Liberal and Loving It

Mark Udall - Conservative Congressman

Ok, the schaffer v udall blog is tracking the number of times Mark Udall has been called conservative (presently 0). So here you go - Mark Udall is a very conservative congressman. I base this on his tireless work to conserve the environment and his extensive opposition to change (in our climate).

What do you think about the online debate?

Please give me your feedback on the online debate. Some of the questions I have are:

1. Does this debate format provide a different and useful view of the candidates?
2. Were the questions good, both for the format and did they provide answers that help illuminate each candidate?
3. Were the questions fair in that they did not favor any candidate?
4. Would you like to see something like this for most races?
5. Any suggestions for improving it?

Please, let me know what you think.

thanks - dave

Update:

To address the post by jm fay below, the debate purposely did not list the "big issues" because the format does not work well for that, both in that it only allows short answers, and the candidates would just copy & paste from their websites where they each do have comprehensive statements on the large issues we face.

Ok, so what was my approach in the questions selected? I think all three candidates are very good, we would be well served by any of them. I also think their political position on most every issue is comparable (not identical, but by and large close). So what we are left with is how they will approach the job. What issues will they concentrate on, how will they approach the job, how effective will they be.

So the questions were designed to find these differences between the candidates. I don't expect them to show one is better than the other, but I do hope they show these differences and we can use our understanding of these differences to see which approach & priorities we would prefer.

And as much as possible, I wanted questions that were not expected. It's in the having to come up with an answer fast that more of the real person pops through. So here is my grading of the quality of the usefulness of the questions (note - I came up with the even numbered questions):

1. I thought this was a great way to dig in to their health care knowledge with a question that was unexpected and could be addressed in 5 minutes. But the real interesting result was that only Will actually answered it (and with a very good answer). So we learned from this question - but not about health-care.
2. This was my favorite question, I was sure this would give us some interesting info. But I'll be damned if I can see anything to pull from this one. All 3 gave different, thoughtful, intelligent answers.
3. This was good, it showed some differences on where each first looks to increase opportunities for all.
4. This question is the root of what I was trying to illustrate in this debate. So of course asking the question directly failed. This was easily the most useless question.
5. I think this one was pretty good - both Joan and Will gave good questions and it added to the picture of how they approach life. Jared's "worst characteristic" answer was a first date kind of answer - but again, that difference is illustrative.
6. This also was very good - all 3 of them clearly showed that they can see long term historical perspective and all 3 had very good answers - yet aside from climate change which deservedly belonged on all 3 lists, they had different items. This question might be the one that best illustrated what issues they will focus their efforts on.
7. This one is superb - I think it gives a real clear set of distinctions in how they will operate. And the three of them are clearly different here.
8. Another good one - this takes us back across to what issue inspires them. There are only 24 hours in the day and this helps us see what issue each will eagerly invest time in. Again, clear differences, and all very good items.
9. This one doesn't help much. I was worried that this would get very vague answers but no - lots of specifics. However, they all pretty much said the same thing so this is in the category of we already know they would all make a good rep - and no real differences here.
10. This was not that useful - Will & Joan agree so the only interesting thing out of this question is no specifics from Jared while Joan & Will were specific.
11. Another that was not that useful. The only substantial is Joan also brings up the mental health aspect - which is significant.
12. This one I think does a pretty good job of showing the difference in their personalities. I don't know if/how that would bear on the job they would do, but it does give pictures of very different people. I do thing Jared's 5th item was clearly the most poignant.

So I'm pretty happy with the result as I think it did help quite a bit in illustrating the differences between the three. We the voters have an embarrassment of riches in this primary. It's too bad that we can't send all three to Washington - especially considering national embarrassments we have in other districts such as Marilyn Musgrave, Doug Lamborn, and the soon to be replaced Tom Tancredo.

Again, thank you to the candidates.

Question 12: Your bucket list

What’s on your bucket list? No political issues please – just the personal items.

Will Shafroth:

• I want to spend a month in the wilderness in Alaska – hiking, fishing, canoeing.
• I want to take a trip with my family to southeast Asia.
• I want to be a Peace Corps volunteer in my 60s.
• I want to learn Italian and Chinese.
• I want to skydive.
• I want to build a zero carbon emitting home.
• I want to see my son perform his music at a major concert venue
• I want to be a grandfather
• I want to help install a water system in Jalapa, Nicaragua

Joan Fitz-Gerald:
I want to see Machu Picchu, finish my reading list, especially if I can read for pleasure in the middle of the day, hold a grandchild, wander in Ireland and have great conversations around peat fires, learn to play the piano!

Jared Polis:
We are all here for a limited time, and it's important to live every moment of life to its fullest. I always strive to do that. Here are some item's on my "bucket list":

1. Play some baseball
2. Spend quality time with my family and my partner
3. Write a novel
4. Plant a tree
5. Say goodbye

Question 11: Addressing the drug and prision population

Our 11th question is from Ben Tyson:

What is your opinion, or what ideas do you have, to reform this countries drug and prison population? Do you believe that current policy unfairly and disproportionally affects minority populations (hispanics, african-americans, etc.), further entrenching cycles of poverty?

