Resistance Radio: U.S. Congressman Jared Polis Hosts Boulder Town Hall

Rep. Jared Polis held a town hall at Boulder’s Glenn Miller Ballroom on Friday April 7th. As KGNU’s Roz Brown reports, Polis began his remarks by addressing the bombing of Syrian airfields last week. He said did not approve of what the Trump administration called a retaliatory action after the Syrian government was accused of using a chemical gas against its own people. Polis said he wants to help more Syrians escape the horrors of war.

“America always likes to pick a side but it’s a very complicated situation on the ground there,” said Polis. “You have ISIS and you have Bashar Hafez al-Assad and other rebel groups we think are somewhat sympathetic to us but it’s why I voted against arming moderate rebels in the past because I believe much of what we provided to them would end up in the hands of terrorists or the Assad regime. And that’s why I’m critical of this strike – first it’s an abuse of power because the war powers because Trump did not consult with congress and get permission for before engaging in an act of war.”

Jared Polis represents Colorado’s 2nd Congressional District and took a broad range of questions from a mostly friendly audience. An attendee named Beatrice was wearing a ‘RESIST’ T-shirt and said her goal is to hold President Trump accountable.

“I am disgusted with Trump because we’re spending way too much money on his entertainment and he’s not being held responsible.”

Polis addressed that issue of accountability by saying he’s deeply concerned about the integrity of the people who are close to President Trump administration and even Trump himself.

“That’s why I continue to push for an independent commission to issue a full report on the Russian connections,” said Polis. “If there was no wrongdoing or collusion the American people need to know that too.”

Polis also addressed domestic issues in his Boulder town hall saying the Affordable Care Act is not perfect and can be improved on even Republicans would stop blocking legislation to make changes.

“On environmental issues there’s a lot to worry about,” said Polis. “President Trump has already exercised every bit of his executive authority to undo everything that President Obama did – methane, clean coal – and President Obama had to move forward using his executive power on those issues because he wasn’t able to get congress to act.”

Polis said he was hopeful that tax reform and infrastructure could be approached in a bi-partisan fashion.

Polis also told a young boy named Alex that he will work hard to limit Trump’s proposed cuts to PBS Kids and believes Democrats have a fighting chance because there’s such broad popularity for the Public Broadcasting System but warned some level of cuts are probably inevitable.