Blue America Welcomes Joe Miklosi (D-CO)-- Blue Collar Fighting Spirit
And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.- Jesus Christ from Matthew 19;24
Watch that video above of Colorado state Rep Joe Miklosi announcing his candidacy for the congressional seat passed from Tom Tancredo to an even further right crackpot, Mike Coffman. When he ends it with "God bless you," he means it. The first time I spoke with him, we spent more time talking about Jesus' message than I've talked about with every other candidate Blue America has ever endorsed-- not because we endorse people who don't embrace Jesus' message... just because it isn't a topic progressives usually talk about publicly. But Joe isn't "usual." As his campaign motto says, "not your ordinary Joe." Before I tell you what his favorite Bible verse is (the one above is one of mine), let me tell you how I met Joe.
Gloria Totten heads up Progressive Majority, an organization that does on the state legislature level what Blue America does on the congressional level. She told me about Joe months ago when he was considering running. "Joe is an outstanding progressive who has stood firm on the progressive issues we care most about," she told me. "He is a proven leader who is committed to building our movement for the future-- as Progressive Majority's Colorado state director, Joe helped 60 progressives win state and local office. We were proud to support Joe in his bid for the State House and I'm thrilled to back his campaign for the U.S. Congress. Trust me, Washington, DC needs more public servants like Joe-- smart, energetic, committed and passionate for the people."
For the people... and more. This is one of Joe's favorite Bible verses. It comes from the prophet Micah who Christ quoted when asked what does the Lord require of you? You probably don't hear many on the "religious" right espousing this one:
To love justice, to seek mercy, and to walk humbly with the Lord.
Joe is perfectly comfortable talking about messages from Jesus like that-- even if conservatives (see my favorite Bible verse up top) have tried to coopt Jesus for their ideology of selfishness and bigotry, greed and hatred. "This theme," Joe told me this week, "has motivated me to pursue public policy that is more fair and just for every person. It clarifies, for example, my stance to repeal the unjust ‘Don’t Ask, Don't Tell’ law because all people should be able to serve in the United States military regardless of how they were born. The aspiration toward these goals helped to inspire my sponsorship of the DREAM Act. The DREAM Act beneficiaries are good kids, who play by the rules, earn good grades point averages and want to contribute to our society. By creating educational and workforce development opportunities for students we can energize and empower individuals and families and grow our economy for all Americans."
Who would Jesus kill? Joe doesn't seem to find Jesus wanting to kill anyone. "I oppose the death penalty because we can do better as a society," he said. "We have killed innocent people as DNA testing has verified. We disproportionately kill people from communities of color, as the U.S. Supreme Court recently confirmed. A person rightfully convicted of murder or heinous act should spend the rest of their life in prison."
Prison is pretty horrible. But our business elites have behaved (badly) knowing full well that the chances that they-- regardless of what they do-- aren't likely to spend much time there. So what about Wall Street? What about OccupyWallStreet. I asked Joe what he thinks about the whole movement. His response:
"In regard to Wall Street and economic reform, I respect those that take peaceful action to advocate for an economy that rewards hard work, encourages innovation and investment in education, retools Americans, and produces livable wages.
"We can not allow Wall Street elitists to break the rules, change the rules, and keep moving the goalpost, away from hard working families. Because of Wall Street greed and arrogance in 2008, millions of families were robbed of the dreams they worked and saved for, our nation was hobbled, and the Wall Street crowd sauntered into Washington to rewrite the rules again-- to give themselves a bailout. That’s not thrift, it’s theft.
"It is amazing to see so many inspired people-- from and for various points of view-- advocating for change and a fair financial system."
We're going to have Joe over in the comments section (below) today at noon (Mountain Time, 11am here in L.A.) to talk about his campaign and why he's running for Congress. I hope you'll join us. And I hope I've presented Joe attractively enough so that you'd like to help him beat that crackpot Coffman. You can do that here on the Blue America page.
Welcome to Blue America, Joe! We're very excited to be endorsing a proven leader like yourself, especially against a lockstep Tea Party zombie like Coffman. Today we're in the middle of one of the biggest online equality efforts ever-- OccupyTheBoardroom, an offshoot of OccupyWallStreet. What do you think the message of OccupyWallStreet is and how important is that message in your own campaign and in the vision you'd like to take to Washington?
I think the amazing thing about OccupyWallStreet is that it is not a message - it is a chorus. OccupyWallStreet is cornucopia of frustrations and aspirations that are peacefully asserting a demand for change, fairness and accountability. I understand why people are angry, and they have a right to be angry. And as long as they remain peaceful, all Americans have the right to assemble and express themselves.
