Colorado politics has officially reached clown-car altitude: Governor Jared Polis used the enormous, serious power of clemency in the Tina Peters case, got censured by his own party, and then showed up on a Democratic Party Zoom with tape over his mouth like he was auditioning for Martyr Mime No. 3. (denver7.com)
This is what happens when Colorado’s ruling class confuses governance with performance art.
Denver7 reports that Polis commuted Peters’ prison sentence on May 15, after pressure from President Donald Trump. Peters, the former Mesa County clerk, had been sentenced to nine years for a scheme to copy the county’s election system. The Colorado Democratic Party’s central committee then voted 89.8% to censure Polis, saying his decision “materially harmed” the party’s credibility and efforts to defend democratic institutions and election integrity. (denver7.com)
The censure bars him from being an honored guest, featured speaker, or official party representative at Democratic Party events, including the Obama Gala and DemFest. So naturally, Polis responded not by making a serious constitutional argument, not by explaining clemency like an adult governor with staff and stationery, but by appearing on an internal party Zoom with tape over his mouth. (denver7.com)
Fantastic. Very statesmanlike. Really screams “stable steward of executive power” and not “student council president losing a group chat.”
Let’s be clear: this does not require turning Tina Peters into a folk hero or diving face-first into election-conspiracy swamp gas. That is not the point. The point is that clemency is one of the biggest powers a governor has. It is not a branding exercise, a vibe check, or a clever way to triangulate between Trump pressure and Colorado Democrats having a meltdown.
If Polis thought commuting her sentence was defensible, he should defend it. Say why. Stand there. Take the heat. Explain the principle. That is the job. Governors do not get to use the big-boy powers and then retreat into arts-and-crafts hostage cosplay when the party gets mad.
But the Democrats do not get to pretend they are shocked either. This is the machine they helped build: executive power when convenient, party loyalty when useful, “democracy” rhetoric whenever the fundraising email needs a cape. Now their political brand manager made a brand-management decision they hate, and suddenly everyone is clutching pearls like the Norms Department just discovered fire.
Their own motion says the clemency damaged institutional credibility. Fine. Then say what the standard is. Say whether the problem is clemency, Trump’s pressure, Peters herself, the timing, the message, or the political embarrassment. Because right now it looks less like a principle and more like a family fight at the country club where everyone keeps yelling “democracy” while hiding the silverware.
Meanwhile, normal Coloradans are watching the people who lecture everybody about norms turn state government into a passive-aggressive Zoom skit.
The same state where families are getting mauled by housing costs, fees, crime, bad roads, and bureaucrats who regulate life like a hobby somehow has endless energy for elite political theater. Denver and Boulder’s ruling class can’t fix basic trust in government, but they can absolutely produce a melodrama with props.
Colorado deserves better than a governor playing taped-mouth martyr and a party pretending it just discovered consequences.
If this is leadership, the circus owes the state an apology for the comparison. fileciteturn0file0
Source: Denver 7
Just Stop It
Add comment