The Colorado Republican Committee sent a mailer attacking Sen. Mark Udall’s immigration record to some registered voters this week.
In the final week of the campaign, the Colorado Republican party this week is sending some registered voters a mailer attacking Sen. Mark Udall and his fellow Democrats for failing to pass immigration reform.
What, you say?
The U.S. Senate, controlled by the majority Democrats, passed a bipartisan, far-reaching immigration reform bill last year, with Udall’s and Democratic President Barack Obama’s support. And it promptly landed in the U.S. House — controlled by Republicans — with a thud. Udall’s opponent, U.S. Rep. Cory Gardner, has not supported that bill, while saying that would provide an undefined path to legal status for immigrants in the country illegally.
The mailer does point out that for part of the time Obama has been in office (2009-2010), Democrats had a majority in both chambers of Congress. And when they had full control, “they refused to honor their campaign promise,” the mailer says.
Fair point. The mailer then says it’s time to give “a new generation of leadership” a chance.
But the lack of context on the mailer for why Democrats have failed to pass immigration reform since then — namely, fierce disagreement by the Republican House over the Senate’s comprehensive bill, including opposition to the bill by Gardner — is striking. It suggests the state party is making an attempt to sow doubt in voters who might otherwise support Udall as Tuesday’s election approaches.
It’s unclear whom the GOP is targeting with the mailer. I received the images above and below from a Latino woman who lives in Denver and is registered as an unaffiliated voter. Will recipients vote for Gardner instead? Maybe. But more likely, if the mailer affects their vote, it will be to simply sit out the election.
Owen Loftus, spokesman for the Colorado GOP, would say only that “We don’t talk about the universes we’re targeting with our mailers and advertisements.”
Here’s the other side of the mailer, which seizes on a 2005 vote by Udall:
The other side of a mailer attacking Sen. Mark Udall on immigration reform that was sent to some voters this week by the Colorado Republican Committee.
That vote nine years ago was on a border security bill that would have criminalized immigration offenses. At the time, advocates for immigrants assailed Udall and dozens of Democrats who supported it alongside Republicans. So it’s a fair attack, if dated. Udall, then a House member, but supported it anyway “because we have to make necessary investments in border security and enforcement.” Some activists have forgiven him, noting what they see as a dramatic shift on immigration by Udall since then.
The Udall campaign responded to the mailer with this comment from spokesman Chris Harris: “If Congressman Gardner thinks six days of ads can make of for a career of extreme, anti-immigrant votes, he’s even more out of touch with Colorado than I thought. While Mark Udall has fought to fix our broken immigration system, make college affordable and raise the minimum wage, Congressman Gardner has backed outdated proposals that would hurt immigrant communities, make life harder for working families, and take Colorado backward.”
Appeals to Latino voters . On Thursday night, U.S. Rep. Mike Coffman, a Republican, and Democratic challenger Andrew Romanoff will meet in the first Spanish-language candidate debate in Colorado history.
Prepping with former US Treasurer Rosario Marin for the 1st Spanish debate in Colorado history.
— Coffman for Congress (@coffmanforco)