Jared Polis:
Yes, our current criminal justice system unfairly and disproportionaly affects minority populations; just look at average sentencing and it is hard to dispute.

Drug addiction is a public health issue first and a criminal justice issue second. We need to have free quality treatment options in place and treat addicts with compassion.

The United States has a higher percentage of our population incarcerated than any other western nation. This is not something we should brag about. Together we can break the cycle of poverty and incarceration by bringing real hope and opportunity to every American. (see graph)

Will Shafroth:
I do believe that we need to reform our policies and sentencing guidelines around drugs.  Far too many people end up in jail for far too long because of some relatively minor drug offenses.  This ends up costing society huge amounts of tax dollars for incarceration that could be better spent on education and mental health care and drug prevention.

The racial distribution in our prisons – very high Hispanic and African-American – reflects that we are not doing a good enough job in our society in creating equal opportunities for all our citizens. We need to focus on improving our education system so that all of our children can graduate from high school and go on to college or land in a quality job.

Joan Fitz-Gerald:
1st  this nation needs mental health parity in our health care plans.  Many in our prisons have mental health issues which they have self medicated with drugs and alcohol.  Lack of access to mental health help has exploded the prison population.  The disparity between wealthy and poor, minorities and how they are treated in our criminal justice system has become stark and extremely disturbing.  We have many prisons with no drug or alcohol treatment at all and no educational opportunities thereby assuring ourselves of recidivism rates that are extremely high especially for the poor and minorities.

Question 10: What responsibility should be returned to the states?

What federal responsibility should be pushed back to the states?, why?

Joan Fitz-Gerald:
The EPA is supposed to let states set higher standards instead they have blocked states like California from doing just that

Educational testing  was already being done by many states , the feds should have set broad guidelines but not as punitive and prescriptive as No Child Left Behind.

Jared Polis:
The states are great incubators of innovation and we can learn what works to fight poverty, educate at-risk kids, etc, at the state and local level. We should then seek to replicate proven models at the national level. The federal government should fund the un-funded mandates for states and counties, but give states and counties flexibility in reaching program goals.

Will Shafroth:
I believe that the decision-making around public education should be returned to the states.  The No Child Left Behind program has far too many unfunded mandates.   For the 8% of school funding that the federal government provides, they ask far too much from states, local school districts, schools, and teachers.  We need to return the authority for public education back to the local level – to the classroom -- so that individual student’s needs can be addressed and our children can get the quality education that they deserve.

Question 9: How will you balance the budget

Our ninth question is from G. Richard Raab:

The US deficit is now out of control. What exactly will you be pushing to balance it? While I differ with Obama and Paul about cutting back on NASA, at least they are acknowledging that hard choices MUST be made, and laying out plans. What hard choices will you as a congressperson push for? Please, lets skip the rhetoric. What new taxes and/or spending cuts?

Will Shafroth:
I would eliminate the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans.  I would also severely reduce the tax benefits for the oil and gas industry and redirect some of those dollars towards renewable energy research and development.

I would also strongly advocate a reduction in our Dept. of Defense budget, especially for new weapons’ systems.  We already spend more on our defense budget than all other nations in the world, combined.

Finally, I am a strong supporter of PAYGO, which requires Congress to pay for new programs without increasing the deficit. 

I am concerned about our ballooning debt because it places an unfair burden on our next generation of Americans. The responsible thing to do is to balance our budget and leave our children with many opportunities to invest in their own future.

Joan Fitz-Gerald:
First of all the war in Iraq has bled this country of our financial resources which previously were used here at home for infrastructure, health care and education.  The cost of Iraq and Afghanistan is estimated at 2.4 trillion dollars.  End the war, bring our troops home. Redeploy the dollars.   End the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy and the incentives for corporations to off shore operations. Use pay as-you go, any new programs have to find their own funding source so that to begin a program you probably need to end a program.  I have balanced the budget here in Colorado even when our budget slammed down by 1 billion dollars we made hard choices but kept the state fiscally sound. 

Jared Polis:

1. The war in iraq has cost almost $500 billion dollars. By some estimates including related spending, it is even higher. Ending the war in Iraq is correct morally and politically, and it will also have fiscal benefits.
2. We should roll-back most of the Bush tax cuts, including the income tax cut on the wealthiest Americans and the inheritance tax cut, returning these tax rates to what they were under Clinton.
3. Fixing Medicare and social security, two large looming unfunded liabilities. We need to ensure that Medicare and social security are here for the future by taking steps now to ensure their solvency.
4. Support procedural reforms to end the process of earmarking, which leads to unaccountable pork-barrel politics helping incumbents of both parties win re-election breaking the bank in the process

Question 8: What 1 bill

Nancy Pelosi tells you that the House will pass one bill you propose, regardless of what it does. It can not be of major import (ie not on Iraq, healthcare, energy, etc). What would that bill do? Why this specific bill?

Jared Polis:
First I would prevail upon her to let my bill be one of national importance. We need to end this war in Iraq, implement a universal healthcare system, and build a route to a sustainable energy future. What is holding our progressive agenda back? The special interests and lobbyist apparatus.

