The Denver Post that ending the dysfunction in Washington should be a barometer for selecting a candidate in this year’s U.S. Senate race. In fact, as we face a profound new set of 21st century challenges, whom we send to Washington matters now more than ever. Unfortunately, applying this rationale, the board came to the exact opposite conclusion it should have reached when it endorsed Cory Gardner.
I have watched Mark Udall effectively and passionately fight for Colorado in the U.S. Senate. He rejects partisanship in favor of working across the aisle to stand up for Colorado families, and hasn’t hesitated to buck his own party. He’s used this approach to get things done.
After several years of historic natural disasters — from wildfires to floods — we’ve come to count on Udall to lead the efforts to ensure our communities have the support they need to recover and better prepare for the threats we face next. He led efforts to secure $770 million in flood recovery funds and is strengthening the way we respond to wildfires by emphasizing prevention efforts that will save lives, property, and tax dollars. He also pushed the administration to upgrade our aging air tanker fleet so we can respond to modern megafires with 21st century technology.
His doggedness in standing up for Colorado’s wind energy industry saved the state thousands of good-paying jobs and ensured that we continue to lead the nation in developing our clean energy economy. The same is true for the ski industry, which has expanded recreation activities and summertime job opportunities thanks to a law that Udall passed.
As a member of the House, Udall established the James Peak Wilderness Area, protecting 14,000 acres of some of our most scenic land in Gilpin and Grand counties. He also worked across the aisle to establish the Rocky Flats Wildlife Refuge, cleaning up the former nuclear site and preserving 4,000 acres of wild land near Denver.
Udall is a staunch defender of the rights and freedoms we cherish as Westerners. We’ve seen him at his best standing up to the administration for spying on Americans. On the Intelligence Committee, Udall has taken on the NSA and CIA when they violated our constitutional values.
And when it comes to our debt, Udall has worked across the aisle to end wasteful earmarks and supports a constitutional amendment requiring Congress to balance its budget and bipartisan proposals to put our country’s fiscal trajectory back on track.
In all of his work, Udall has approached his job as our U.S. senator with honesty, integrity and dignity, and has always fought against the dysfunction the editorial board so wisely condemns.
I’m less certain about Udall’s opponent. Congressman Cory Gardner, who I like personally, voted 55 times alongside the Tea Party to take away quality health care insurance from 441,000 Coloradans (not to mention the 2.25 million who can no longer be denied health care because of a pre-existing condition) with no serious alternative to offer them; voted to deport DREAMers, children who know no other home than the United States; voted against ensuring equal pay for equal work; voted to take away women’s rights to make their own health care decisions; and voted to shut down the government when Colorado needed it most.
Gardner chose to cast these votes. In doing so, as The Post has reported, Gardner earned the 10th most partisan voting record in the House, more extreme than even Rep. Michele Bachmann.
There are two broad categories of people in Washington: those who embrace and add to the dysfunction, because it serves their ideological convictions or gives them an opportunity to star on the cable news, or both; and those who are actually trying to save the place. They’re looking for areas of compromise to break the gridlock and move us forward.
I love our country, and I’m very worried about the extremes in our politics. There are plenty of people in Washington who are contributing to the problems, but Mark Udall certainly is not one of them. We need him to continue representing Colorado’s political diversity, common sense, and focus on the future.
Democrat Michael Bennet is the junior senator from Colorado.
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