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October 08, 2009 06:17 PM UTC

A Microcosm of Why Betsy Markey Will Be Tough to Beat

  • 43 Comments
  • by: Colorado Pols

(What plays well in an election year? How about: I got credit card companies to not raise your interest rates? – promoted by Colorado Pols)

UPDATE: Today Discover has pledged not to raise rates for its cardholders. CNN gives more great pub to Markey.

We’ve said before that Democratic Rep. Betsy Markey will be tough to beat in 2010 even though she represents a Republican-leaning district. The main reason: She’s been very smart about how she votes and what issues she tackles publicly.

Case in point is Markey taking on credit card companies for raising rates significantly before reform legislation takes effect next year. Markey appeared on CNN last night to discuss the issue, and don’t think this kind of thing doesn’t play very well among average voters — no matter which political party they belong to.

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43 thoughts on “A Microcosm of Why Betsy Markey Will Be Tough to Beat”

  1. 1.  Looks.

    2.  Intelligence.

    While the former does not matter in representing the home folks (besides picking up a few fantasizing old men votes) the latter is crucial. If MM had put aside some her ideology, listened, and changed course as needed, she’d still be there.  

    1. She focused on issues that most people didn’t really care about. Everybody has an opinion on gay marriage, but most people don’t think about it very often. But how many people worry about their credit card balances and interest rates on a regular basis? That’s why this post is such a good example of how Markey got elected, and why she is in the driver’s seat for re-election. It’s not rocket science — focus on the issues that voters care about, and you’ll be rewarded.  

    2. How else does one explain the Palin phenomenon? Markey’s looks, exactly the type favored by Rs, certainly don’t hurt her in her R leaning district though, do they? And nobody likes being soaked by credit card companies. Bet she’ll do fine in 2010.  

  2. and yeah, this is an issue that needs a light shined on it. Markey couldn’t have picked a better or more popular abuse to tackle.

    Bank of America did the same thing to me last spring–I’ve never missed a payment in 5 years, I always pay $100 more than the minimum due and yet, my rate went from 10.9% to 21.9% with no reason or excuse offered.

    I called them, pitched a fit and they reduced it back to my original interest rate but I honestly think timing had everything to do with it–I happened to call them the same day that Obama had a speech attacking credit card companies for this shitty practice and if I remember right, it was the same day the legislation passed.  

    1. She’s a one-termer.  She’s in a red district, and with unemployment at 10% or 11% by November 2010, nobody will care what kind of fake-ass “edict” she gave the CC companies.

        1. Never had it to begin with.

          🙂

          Come election time, inside baseball becomes irrelevant.  Nobody will be able to get away with blaming Bush if the economy is still crappy in 2010, especially if the dollar takes as big of a dump as it looks like it might.

  4. I agree that Markey is a terrific candidate – speaks with confidence, easy going, and accomplished

    However – healthcare is killing you guys (Democrats) and I don’t even know if Markey can escape that shadow

    In addition, Tom Lucero and Cory Gardner are TERRIFIC candidates – great senses of humor and both easy going – most importantly, they’re both GENTLEMEN, so you definitely won’t see any rightwing-rudeness coming out of either

    Personally, I say Markey loses, mainly because Lucero and Garner both carry themselves with deep politeness, while still carrying out intelligent points

    However – the most disturbing poll was just released by Quinnipiac (spelling?) which had something like –

    50% approving of Obama

    35% approving of House Dems

    25% approving of House Republicans

    Like I’ve said before… unlike 1994, while we (Republicans) are benefiting from Democrat screw-ups, we are SEVERELY lacking Republican leadership that is defining a vision for what we, as Republicans, can offer…. and that vision doesn’t have to be an alternative healthcare bill… it could simply be tax cuts, but nonetheless, it needs to be a VISION and it needs to be ARTICULATED

    It’s in these moments that I wish my Uncle Newt or Uncle Dubya were still running our good Party….

    1. Until you got to Uncle Dubya.

      I disagree with some of your points, but they are were rationally presented.

      You are wrong on health care.  Most polls do not show that much of the dissatisfaction is coming from the left.  The majority of Americans are to the left of the senate.  The public option regularly achieves majority support in poling.

      There has been slippage, but that is too be expected when there is so much misinformation out there.

