishly attacked Polis for flip-flopping on Iraq. Had Fitz-Gerald's campaign not said anything, nobody would have paid any attention to "The Plan" in Colorado.
We're not blaming Polis for this second press conference, because this whole thing isn't his baby, but it is a little embarrassing to try to hold a second press conference on the same exact proposal one week after it was ignored. If the press didn't care last week, they're not going to care this week.
