Polis has been responding to candid questions and colorfully worded comments. Polis pleads on Reddit for followers

A competition among House Democrats for social media super-stardom has got one congressman fishing for followers on Reddit — and taking heat for not working instead.

Rep. Jared Polis took to the social news Web site on Monday to promote his candidacy in the “Member Online All-Star Competition,” an annual contest put on by Democratic Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) in which lawmakers compete to gain the most new Facebook likes, Twitter followers and YouTube subscribers over a three-week period.


Ever since posting his plea, he’s been responding to candid questions and colorfully worded comments — nearly 1,000 of them, at last count.

“So if u wanna help me and give me more internet glory and karma among members of Congress, please upvote this post and most importantly like my facebook page and follow my twitter,” the Colorado Democrat wrote in the post, adding, “Isn’t it cute we have contests like this in Congress?”

A user named “empathaticbitch” didn’t think it was so cute, writing, “Honest to fu——- god, tell those a—holes in congress to cut out this stupid sh— and get some actual work done.”

“hmmm, given who controls Congress, be careful what you wish for,” Polis replied. “Getting ‘some actual work done’ could mean more SOPA/PIPA type laws or more tax breaks for special interests!”

Polis posted a photo of his dog Gia, telling readers to “if u really like her then stick ‘like facebook.com/jaredpolis if u like this dog’ all over it and post it on cute animal parts of reddit,” then added, “My doggie a karma whore!”

That set off user “hahaloser,” who went on a long rant that concluded, “Sure, the sh— this guy spews is sh— a lot of us agree with but in the end you’re still running around under him getting sh— all over yourself while he tries to get you to turn his dog into a meme for him.”

Again in good humor, Polis replied, “yeah it’s sad how i offered to memewhore poor Gia out.”

Despite these critical comments, Reddit users seemed overwhelmingly impressed that Polis was interacting on Reddit — he held an AMA, or “Ask Me Anything,” six months ago — and many pledged their support for him.

It’s paying off, according to Polis spokesperson Chris Fitzgerald, who says the congressman is in the top five overall and second in number of new Facebook likes. (Polis won the first annual competition, in 2010, and f inished 13th last year.)

Polis, who sits on the House judiciary and rules committees, has responded to questions ranging from his position on pot (“I don’t know why marijuana is illegal in the first place. Probably because it’s bad for you.”) to the quality of the chairs in Congress (“they are average. Leather seats. Not terrible, not comfortable.”).

Polis is a regular user of Reddit, according to Fitzgerald, and described himself in the recent Reddit post as an opponent of the SOPA bill that led Internet sites to black out in protest.

“As a younger Democrat, he’s always been someone who understands the importance of social media and connecting with constituents one-on-one,” Fitzgerald said.

As of noon on Tuesday, Polis had 13,615 Facebook likes, 17,009 Twitter followers and 39 YouTube subscribers.

Asked by a Reddit user what he plans to do with all of his new followers, Polis wrote, “Manipulating the minds of followers and likers through subliminal programming to create an army to take over the world (duh).”