      As to the “popular” protests, tea … promoted by Fox and the right as some broad disastisfaction with Democrats and Obama, I ask one question: how many of these people voted for Obama?  Obama campaigned on health care, this is not some secret plan sprung on the population.  Obama has seem slippage from the left more than he has seen slippage from the center because he has failed to move as aggressively as the left wanted.  Unfortunately, the process is moving in about the way I expected, but that’s because I know something about legislation.

       

      1. Good points – however, at the end of the day, EVERY Republican will be voting in 2010, whereas many Liberals will be staying home, out of dissatisfaction – that alone will make it a Republican year

        However, we’re failing to seize a major opportunity

        Regarding Dubya and Newt – American KNEW what they were voting for when those guys ran the Republican Party

        My biggest fear right now is that Unaffiliated voters don’t know what they’re voting for when they punch ‘Republican’ on a ballot

        1. It is your team’s best opportunity.

          but a specific point

          People didn’t know what they were voting for in 2000 (compassionate conservative anyone?).  Bush campaigned on mostly liberal/moderate ideas (NCLB, prescription drug benefit) and some easy to swallow conservative ones (tax cuts are really easy if you don’t care about deficits).  In 2004 it was if you vote for Kerry al Qaeda will attack us (forgetting of course that al Qaeda is going to attack us no matter what), the campaign was based on fear and a sense by the public that Bush got us in to Iraq, which the American people were starting to come around to the idea that was a mistake, but they gave him the benefit of the doubt thinking maybe he had a plan to get us out (never was a plan).

      1. If you’re trying to imply that I have a restraining order against me, then you are wrong

        I hired an attorney and defended myself – the result was a withdrawn restraining order and a review by an Eagle County Judge, in which, the entire TRO was completely vacated

        Charles Corry, PHD at the University of Colorado actually wrote about my case in an article called “ABUSES OF PROTECTION ORDERS” highlighting restraining orders and how they’re abused to slander politicians – if you search Colorado’s criminal database, you won’t find my name, as Corry highlights among many other great observations – that said, I suggest you read Corry’s good article –

        http://www.dvmen.org/dv-16.htm

        Any other questions, hotshot?

        🙂

    3. You’d have more credibility if you’d at least admit the truth from time to time. Lucero has been an absolute joke as a candidate. You could make an argument for Gardner, but Lucero couldn’t win election for dogcatcher with his current campaign.

        1. But that’s irrelevant here. He’s had almost a year to show he can be a serious candidate and hasn’t done anything. So, yes, we’re counting him out.

  5. I’m fairly non-political and I only just discovered Coloradopols.com because a friend alerted me to the anti-payday lending crusade this blog is leading. Betsey Markey is doing exactly her job as a legislator by doing something about this. It is sad that America has developed so many industries that prey upon the economic crumbling of her people. When companies profit most from the utter destruction of lives, there is no incentive for sustainable growth. Government is the ONLY body that can check this. Legislators who deny their responsibilities for this do nothing but waste time, money, and space.  

        1. You may notice that CNN has been singing the praises of Bank of America for pledging earlier this week to not raise rates. But that’s because BoA had already switched the bulk of its fixed-rate cardholders to variable rates, which means they won’t be subject to the rate-increase restrictions of the CARD Act anyhow.

          Something similar is at work with Discover, though not to the same degree as BoA. Discover this summer switched over about 2 million of its 49.2 million cardholders to variable rates, and acknowledged they were doing so to beat the CARD Act implementation. So their CEO can make today’s pledge because they’ve already taken the action they felt they needed to take. I’ll have more details in the morning on Coloradoan.com.

          Just remember that in Washington, nothing is ever quite as it seems on the surface.

          1. Not so excellent news after all. If you get a chance tomorrow morning, post a link over here to your story, will you? I’d like to read it.  

          2. How is it legal for these companies to switch consumers from fixed to variable? If they offer a customer a credit card at a fixed rate, aren’t they under a legal obligation to stay at a fixed rate?  I don’t understand how this is legal.  

              1. Thanks, Bob.

                That’s not much of a choice, when you think about it. Most people are relying on credit cards to get them through the recession and their struggle with cash flow. For most folks, to cancel the card is not an option for them so they are stuck with getting jacked with a variable rate. I’m starting to think credit card companies are the mafia of the financial industry.

                 

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