Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member Latest Breaking News Editorials & Other Articles General Discussion The DU Lounge All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

Takket

(23,804 posts)
Thu May 21, 2026, 06:16 AM 20 hrs ago

Colorado Democratic Party has censured Polis

NEW: The Colorado Democratic Party has formally condemned and censured Governor Jared Polis for granting clemency to Tina Peters.

Polis is hereby banned from speaking or being honored at party events.

90% of CDP central committee members voted to reprimand Polis.

Kyle Clark (@kylec.bsky.social) 2026-05-21T02:29:49.469Z


This is a good start but the DNC should follow their lead and do the same, or even better expel him from the party for this grotesque miscarriage of justice in service of a minion of drumpf.
37 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
Colorado Democratic Party has censured Polis (Original Post) Takket 20 hrs ago OP
He's been a terrible disappointment JBTaurus83 20 hrs ago #1
What else has he done FHRRK1 6 hrs ago #28
Fantastic! TurboDem 20 hrs ago #2
As much as I love and admire Michelle... GiqueCee 19 hrs ago #4
When she said that, I was in Malaysia. I just yelled out "we just lost." AZLD4Candidate 19 hrs ago #8
100 % agree. TurboDem 19 hrs ago #9
She has explained it over and over again newdeal2 19 hrs ago #11
Really? AZ8theist 6 hrs ago #30
Her husband said, "Look forward, not backwards" in regards to Cheney/Bush war crimes and corruption. displacedvermoter 18 hrs ago #12
I, too... GiqueCee 17 hrs ago #18
I love Obama but that was a big mistake MustLoveBeagles 17 hrs ago #20
As I recall Pelosi was saying that in 06 n/t FHRRK1 6 hrs ago #27
She wasn't President taking over from what was, at the time, the most evil Administration in our history... displacedvermoter 6 hrs ago #29
When the Speaker of the House comes out against it two years before taking office .... FHRRK1 4 hrs ago #32
The Buck Stops Wherever... displacedvermoter 4 hrs ago #33
that is lame FHRRK1 4 hrs ago #35
I'll personally not support going to far as the risks are far to high. cstanleytech 18 hrs ago #13
Polis is hereby banned from speaking or being honored at party events. Cha 19 hrs ago #3
I don't know why he didn't hold the line MustLoveBeagles 17 hrs ago #21
It is important to remember this was not some minor transgression of youth. Bluetus 3 hrs ago #36
TY for Pointing All That OUT!.. Exactly. Cha 2 hrs ago #37
That's a good start CDP. Buddyzbuddy 19 hrs ago #5
Imagine Deathsentence or Abbott doing this for a Dem. House of Roberts 19 hrs ago #6
Good. Humiliate him. Indyfan53 19 hrs ago #7
So now what? Maybe he quits the party? FakeNoose 19 hrs ago #10
I wonder if he'll lose any future support for running for any office in the future from them as well. cstanleytech 18 hrs ago #14
If he tries to run for US Senate in the future, he will be crushed in the Democratic primary. This is far from his only Celerity 17 hrs ago #19
GOOD! spanone 18 hrs ago #15
I can't even begin to tell you how pissed off I was when he did that. diverdownjt 18 hrs ago #16
Good riddance to a bootlicking coward. dalton99a 17 hrs ago #17
Yeah but Dump got his way Clouds Passing 16 hrs ago #22
He's a Libertarian Aepps22 15 hrs ago #23
I'm impressed by CO Dems fujiyamasan 13 hrs ago #24
It's a problem we never seem to solve JBTaurus83 7 hrs ago #25
Super proud of our Secretary of State! colorado_ufo 5 hrs ago #31
MaddowBlog-Colorado's Polis faces bipartisan pushback after commuting Tina Peters' sentence LetMyPeopleVote 6 hrs ago #26
Mealy-mouthed and spineless wolfie001 4 hrs ago #34

JBTaurus83

(1,686 posts)
1. He's been a terrible disappointment
Thu May 21, 2026, 06:28 AM
20 hrs ago

On so many issues. It’s obvious he’s bought and paid for.

