Our View: During Mr. Udall's tenure in Congress, he has been lock-stock-and-barrel complicit in Washington's spending orgy. Even now, it is clear that Udall's idea of a balanced budget means relying heavily on higher taxes to pay for unsustainable federal spending.  

Colorado Springs Gazette Editorial Board…give us a break.  

In an editorial published Friday, the Gazette fell all over itself gushing over just how different Democratic Senator Mark Udall is from all the other liberal boners in Congress.

As the youngsters would say in one of those text messages…hahhahahhahhaha!  

Listen to it all:

Udall sounds a lot like a knowledgeable, creative conservative. He is the only Democrat to advocate for a balanced budget amendment…During this time of obvious fiscal crisis, it is comforting to know that Colorado, at least, has a senator who is willing to avoid the partisan game playing that usually defines Washington.

To suggest that Udall is anything different then all the rest of the big-spending Democratic bobos in Washington is about the same as saying words are more important than actions — that political speeches count for more than a man's voting record. 

Let's review both briefly.

Mark Udall is a convert to the cause of a Balanced Budget of late — to which we say great. And he preaches and speechifies a lot these days about getting the budget under control. This is good too.

But during Mr. Udall's tenure in Congress, he has been lock-stock-and-barrel complicit in Washington's spending orgy. Even now, it is clear that Udall's idea of a balanced budget relies heavily on higher taxes to pay for unsustainable federal spending.    

Take as example Udall's response to President Obama's deficit reduction speech from last week:

"In particular, I strongly support ending tax cuts for millionaires – I opposed extending those irresponsible tax breaks in December. We must invest in programs that will move our economy forward, cut what doesn't work, and take aggressive steps to pay down our national debt. Such a plan is critical to encourage strong private-sector job growth and keep the American dream alive for generations to come."

If that quote doesn't tell you all you need to know about Mark Udall, nothing will. The first words out of Udall's mouth when it comes to dealing with our deficit disaster is "tax millionaires" and "invest in programs". If that isn't a typical Washington, DC Democrat, what, pray tell, is?

Enough words.  Let's look at Udall's record on spending.

Mark Udall likes to trash talk George W. Bush on spending (so do we, by the way), but Udall voted for Bush's biggest spending initiatives, including No Child Left Behind, the Bridge to Nowhere and legion other spending initiatives that started the country's fiscal free fall.

When George W. Bush asked the Congress to raise the debt ceiling in 2007 and 2008, Mark Udall voted yes — both times.

These days Udall is saying he may actually vote against increasing the debt ceiling this year. We aren't holding our breath. If he does, we will wonder: why this time? Why is the vote to increase the debt ceiling different from 2007 and 2008 — and let's not forget Christmas Eve 2009, when Mark Udall voted "yes" on increasing the debt ceiling at the insistence of Barack Obama and Harry Reid.

Where was the fiscal discipline then, Mr. Udall?

It gets better (or worse).

Mark Udall on stimulus. Mark Udall, yes.  
Mark Udall on cap and tax. Mark Udall, yes (even though thankfully the bill died).

Mark Udall on the automotive bailout. Mark Udall, yes.

Mark Udall on Obamacare. Mark Udall, yes.

Mark Udall on allowing Obama to spend $350 billion of left-over, debt-financed TARP money. A handful of courageous Senate Democrats vote no, but Mark Udall voted yes.

We could go on forever, but we think we have made our point. The Colorado Springs Gazette is a serious newspaper that should be smart enough to ask the tough questions instead of falling for unfathomably ridiculous talking points from a pandering politician.

Mark Udall goes to great strides to position himself as being a different type of Democrat, but on the most important tax and spending issues during his time in Congress, Mark Udall, Barack Obama and Harry Reid look very much the same.