Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, a Democrat finishing out his final term who has at times found himself at odds with his party on key national issues, says the best way to understand his politics is that he is “pro-freedom.”
That extends to more benign issues like allowing kids to operate lemonade stands without a permit, to larger concerns like legalizing so-called “magic mushrooms,” which Polis supported, and vaccine mandates, which Polis opposes.
“I’m pro-vax, me and my family are vaxxed,” Polis told “CBS Evening News” anchor Tony Dokoupil. “I don’t think the government should force you to get vaxxed. … So, pro-freedom.”
Asked Monday about the recent changes to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s guidance on childhood vaccines, recommending fewer immunizations than were previously suggested, Polis said, “Those are recommendations, obviously.”
“We [Colorado] use some of the national recommendations, that, you know, again, it’s up to each parent to make that decision for their kids,” Polis said. “It’s good to put the best possible information in front of people. In most cases, getting vaccinated is the best way to protect your health and your kid’s health.”
The American Academy of Pediatrics has called the CDC’s changes dangerous and said it would continue giving its own guidance.
Asked how Democrats can win back voters who chose to support President Trump because of his campaign promises to give Robert F. Kennedy Jr. a major role in his administration, Polis told CBS News, “I think Democrats should be the party of health.”
He said a main component of that is making health care more affordable, but he lamented that Democrats have not been as vocal about issues like “the dangers of highly processed foods,” healthy school meals, and insecticides, as some Republicans have been.
“Remember, it’s nobody’s goal to have to have health care. It’s your goal to just stay healthy, and a lot of that comes down to diet, nutrition and exercise,” Polis said. “And it shouldn’t he a partisan message. Colorado has the lowest obesity rate of any state. We’re proud of that. We have a great outdoor lifestyle. That’s something that we should really take across the country.”
Asked how far his “pro-freedom” stance goes, Polis said, “I’m not an anarchist.”
“We have rights. Fundamental rights. … When you’re minding your business and doing your own thing, really, the government shouldn’t interfere,” he said. “When you start interfering with your neighbors and those around you, there’s a very appropriate role of government to step in and say, ‘They deserve their freedom too.'”
Polis’ interview comes amid the Trump administration’s attempts to deny Colorado and some other Democratic-led states billions of dollars in social service funding over allegations of fraud — allegations that have, in part, led to the surge of federal agents in Minneapolis, where an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer shot and killed Renee Nicole Good last week.
“We welcome any way to look at fraud and defeat it. I mean, we see the federal government as a partner in that,” Polis said. “Freezing it [the funding] before they found any fraud, that’s really inappropriate.”
“We have one of the lower fraud rates of any state,” Polis said. “Every state’s going to have some misuse of funds. We have one of the lower ones.”
Polis said that, during his time in office, national politics have become “more vitriolic.”
“To step down to the level of personal attacks and undermine the motives of others is really what’s dangerous in today’s society,” he said. “What bothers me the most is the huge gap in perceptions of what Democrats think Republicans believe and what Republicans think Democrats believe. Most Americans are good, honest, hardworking Americans who want to make their country a better place. And we need to celebrate that commonality.”
Polis said he believes the two parties often work better at the state level than at the national level, and noted that about half of all Coloradoans don’t even belong to a political party. He touted the success of direct democracy, such as ballot initiatives that led to the legalization of marijuana and psilocybin mushrooms in the state, as well as measures such as ranked choice voting, which Denver and Boulder both use for their mayoral elections.
“I think a multi-party system would be healthier in many ways,” he said of America’s de facto two-party political system.