The vision I want to take to Washington is the vision I have fought for in Colorado. A vision that let’s every person, from every background achieve their full potential. A vision that moves us off dirty, foreign energy and toward clean, energy independence. A vision that rewards hard work and defeats those who try to change the rules and move the goal post out of reach.
I know you've been making renewable energy a major pointt in your campaign. Do voters care? Do they even know what it is? I suspect your opponent-- at least judging by his voters in the House-- thinks renewable energy is a joke. How do you talk with voters about it?
I want to make Colorado the renewable energy capitol of the country, and I want to make America energy independent. Colorado is the second sunniest and the 11th windiest state in the country. Today, we have 5,000, private sector renewable energy companies in Colorado. Approximately 15 years ago, we only had 150 renewable energy companies. I want to triple that number.
We passed over 50 incentives for solar, wind and renewable energy companies to thrive. One economic development expert told me that Colorado's unemployment rate would be 2% higher if it was not for these incentives. Just yesterday, GE Solar decided to build the largest solar manufacturing plant in Aurora, Colorado. This is a testament to the work we have done to make Colorado the renewable energy capital of the country.
Last year, we spent over $300 billion on foreign oil. That far exceeded the $240 billion trade deficit with China – and we burned the oil. When I hear the other side chant ‘Drill baby Drill,’ I want to shout them down with ‘Build baby Build.’ We could be creating thousand and thousands of jobs building a state of the are energy grid, clean, renewable energy production, and energy efficient products here in the United States.
My opponent takes his money from traditional oil companies that have undermined the U.S. renewable industry for 40 years.
Mike,
In my opinion the reason people think that renewable energy is a joke is two reason. One is the media that only reports stories that will sell. The other is that you don't see anything on television about it. Especially commercials. The oil and coal industries are spending big time and making people think that they have the answer. We have to educate people and show people how the renewables are working and that it will make us stronger as a nation. Unfortunately The local masses that don't read and educate themselves and on rely on the garbage that is their local news. I think what we need to give renewables a great leg up is to show the American people what the gains are we are making and how they work into our everyday life. Politicians are good at generalizing but buzz words aren't working anymore. Everyday people are more fed up with our Government than I think you know.
Joe,
Mike Coffman is a very well-stablished member of Colorado's Republican Party. How do you plan to address his policies and views and highlight the differences?
Thank you Zappetero,
Self described, Tea Party Caucus Member, Mike Coffman picked up the radical torch of Tom Tancredo when elected three years ago. Many in the 6th District feel their voice is not heard and their concerns are not addressed.
I’m most definitely opposed to Coffman's efforts to destroy Medicare. My opponent not only voted for the Ryan bill – he went even further to support the more radical proposal of the Republican Study Committee which the GOP House leadership fought to defeat. According to Bloomberg Report, our 6th District would be among the top ten districts in the country adversely impacted by these votes.
More recently he joined Rick Perry in calling Social Security a Ponzi scheme.
We're going to hold Coffman accountable for his record, which is far outside the mainstream - and often contrary to the very interests of our District.
While Joe is answering questions, please consider making a contribution to his campaign at the Blue America ActBlue page. Replacing a far right extremist like Coffman-- who, last time I looked at the DFA poll was the #6 most disliked congressman in America-- with a proactive and skilled progressive leader like Joe Miklosi would be epic.
I know I wrote an introduction that talked a lot about Jesus' message. I have a feeling I may have confused some people. How strongly do you feel about the constitutional imperative about the separation of church and state and, again, how does that fit into your own vision of what you'd like to accomplish for the folks in Colorado you want to represent in Congress?
I am committed to the separation of church and state. It is as imperative as our freedom of expression, freedom to assemble and freedom of the press. As a public servant, I don’t want the Government interfering with my beliefs, yours, or anyone else’s.
But I’m not afraid to talk about being raised in a family of faith. It is part of my humanity, my confidence and my strength. I am certainly not afraid to engage extremists from the other side and quote the Bible to expose a position of hypocrisy, prejudice, injustice, or inhumanity. For me, faith is not a source of self-righteous indignation; it is a guidepost for humility, justice and service.
Q) This is the district-- more or less-- that kept electing Tom Tancredo, who's one issue was always hatred of immigrants. And Coffman seems to be singing from the same songbook. You, on the other hand, have been a champion for the rights of the downtrodden and the American Dream. I know you were elected to the state legislature. But is the redrawn district looking favorable to a message-- and record-- like yours?
You are correct John. This is the former Tancredo district, and Tancredo helped propel Coffman into this office to continue their misguided social agenda.
