(Rep. Chaffetz (left wing - ha ha!) and Polis (right wing - bwaaaa-haaa-haaa!!!)
Certainly the smart folks at CNN knew what they were doing when they chose two by-every-label polar opposite new Congressmen to feature in their “Freshman Year” series. They had no way of knowing they had selected the very yin and yang of my personal political existence.
Rep. Jason Chaffetz, conservative Republican of Utah’s 3rd District – ranked the most Republican Congressional district in America by the Cook Partisan Voting Index. Until recently, I lived within an NRA rifle shot of this district since its 1983 inception.
Rep. Jared Polis, liberal Democrat of Colorado’s 2nd District – the first openly gay male elected to the House as a freshman and a resident of the semi-autonomous People’s Republic of Boulder. Recently, I moved to this district. (Not to Boulder itself, mind you – I can’t afford that – but just over the border and down the well-maintained public open space jogging trail from it.)
In the less than three months they’ve had in office, I’ve been fortunate to strike up what could pass for a constituent relationship with each. Here are some observations:
Congressman Chaffetz: Actually got me two tickets to the inauguration! (My strategy for obtaining tickets was to write to every Congressman and Senator I had ever given a campaign donation, including Chaffetz’s predecessor. Each of them summarily snubbed me – so much for the influence wielded by political contributors. Then Rep. Chaffetz came through – even though I have never contributed a dime to him. Perhaps his predecessor left him a list. Perhaps I won a random drawing. I don’t want to know inasmuch as it is more fun to chalk it up to fate.)
Anyhoo, when we got to Washington, Rep. Chaffetz was delivering his tickets personally by coming outside the Longworth House Office Building into sub-freezing weather to spare his ticket recipients the hours-long security lines. He was already becoming a media darling for sleeping on a cot in his office and leg wrestling Stephen Colbert. Several weeks later, I attended a House subcommittee hearing on an issue important to a client and saw Rep. Chaffetz stay for the entire hearing. (Unheard of if you’re not the chairman.) He also worked the room, meeting every other Congressman, every witness, and even remembering who I was. The next week, I got a thank you note for sharing my views. This guy is the Energizer Bunny of Congress.
Congressman Polis: Won my vote in November for his sensible positions on education and his real world personal business experience. He also talks about “transpartisan politics and integral thought” and makes his staffers do yoga and eat vegan meals when they’re on retreat in Boulder. I like making up words, too, and getting people outside their comfort zones is almost always a good thing. And I experienced an actual pride moment when I was on hand for Rep. Polis’s introduction at the Out for Equality inaugural ball and I was able to say, “I voted for him.” (For a more colorful account of how I wound up there to say it, see the January 21, 2009, post on this blog.)
Yin and yang. I have voted for both Democrats and Republicans. When I lived in Utah, I was probably more liberal than average. Living in this particular part of Colorado, I’m probably more conservative than average. I disagree strongly with positions taken by both Congressmen Chaffetz and Polis. I respect both Congressmen greatly for the enthusiasm and dedication they are bringing to their new jobs. I hope they can keep it up.
And I hope they realize: There’s a lot of people out here just like me.
P.S. You can see the CNN Freshman Year feature here: http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2009/freshman.year/index.html It’s kind of fun and includes both written diaries from the Congressmen and some interesting video outtakes from the cameras CNN apparently has given them to carry around. Watch the video and you can see Rep. Chaffetz get his butt kicked for the FOURTH time leg wrestling Stephen Colbert and Rep. Polis obsess about blisters because he has to wear dress shoes all day now instead of the Crocs or Birkenstocks or whatever hideous footwear is mandatory in Boulder. Previous leg wrestling butt kick episodes can be found here: http://www.colbertnation.com/video?keywords=Chaffetz+leg+wrestling
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