Michael Bennet, the junior U.S. Senator who has leap frogged Mark Udall in the Senate’s power structure, is really getting the hang of this making-Mark-Udall-look-bad thing.

With one no vote and one turse statement criticising a fiscal cliff fix that Udall and the rest of the Senate embraced, Bennet did what conservatives — including us, frankly — couldn’t. Bennet forced the Denver media to expose the utter disassociation between Mark Udall’s posturing as a fiscal conservative and his actual votes.

Here’s just a snippet of Udall quotes in recent years about spending. Compare these to a small collection of his voting record on spending below.

May 2010: “We need all the tools we can get our hands on to erase our debt and get our nation’s fiscal house back in order,” Udall said.

November 2010: “Coloradans know full well that the way Washington spends money is broken. Out-of-control spending has caused us to rack up huge deficits, which now threaten our future economic prosperity and our national security. The American people want us to show them that we’re serious about taking action to solve this problem.”

December 2011: “Coloradans tell me that they are tired of the broken system in Washington. They know that if we continue to run our country in the red, it’s just a matter time before we run it into the ground….With our nation’s debt already passing $15 trillion, it’s urgent that Congress pass a balanced budget amendment so we can turn our fiscal ship around.” (Note: Udall’s Balanced Budget Amendment charade failed with only 21 votes)

The list of Udall’s failed amendments, “bipartisan” letters, working groups and other such Washington games of make believe are nearly endless when it comes to calling for controlling spending. Udall sure likes to play the fiscal conservative in the DC dress up game, but when it comes time to vote, it’s not the Senator concerned about spending that shows up.

Fiscal cliff deal that added $4 trillion to our deficit? Mark Udall, yes.

Raising the debt ceiling for Bush? Mark Udall, yes.

Raising the debt ceiling for Obama? Mark Udall, yes.

Obamacare? Mark Udall, yes.

Cap and trade global warming tax? Mark Udall, yes.

Stimulus? Mark Udall, yes.

Auto bailout? Mark Udall, yes.

The list goes on, and on, and on. You might not hear us say this often, but this week we are thankful for Michael Bennet’s actions. They finally helped expose one of the greatest gaps in Colorado politics between rhetoric and action.

Mark Udall, you are a big fraud.