December 05, 2013 08:11 AM UTC

Epic Video: Rep. Jared Polis Explodes In Defense of Immigrants

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• by: Colorado Pols

Huffington Post's Ashley Alman reports, C-SPAN video above–this will wake you up on a cold morning.

Shortly after Rep. Joe Garcia (D-Fla.) recognized the Dreamers present in the gallery during his floor speech, Speaker Pro Tempore Jackie Walorski (R-Ind.) noted that it was out of order for him to announce the presence of guests in the gallery. [Rep. Jared] Polis erupted over the comment.

"You think they want to be spending their time here, Madam Speaker?" he asked. "Is that what you think? You think they want to be here in the gallery, probably traveling at their own expense to Washington? And you're saying we're addressing them, and that's what you're upset about Madam Speaker? I want you, Madam Speaker, to address the reason that they are here! They are here because our government is tearing apart their families, Madam Speaker!"

"Will the gentleman from Colorado understand all members–" Walorski began, before being interrupted by Polis.

"No, will the speaker understand that the speaker is obstructing H.R. 15 from coming to the floor? Will the speaker understand that?" he demanded. "Will the speaker understand that the speaker is preventing H.R. 15 from coming to the floor and that is why there are men and women in the gallery that potentially face deportation and their families are being torn apart? It's very simple. It's very simple. It's very simple, Madam Speaker. Very simple."

Jimmy Stewart said it best in Mr. Smith Goes To Washington: "great principles don't get lost once they come to light. They're right here; you just have to see them again." We're not sure if we've ever seen such a compelling indictment of the obstruction that has dominated national politics for the last several years. Certainly not on the floor of the U.S. House. The frustration evident in Rep. Jared Polis' voice in this case results from his longstanding support for comprehensive immigration reform, once again being stymied in the Republican-controlled House. That said, immigration reform is far from the only pressing issue to be neglected by Congress in recent years, and we have to think some of that frustration is visible here as well. Some might consider Rep. Polis' raw emotion to be an inappropriate breach of congressional decorum.

Those people in the gallery he was standing up for, and their supporters everywhere, will not.