Jared Polis and Author Peter Schweizer Duke it Out in the Denver Post Editorials

COMMENTARY | The Denver Post ran an editorial that started a heated back-and-forth between Congressman Jared Polis and author Peter Schweizer. The editorial printed an excerpt from Schweizer’s book, “Throw Them All Out.” The excerpt from the book stated that Polis greatly profited from the $7 million to $35 million of dollars’ worth of BridgeHealth International shares that he bought during the period in which Obamacare was being debated. The excerpt goes on to claim that BrdigeHealth is a health care strategic consultancy that figures out ways for health care companies to cut health care costs and it offers medical tourism services. The tone of the book passage is that Polis clearly benefited financially from being an advocate of Obamacare.

This opinion pieced sparked an immediate response from Congressman Polis. He refuted many of the details in Schweizer’s passage and was quick to throw him in company “the likes” of Sarah Palin and Glenn Beck. Polis obviously wanted to make sure his liberal constituents believed him because any of his conservative constituents would have just immediately wanted to buy Schweizer’s book and learn more of what Schweizer had to say; I sure did. I was pleased to hear from Polis’ response, though, that he co-sponsored the STOCK act which would make it illegal to trade stock based on non-public information. Funny, though, according to Schweizer’s response to your response, Polis only became a co-sponsor to the bill after the Schweizer book came out and the public was made aware of this insider trading. (Funny too how the bill went from only 9 co-sponsors to 218 sponsors only after his book came out.)

At any rate, perhaps Polis’ investments were purely coincidental and he really has done nothing wrong. I certainly am not in a position to get the details that would show the truth. It is great to know that the STOCK act is being considered and that in the future, congressmen will be deterred from performing insider trading. Whether Schweizer’s assertions are true or not, they definitely riled up the congressmen enough to at least make a show that they don’t like insider trading.


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