A Nuanced View From Colorado

Gov. Polis has done a reasonably good job, in my view, to steer Colorado through the turbulent ’20s thus far. He is popular in our state for a reason. But I think this article — which was, with respect, much more of a puff piece than a serious profile — could have greatly benefited from the perspective of actual Coloradans, as opposed to voices like George Will *68 and Mitch Daniels ’71. As much as he or his allies might downplay it, Polis’ immense wealth absolutely shapes his views, such as his libertarian fervor for “getting rid of [our] state income tax,” a proposal that would lopsidedly benefit those who are as wealthy as he is and for which he’s offered no detailed revenue-neutral answers. He has also not done much to put forward achievable solutions to our state’s extraordinary housing and cost-of-living crises. That said, I will certainly commend him for his willingness to buck party lines and his stated disdain for ideological thinking. He is a great credit to our state in that he’s a governor who’s not constantly doing or saying embarrassing things that grab headlines; if he makes them at all, it’s about his popularity and general effectiveness as a politician. He’s a faithful family man and a successful business owner several times over, which is much more than can be said for certain leaders.

I believe in holding politicians to account for their successes and their failures, particularly ones, like Polis, who will be running for president in the near-ish future. (He can’t say it out loud yet, but there’s zero question that he’ll be running in 2028.) I think his so-called “pragmatic” brand of politics, while a bit self-serving, will probably appeal to a broad swath of the electorate. He’ll be at least as good, if not better, a choice as most others who have come to the fore lately. I voted for him twice already and suspect I might do so again someday.