TurboDem

(369 posts)
2. Fantastic!
Thu May 21, 2026, 06:37 AM
20 hrs ago

We need to keep fighting the magats as best we can and not let up! No more going high when they go low.

GiqueCee

(4,761 posts)
4. As much as I love and admire Michelle...
Thu May 21, 2026, 07:03 AM
19 hrs ago

... "When they go low, we go high" was not her best moment. But then, that was probably her speech writer's contribution. If we're talking lofty principles of statecraft, sure, but when we're in a do-or-die battle with psychopaths, and trying to survive in a blood puddle, as we are now, sound bites won't save us.

TurboDem

(369 posts)
9. 100 % agree.
Thu May 21, 2026, 07:45 AM
19 hrs ago

I love and admire her too, but that's one line in her speech she should have crossed out.

AZ8theist

(7,643 posts)
30. Really?
Thu May 21, 2026, 08:21 PM
6 hrs ago

I would imagine in the smoke-filled back rooms of the Reich Wing strategists, they were laughing their collective asses off at us for, ONCE AGAIN, bringing a butter knife to a gun fight. They knew they could get away with almost anything. The current level of corruption proves that point.

I think that comment costed us A LOT. But most of it, like Doturds corruption, remained unseen.
I'm only speculating, of course, but I don't think it's too much of a stretch to imagine what the fascists thought and how they proceeded.

displacedvermoter

(5,011 posts)
12. Her husband said, "Look forward, not backwards" in regards to Cheney/Bush war crimes and corruption.
Thu May 21, 2026, 08:01 AM
18 hrs ago

That was the day "we lost", to be honest.

GiqueCee

(4,761 posts)
18. I, too...
Thu May 21, 2026, 09:03 AM
17 hrs ago

... was disappointed with the decision not to at least pursue investigating Dubya's and Cheney's crimes. "Backwards" is the only way you can look when assessing whether or not something that has already happened is, in fact, a crime.
But, as I recall, that issue arose early in his first term, and going up against the monolithic Republican establishment might have been one of those "choose your battles wisely" moments. But we are still living with the consequences of letting those fuckers strut off into the sunset without being held to account for their blatant transgressions.
That can't be allowed to happen this time, no matter how much the senior citizens in Congress might waffle. And, being a senior citizen myself, I'm entitled to make that observation. So there.

displacedvermoter

(5,011 posts)
29. She wasn't President taking over from what was, at the time, the most evil Administration in our history...
Thu May 21, 2026, 08:09 PM
6 hrs ago

FHRRK1

(142 posts)
32. When the Speaker of the House comes out against it two years before taking office ....
Thu May 21, 2026, 09:53 PM
4 hrs ago

do you immediately create a fight with your own Speaker of the House, during an economic meltdown?

Look, we agree on the fact that W and Cheney should have been fully investigated, same with Reagan/Bush I team.

We can't make that mistake again. But if Jeffries comes out in November of '26 and states we need to look forward, then the problem originates with Jeffries.

cstanleytech

(28,600 posts)
13. I'll personally not support going to far as the risks are far to high.
Thu May 21, 2026, 08:25 AM
18 hrs ago

A perfect example of the risks is the Republicans Southern Strategy and we are now seeing how much it's transformed them into an almost cult like party.

Cha

(320,689 posts)
3. Polis is hereby banned from speaking or being honored at party events.
Thu May 21, 2026, 06:58 AM
19 hrs ago

Oh, they're mad like we are. Polis would rather appease PEDO than be Honored by Dems.

NEW: The Colorado Democratic Party has formally condemned and censured Governor Jared Polis for granting clemency to Tina Peters.

Polis is hereby banned from speaking or being honored at party events.

90% of CDP central committee members voted to reprimand Polis.

Kyle Clark (@kylec.bsky.social) 2026-05-21T02:29:49.469Z


I'm so glad I saw this.. Good on Colorado Dems! Born and Raised in Denver.

Mahalo, Takkert

MustLoveBeagles

(17,316 posts)
21. I don't know why he didn't hold the line
Thu May 21, 2026, 09:37 AM
17 hrs ago


He was winning by doing that. I don't understand what's to be gained by this? He either took a bribe or his family was threatened.