Both Coffman and Tancredo represent a distinctly anti-Latino message. Coffman recently floated a proposal to repeal a portion of the Voting Rights Act in an effort to require English only ballots. On the other hand, I am the sponsor of the Colorado DREAM Act.
Redistricting is currently being debated in court. I am confident that our message will be very well received no matter how the lines are drawn. It may be worth noting, the proposal being argued by the Democrat side would make the district evenly distributed 1/3 Democrat, 1/3 Republican, 1/3 Unaffiliated. Under that proposal, the Latino population increases from 8 to 20 percent.
We're thrilled to have you here.
I'm curious about what you're hearing on the campaign trail from ordinary people? How do they characterize our current situation and what are they looking for from elected leaders?
Without question, people are concerned about the economy and jobs. For example, I recently talked to a gentleman named John who was making 100k two years ago, today he's looking for any job just to stay afloat. People are hurting.
The other message loud and clear is that people are tired of the bickering in DC and want serious, thoughtful, results oriented leadership.
Last year, I held two job fairs that helped approximately 20 people find a job. It was one of the most humbling and rewarding experiences. It wasn't part of my official duties as an elected officials, but it was something I could do to help people in my community.
That's the kind of servant leadership I want to bring to Washington.
Thank you for coming today, Joe. I know Colorado (and the rest of us) will be much better off with you in that seat instead of Coffman.
That said, I just got a tweet from a progressive who wants us to ask you about Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgendered & Queer issues. Where do you stand on DADT, DOMA, Equal Marriage, "It Gets Better" and Equality for all?
Your right to earn billions of dollars does not trump my right to drink pure water and breathe clean air.
I am opposed to any kind of discrimination. I believe in marriage equality, because I believe God makes us all who we are. I supported the repeal of DADT.
I am proud and grateful for the support of the LGBT community.
Coffman is clearly one of the most extremist members of Congress-- from anywhere. Do the voters in the district realize that or do they feel he's just another garden variety Republican? Is the big electoral battle in the district going to be about ideology? Or is it all about turning out your base and him turning out his? Aside from contributing to your campaign-- which people can do right here-- what can this community do to help you?
Although Coffman is less vocal than Tom Tancredo, they are cut from the same cloth. In recent weeks, it appears he is trying express a more moderate persona with voters.
We do need your help.
1) We do need your contributions
2) Please contact friends and family in Colorado
3) I'm a field guy at heart, so please come knock doors with me
4) Join my Facebook/Joemiklosi Twitter: Joe4CD6
5) Help reach out to others with the online community.
6) Please make another donation :)
Howie, the constituents I saw at Coffman's recent town hall in Castle Rock (where I live) want and expect him to be an extremist. I was disgusted by the questions and comments that were posed during the meeting. They are more concerned about impeaching Obama than they are about jobs, the economy, cuts to the social safety net. Coffman was more than willing to feed these people the tired republican talking points. I thought it would be hard to be more embarrassed about having Tancredo be my representative, but Coffman is just as big a joke. We need a change and I hope Joe can pull it off!
Joe, I know you're at a meeting of Democratic state legislators in Keystone and that you have to get back to it but I was wondering, since you're there, if you're getting any sense from your colleagues about how they see this election cycle shaping up in Colorado. Last year there was a great deal of disappointment and Democratic turnout fell drastically. Is that being remedied at all in your state?
It sure is being remedied Howie. There is tremendous enthusiasm here in Colorado. We have been working hard for 10 years to move our state from Red to Blue. This is going to be a top ten battle ground state next year.
The GOP Secretary of State has already launched efforts to discourage and disenfranchise voters. But there is a backlash and we are fighting statewide to ensure a record turnout in this coming election year.
Last year, I introduced and passed into law an online voter registration bill that 150,000 Coloradans have used to register to vote. I'm about empowering people not disenfranchising them.
My race in the 6th District will be pivotal. I am grateful for your endorsement and your support.
Hope to see you all on the campaign trail!
someone so far removed from reality that they believe and take guidance from a mythical being who lives in the sky.
This is the most important presidential election in our lifetime, please get involved!
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He's worked with the last two governors offices. He's pretty high up at the state capital. He's a graduate of Ohio State and a Veteran of the Navy. I'm going to be his Public Affairs Officer. Right now to get started, were going to get his name in the public by doing a lot of letters to the editor in the Columbus news paper and perhaps a few speaking engagements at the Rotary, American Legion, Lions, etc. What else do I need to do to start a campaign? We're looking at running in 2014.
Thanks.
"Better." It's what we should ask of ourselves and of our leaders.
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