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March 05, 2010 07:01 AM UTC

What is Jared Polis Thinking? (Part 732)

  • 44 Comments
  • by: ThillyWabbit

(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.

But Congressman Jared Polis (R?-Boulder) voted with Doug Lamborn and Mike Coffman against the $15 billion jobs bill.

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.

What say you?

Comments

44 thoughts on “What is Jared Polis Thinking? (Part 732)

    1. The bill wasn’t perfect, therefore it doesn’t matter if his vote hurts poor out-of-work people, he’ll vote against it.

      As if any bill that makes it through congress is ever perfect.

  1. they obviously didn’t need his vote, and unless he has a good story, I hope the trade was good. What kind of bills does he have coming up as a Sponsor?

    (Sorry Jared, but this scenario is a whole lot more palatable than you just don’t care about jobs!)

    1. voted for this bill. You’d think if the Dem whips allowed any sacrifice votes, it would have been Markey, or someone who really needed it.

      But it’s also possible Polis forgot for a minute that not everyone is a multi-multi-millionaire and isn’t weathering this recession with just a damaged portfolio to show for it.

      1. Well, yeah.  ALL the Democrats in the Senate did.  Except maybe the one or two who want to get reelected.  Then they voted based on their weighing of the cost and the benefits projected.

        Don’t worry.  JP probably thought it was too small.  Trust me.  He’s a progressive through and through.

  2. Maxine Waters, Jesse Jackson Jr., Raul Grijalva (Chair of the Progressive Caucus) Danny Davis, and Sheila Jackson-Lee, five of the most reliable liberals in congress were among the Democrats voting with Polis, so I’m inclined to give him the benefit of the doubt on this….

    1. A vote against the bill because it was too paltry? (But isn’t that the Jane Norton position?!) I guess it’s OK for the very liberal Dems in the House to remind leadership they’re there every once in a while … so never mind about what I said above.

      1. are typically the ones I look at when trying to figure out what is going on if I don’t know details of a bill.  Louise Slaughter is another good one to look at, but she voted with the “Yeas” on this.  My guess is that the Progressive Caucus and/or the Black Caucus were sending some sort of message with their votes…  

        1. That the Black Caucus has been the loudest and toughest on President Obama.

          Polis- voting against a bill that will help a lot of people and small businesses because you want something better is no longer an option, the cycle will change again and Dems will be out of power with nothing to show for it. Are you planning on sponsoring a bill that will do better and that has a chance at passing?

          Dem’s are too self righteous these days.  

        1. but Jared has done a really good job. Just a reminder, Jared won Adams in the primary. Joan won Jefferson and a couple mountain counties.

        1. 217-211 is not exactly an overwhelming margin, and when we send cutesy little messages with our votes rather than with, you know, e-mail or something, it feeds into Republican narrative that the only thing bipartisan about the Democratic congress is opposition to its agenda.

          1. not 217-211, which in either case, means there was some good vote counting going on.

            That is one of the more annoying things about the Democratic party that is at the same time one of the more endearing things about the party…we don’t walk in lockstep.

            Let’s be clear here, we are talking about several members casting no votes to register displeasure on some aspect of the bill when they, in reality, made no difference to the final outcome.  We are not talking about a Joe Lieberman jetting off to Minneapolis to give a keynote address to the opposing party’s convention, then touring around campaigning with the opposing party’s presidential candidate and then being rewarded with a Chirmanship of a Senate committee when the Senate is back in session.

            1. It’s a perception issue, when Dem’s vote against perfectly find bills it plays into the Republican play book essentially saying that even Dem’s are against the way things are being done in Washington.  

  3. Maybe the jobs they plan to create are:

    “Just say NO”/ Absinence only Educator(?) Medical marijuana narcotics officers(?)

    Pray-away-the-gay “therapists”(?)

    Tea party grass-roots organizers(?)  

    Sarah Palin’s personal tutor(?)

    John McCain’s dance instructor(?)

    Anne Coulter’s rent-a-date(?)

  4. No floor statement, no press release, no Facebook post.

    All I can assume is that Jared Polis, in addition to the other things, also hates rhubarb pie, vanilla ice cream, American cars, and–especially–unemployed people.

  5. In the future, simply call my office and we’ll be happy to give you the reason for any vote. I don’t check Coloradopols every day and our big press release yesterday was about Race to the Top.

    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

    1. and stated last night:

      “My guess is that the Progressive Caucus and/or the Black Caucus were sending some sort of message with their votes…”

      by: Arvadonian @ Thu Mar 04, 2010 at 21:53:14 PM MST

       

    2. Don’t worry.  JP probably thought it was too small.  Trust me.  He’s a progressive through and through.

      I need to hit the gas station for a PowerBall ticket now…

      Or maybe I don’t predict the future, I just have eyes and a relatively well-functioning brain.  You guys get all pissy about everything.  This would be like questioning John McCain’s no vote on the GI bill in ’08.  But somehow Democrats managed to whine about that one too…

      1. posted two hours before yours

        A vote against the bill because it was too paltry?

        … since we’re all claiming to be brilliant analysts by picking one of two possible reasons for his vote.

        1. Even Scott Brown

          voted for this bill. You’d think if the Dem whips allowed any sacrifice votes, it would have been Markey, or someone who really needed it.

          But it’s also possible Polis forgot for a minute that not everyone is a multi-multi-millionaire and isn’t weathering this recession with just a damaged portfolio to show for it.

          I stopped reading after that so I could reply to you.  I’m still surprised that it wasn’t the very first thing to occur to you.  When I think “Jared Polis,” I would absolutely NEVER jump to the conclusion that he would vote “No” on ANY bill for its spending or its growth of government.  The fact that a majority of the nitwits in here did just makes me chuckle…

    3. What the bill actually accomplishes. Except… will they ever be able to pull out the actual impact of it? The fed has the same problems as the state – they don’t measure the actual impact of legislation.

      Not bitching about your vote. (But I am bitching that the federal government doesn’t measure the ROI on legislation.)

      1. You are way too serious with all this deep thought on measuring. Wouldn’t it be much funner posting a bunch of stuff tearing down fellow democrats? Maybe slamming one of the best representatives we have in Congress? Make a snark comment against or at one of the few folks in Congress willing to communicate directly with voters on sites like this one? Get with the program David. (I am being facetious)

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