Red, Green, and Blue

From the outset of his congressional career and more recent run for the vacant U.S. Senate seat left by two-term Republican Wayne Allard, Colorado Congressman Mark Udall (D-CO 2nd) has posed in front of wind turbines and attempted to continue the association of the Udall family with the environmental movement (Mark’s father was Morris Udall, Arizona congressman, ‘76 presidential contender, renowned environmentalist and namesake to the Udall Scholarship).

Udall, in his nine years in the House of Representatives, has cast just a single vote contrary to the League of Conservation Voters established position on any number of environmental issues (Udall’s only strike was his 2007 Farm Bill vote). He has consistently promoted the development of wind and solar energy to counteract the environmental damage of fossil fuels. More recently, however, Udall has waffled on his longstanding commitment to the environment, throwing in his lot with the “Gang of 10″. This is an important development because Udall has, until now, been known as part of the staunch opposition to offshore drilling. The “Gang of 10″, of course, are promoting increased domestic oil, gas and nuclear energy production as the solution to America’s energy crisis

Udall is running against former Congressman Bob Schaeffer, who has billed himself as an environmental steward and promoter of alternative energy and conservation, content on protecting Colorado’s environment. Schaeffer’s website attacks Udall’s record on energy and environmental policy - he does, however, omit that he has his own lengthy list of anti-environmental positions. So much so that the LCV placed him at #3 on this year’s “Dirty Dozen” list of biggest enemies of the environment - even though he hasn’t been an elected official in five years. Schaeffer was known for towing the Bush-Cheney line, even promoting millions in tax breaks for oil companies.

While the polling for the Colorado Senate race has been inconsistent at best, Udall has never trailed Schaeffer by more than a point, while opening up eight- to ten-point leads on a number of occasions. Once thought to have the election in the bag, Udall is now being forced to put more resources into his campaign. Regardless, the increased pressure on Udall, along with Schaeffer’s self-billing as a protector of the environment, make the environmental implications of the race enormous; and one can’t wonder but whether or not that was the impetus for Udall’s credibility-changing position shift.

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• Alaska Senate: Even Mark Begich Has His Flaws
  

Photo Credit: The Udall Legacy Bus Tour: Views from the Road via flickr under a Creative Commons License

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