Thus I would seek a strong ethics and campaign finance reform bill that included public financing of campaigns and stronger national ethics laws. By striking a blow to the special interest system, I will make it more likely that other progressive policy changes will be subsequently passed.

Will Shafroth:
I would carry a bill that would at least triple the funding for renewable energy research and development.

I would carry this bill because this is a critical first step and commitment our nation must make if we are to slow global warming. It will also have the added effect of stimulating our local and national economies.  Finally, it will help Colorado, and especially CD 2, in continuing to play a leadership role in renewable energy.

Joan Fitz-Gerald:
I would hope to get something passed to make college more affordable.  Higher education is the ladder to success.  Student loan payback for public service after college would be a means to allow our young people to follow their dreams, pay it back by service which in turn will enhance their investment in this nation.

Question 7: How would you approach this job?

Out seventh question is from Shirley Clawson-Thielen:

How would you approach this job? What would you do in your first 60 days?

Joan Fitz-Gerald:
I would approach the job with the greatest sense of urgency.  Every day I served would be a gift of time to change the course of America.  We have no time to lose.  In the first 60 days I would read and absorb information on the committees to which I was assigned and learn House procedures.  On the weekends I would be back in the district talking to constituents and bringing that information back to DC.

Jared Polis:
I will apply the same constructive energy that I am applying to this campaign, and that I have always applied in business and education, to serving in Congress. Many members are in "cruise" mode and don't work as hard as they could, but Washington DC is made for a ready-to-go, fresh from Colorado Representative who is ready to throw himself into the progressive intellectual mix. Just as I have in Colorado, I will continue to write opinion pieces, introduce new ideas both through legislation as well as through the hearing process, and work closely with my colleagues to build coalitions to turn ideas into reality.

Will Shafroth:
I would start out by creating relationships with other members of congress so that I would be in a position to get things done as the months and years proceeded. 

I would then work to implement my plan that will:

• Establish a cap-and-trade system with benchmarks, including (1) stabilizing greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S. within two years of enactment, (2) reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 40% by 2020, and (3) reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 90% by 2050.[i]
• Require carbon emitters to pay for carbon permits.
• Institute a carbon emissions fee to supplement a cap-and-trade system to cover areas a cap-and-trade program will miss.
• Reinvest in America: A cap-and-trade system would generate hundreds of billions of dollars. This money should go to at least tripling our investment in research and development for renewable energy and minimizing the impacts of the program on low income families.

I would also become a strong voice for getting the U.S. out of Iraq and fully funding the SCHIP.

Question 6: In 100 years...

In 100 years what will the history books say were the top 3 challenges this country faced at this point in time? Why those 3?

Will Shafroth:

1. Global Warming. We now know how serious the problem of global warming is and we know how fast and aggressively we must act.  The question remains, will we have the courage and leadership necessary to effectively slow and hopefully stop the effects of global warming.
2. Health Care.  We have fallen far behind other industrialized nations in providing our citizens to quality and affordable health care and our citizens are not as healthy as citizens in many other countries.  In order to be a great nation, we must improve the health of our citizens.
3. Ending the war in Iraq and regaining our reputation in the world.  We have to re-emerge as a leader in the world by relying more on our ability to get other countries in the world to work with us on international security, global warming, ending poverty, and world health. 

Joan Fitz-Gerald:

1. Assaults on the Constitution, when fear allowed us to disregard the document that made this country so special.
2. Global warming a challenge we can still meet but time is running out to get this crisis under control.  If we don’t the world will look vastly different for our children and grandchildren. 
3. Globalization , the challenge of maintaining the American standard of living.

Jared Polis:

1. Global climate change
   The impact of global climate change and what actions we take now to reduce carbon emissions will have a major impact on the next century and beyond.
   My plan to reduce global carbon emissions is here:
   http://www.polisforcongress.com/assets/2007/9/21/Policy-GlobalWarming.pdf
2. Technological innovation
   Rapid advances in sectors such as nanotechnology and genetic engineering, and the public policy framework around them, are a major challenge that the United States faces in the next 100 years.
3. Prevention of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction
   The Bush administration's approach of  threatening and invade countries in an attempt to prevent the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction must yield to international cooperation to help prevent weapons of mass destruction from getting into the hands of rogue nation states or terrorists.

Question 5: What is your best and worst characteristic?

Our fifth question comes from Todd Hollar:

What would your best friend say is your best and worst characteristic?

Jared Polis:
My best characteristic is my creativity and innovation. Congress is in dire need of new ways of thinking, and I will introduce new ideas and passionate advocacy to a somewhat staid body.

My worst is that I am genuinely nice, and in the business of politics that can potentially hold someone back. I don't pursue vendettas, hold grudges, and will work happily with people in any political party to make the country and world a better place.

Will Shafroth:
He would say that my best characteristic is to maintain my sense of humor under all conditions, no matter how stressful.

He would say that my worst characteristic is that I always want to stay out and fish until after dark, making it somewhat dangerous to find our way back to the car or our campsite.

Joan Fitz-Gerald:
Best characteristic – I fight for what I believe in.  Worst Characteristic – I see the glass half full, I’m Irish!