“Besides voting with Obama 99% of the time… I don’t know him.”
In their “70 days until the election” piece, The Washington Post points out some uncomfortable truths for Sen. Mark Udall. The number one item, and the item Udall can’t run away from even though he’s doing his best to hide from it, is that President Obama is hugely unpopular across the entire country right now, especially in a state like Colorado that hasn’t appreciated his heavy-handed, Washington-bureaucratic style. As The WaPo writes:
1. President Obama isn’t helping his party. Whether it’s the perceived disconnect between his needs/wants and those of Democrats on the ballot this fall or his plan to issue an executive order on immigration sometime this fall or his desultory approval ratings, Obama looks like a weight pulling down his party. I’ve heard countless anecdotes about polling conducted in House races that should be competitive for Democrats where Obama’s ratings are in the high to even mid 30s — making it virtually impossible for a candidate of his party to win. It’s hard to imagine anything happening to change that reality since opinion is so locked in on the president. [the Peak’s emphasis]
This all just gives us another excuse to play this video, while bringing up the fact that for the past six years Udall couldn’t have possibly been more in Obama’s pocket if he tried. Udall’s support for Obama’s extreme agenda has never fallen below 91%, while four of the years being 95+, last year going as high as 99%. Udall can’t escape a simple fact: a vote for him is a vote for Obama and all Obama has been doing. Perhaps, instead of skipping his own fundraiser featuring Obama, he should have spent some of the past six years choosing Colorado over pleasing Obama.
The Washington Post goes on to make the point that control of the Senate is coming down to a few key states, Colorado among them. If Colorado boots Udall out, Republicans are all but assured control of the Senate. For a President who had zero executive experience coming into the job, who had next to nil experience reaching and working across the aisle, maybe a united Congress will finally force Obama to get off his high horse and work for the good of the country. Either way, a Republican Congress and an Obama White House will be good for the two parties to define themselves going into the 2016 Presidential election. No longer will either party be able to hide behind the do-nothing Senate Harry Reid has been leading. A Republican Congress will send Obama bills, which he can either sign or veto. Thus, when it comes time to assign blame, the American public will know which party to hold accountable.
On the bright side for Udall, once he loses he no longer needs to hide his extremist environmental views, and he can go hiking any day of the week he wants to. Really, a vote against Udall is just a vote to set him free.