Bluetus

(3,092 posts)
36. It is important to remember this was not some minor transgression of youth.
Thu May 21, 2026, 11:43 PM
3 hrs ago

Peters was an operative in a campaign to reverse engineer voting systems. This happened in multiple jurisdictions as a highly coordinated effort and it culminated in August 2024 with Trump declaring that Musk knows more about the "vote counting computers" than anybody else alive. And in particular, the ESS DS300 which is used in thousands of polling places in the 7 swing states. Perhaps she was just a cog, a very stupid cog, in the big wheel. But what she did was treasonous. And pardoning her is equally treasonous.

Cha

(320,689 posts)
37. TY for Pointing All That OUT!.. Exactly.
Fri May 22, 2026, 12:02 AM
2 hrs ago

The Verdict was Not "too severe"...

Are they kidding us, right now! JHC.

Freaking Gaslighting.

Buddyzbuddy

(2,915 posts)
5. That's a good start CDP.
Thu May 21, 2026, 07:12 AM
19 hrs ago
Keep it up. It won't clean up his mess but it puts everybody else on notice.

House of Roberts

(6,641 posts)
6. Imagine Deathsentence or Abbott doing this for a Dem.
Thu May 21, 2026, 07:29 AM
19 hrs ago

Can't? Then that's why Polis deserves this.

FakeNoose

(42,445 posts)
10. So now what? Maybe he quits the party?
Thu May 21, 2026, 07:48 AM
19 hrs ago

Good for the Dems to do this now before it goes one step further.

cstanleytech

(28,600 posts)
14. I wonder if he'll lose any future support for running for any office in the future from them as well.
Thu May 21, 2026, 08:27 AM
18 hrs ago

S

Celerity

(54,907 posts)
19. If he tries to run for US Senate in the future, he will be crushed in the Democratic primary. This is far from his only
Thu May 21, 2026, 09:12 AM
17 hrs ago

bad choice. He also was a centrist No Labels Problem Solvers Caucus member in the US House. Being a member of that bi-partisan group is always a huge red flag for me.

That group (No Labels was led for years by woeful Joe Lieberman) is far too often a force for bad outcomes/votes/stances/blockage against the vast majority of other Democrats, whether they are in the House or, in some cases, have moved on to higher office, like Polis or Sinema (ex US Senate) or now, far too often, Jacky Rosen (NV US Senator who has had multiple bad bad votes), etc.

Manchin and Sinema from the Senate worked/coordinated with the Problem Solvers (led for years by the oh-so-problematic Josh Gottheimer in the House) to block all but $987 billion out of $6.1 trillion of new spend in President Biden's 2 giant infrastructure bill frameworks during the first 2 years of Biden's first term. An 84 per cent destructive reduction in new spend.

So many vital programmes were either completely torn out or massively gutted. The already profoundly reduced human infrastructure BBB bill was then completely destroyed by Manchin in the Senate (the IRA that passed later was a pale imitation). Those wrecker/slash-and-burn actions played a major role in us losing the POTUS election in 2024.

diverdownjt

(748 posts)
16. I can't even begin to tell you how pissed off I was when he did that.
Thu May 21, 2026, 08:41 AM
18 hrs ago

I mean we finally had one behind bar's for voter fraud...the one thing they yell and scream about...
Proof that it was not us committing fraud...but just more projection from the acolytes of DFT(donald fucking t-rump).
And my Gov. let's her go. This is the kind of self defeating shit that Dem=s have got to stop.

Aepps22

(414 posts)
23. He's a Libertarian
Thu May 21, 2026, 10:56 AM
15 hrs ago

Polis was always a libertarian and used the party to win his position. He is very wealthy and kind of exposed himself during the pandemic. It seems like the wildfire relief funds from FEMA were finally approved but the price is extremely high and not what I voted for. Polis doesn’t care about anyone. I keep saying that if he truly believes what he was saying why did he wait to do this during the legislative session? We all know the answer which speaks to his grift and cowardice.

fujiyamasan

(2,058 posts)
24. I'm impressed by CO Dems
Thu May 21, 2026, 01:00 PM
13 hrs ago

This was pretty swift. Openly condemning this and censuring a governor of the same party shows how fed up the party is with him.

