Maybe you have heard the joke about a man standing on his roof during a flood who refused help from people in a car, then a boat and finally a helicopter. When he drowned and went to heaven, he asked God why God did not save him? God replied, “I sent a car, a boat and a helicopter!”
Gov. Jared Polis apparently has not heard that joke.
Despite pleas from the entire Democratic legislative caucus, a Republican prosecutor, both the Colorado Attorney General and Secretary of State and the Colorado County Clerks Association — led by a Republican — last week Polis commuted the sentence of election denier and felon Tina Peters.
The reactions were swift and unrelenting. Polis drew rebukes from each of the individuals and groups above, as well as national ire. He instantly became universally reviled in his own party, among election workers and with rule-of-law Republicans.
At this point, Polis probably has to look up — way up — to see President Donald Trump’s net -33 approval rating (31% of Americans approve of Trump while 64% disapprove). And for good reason. He crossed his own party to adopt the most destructive of Trump’s autocratic policies: condoning people who would destroy our democratic elections.
Polis tried to equivocate on his actions. He tried to cloak his decision in defense of free speech and against harsh sentences. He split hairs saying he did not pardon her, only commuted her sentence. He failed miserably.
His own party immediately called for him to be censured. Over 90% of the Democratic Central Committee voted to effectively toss him out of the party. Apparently Polis found the one way to unite activists otherwise eternally locked in intraparty strife.
In a unified voice they condemned Polis and declared that he will not be honored or allowed to speak at future Democratic events; though, in retrospect, that could be a gift for our tone-deaf governor.
At a Colorado Sun event in the aftermath, Polis said his decision “will be remembered fondly” — only to have protesters unfurl an enormous banner that read “EAT SHIT POLIS” as they booed him. If he chooses to attend any Democratic event in the future, he will surely find the same type of treatment. Or worse as the vitriol grows and protesters get more creative.
Subsequently, he joked that “it meant I’d be home earlier” with his family. It sounded like the kind of glib gallows humor adopted by social pariahs before becoming permanent hermits.
Though maybe Polis might start attending MAGA rallies instead? He is likely to be canonized there. Vice President JD Vance already seized on Polis’ actions to declare Peters a perfect applicant for Trump’s $1.8 billion slush fund. Vance continued on to declare Peters “at worst … committed misdemeanor trespassing” and that “this innocent grandmother was gonna spend ten years in prison.”
So now Peters will not just have 90% of her sentence knocked off, but she is likely to get a huge paycheck out of it. I would be shocked if she didn’t receive something in the seven- to eight-figure range. And to Polis’ chagrin, there is no way that she will quietly accept it.
When Peters gets her payout for breaking the law for Trump, she will do it in a very visible, very public manner. I expect some ceremony, probably with Trump himself presenting the check personally.
He wants every one of his loyalists to understand that they cannot go too far in his defense. Fighting police, smashing windows at the Capitol, looting offices or breaking into vote tallying machines. Anything goes.
That is the real danger Polis handed to Trump and his allies. He killed accountability for those who would fight for an autocrat. And I do not mean “fight” in a metamorphic sense — I mean literally use fists and weapons.
As the country clerks pointed out in their Polis condemnation letter, Peters’ actions put election workers in harm’s way. One office has been firebombed and workers routinely receive death threats. Conspiracy theorists continue to target voting locations and vote counting centers. To a person, they will be emboldened by Polis’ commutation for Peters.
It may not take long to see the consequences. The 2026 general election is only six months away. Heeding Trump’s call to protect Republican majorities in the U.S. House and Senate, it does not take much imagination to see assaults on voters in line or armed men taking control of ballot counting centers.
Or, even worse, elected officials who simply refuse to count or certify votes in Democratic-leaning districts. Elected officials who see Peters’ example, and the leniency she received, as proof that they can help their president at the cost of our democracy.
If you think the turmoil over redistricting wars has been politically charged, just wait until millions of voters find themselves disenfranchised just to keep Trump’s lapdogs in power.
I cannot understand why Polis chose this as his legacy.
Some believe it is the ultimate act of arrogance, a lame duck governor who has always believed he is smarter than anyone else in any room. I have heard speculation that he received a quid-pro-quo, either in the form of relaxed Trump administration pressure on the state or, more cynically, promise of a cabinet post ala Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Whatever the actual reasons, there is no doubt Polis harmed our state and country profoundly. No matter what Polis says or does, that will be his enduring legacy. When our country was at its lowest, he found a way to go lower.
Mario Nicolais is an attorney and columnist who writes on law enforcement, the legal system, health care and public policy. Follow him on BlueSky: @MarioNicolais.bsky.social.
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