I wouldn’t be surprised if he just becomes an independent at this point. Either that or he stays as a Dem and basically acts like Fetterman bashing the party the entire time for hurting his fee fees.

JBTaurus83

(1,686 posts)
25. It's a problem we never seem to solve
Thu May 21, 2026, 07:42 PM
7 hrs ago

We always end up with these sell out grifters right when we need unity the most.

colorado_ufo

(6,263 posts)
31. Super proud of our Secretary of State!
Thu May 21, 2026, 09:16 PM
5 hrs ago

Jena went before the Supreme Court arguing to keep Trump off the ballot because of January 6. She is now fighting to keep our mail ballots! She is a champion and amazing, brilliant and well-spoken with a steel spine! She fought to keep Peters in prison.

LetMyPeopleVote

(182,160 posts)
26. MaddowBlog-Colorado's Polis faces bipartisan pushback after commuting Tina Peters' sentence
Thu May 21, 2026, 07:57 PM
6 hrs ago

The governor had plenty of time to come up with a defense for his decision. The fact that he pitched transparent nonsense points to an awkward conclusion.

Colorado’s Jared Polis had plenty of time to come up with a coherent defense for his Tina Peters decision.

The fact that he pitched transparent nonsense suggests that he really did succumb to Trump’s extortion efforts, but he’s reluctant to say so.
www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...

Steve Benen (@stevebenen.com) 2026-05-18T19:41:34.610Z

https://www.ms.now/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/colorado-jared-polis-tina-peters-backlash

At the outset, for example, Polis, who’s nearing the end of his second and final term, said Peters “did not commit any crimes regarding the 2020 elections.” When I heard this, I initially thought he simply misspoke, but he proceeded to repeat the claim several additional times in the same interview.

This was quite odd. The whole point of Peters’ crimes was that she was trying to substantiate false and conspiratorial claims about the 2020 election. For the governor to repeatedly tell a national television audience that her crimes were entirely unrelated to the 2020 race was bizarre.

But then he went further, telling Collins:

[Peters] has very strange beliefs. She’ll probably continue to have them. We don’t punish people in this country for having strange beliefs. … And that’s what happened here because, of her speech and what she believes, which I vehemently disagree with, and I share the passion and the emotions that so many people feel, who are outraged by the words she says. But the place to resolve those differences is by debate, by discourse, by arguing with her, with by disputing her. Not for keeping her behind bars, simply because of what she believes or says.


I don’t understand what it is that the governor doesn’t understand. No one has ever suggested that Peters should be imprisoned because of her very strange beliefs. Rather, many in both parties have argued that Peters should be held accountable because of all the felonies she committed.

This isn’t complicated. Conspiracy theorists are free to believe what they wish. It’s a free country. But when officials start using their offices to violate the public trust, literally breaking laws to advance their conspiracy theories, that’s qualitatively different....

Peters had her day in court and presented a defense. She also showed no remorse for all the felonies she committed. Her conviction, secured by a Republican prosecutor, was a no-brainer.

Polis had plenty of time to come up with a defense for his decision. The fact that he pitched transparent nonsense suggests that he really did succumb to Donald Trump’s extortion efforts, though the governor was reluctant to say so.

wolfie001

(7,976 posts)
34. Mealy-mouthed and spineless
Thu May 21, 2026, 10:41 PM
4 hrs ago

Not the type of leadership that inspires Democratic voters. Very enervating.

Kick in to the DU tip jar?

This week we're running a special pop-up mini fund drive. From Monday through Friday we're going ad-free for all registered members, and we're asking you to kick in to the DU tip jar to support the site and keep us financially healthy.

As a bonus, making a contribution will allow you to leave kudos for another DU member, and at the end of the week we'll recognize the DUers who you think make this community great.

Tell me more...

Latest Discussions»General Discussion»Colorado Democratic Party...