Last week, Commodity Futures Trading Commission announced it would pursue a civil case against disgraced Democratic New Jersey Governor and U.S. Senator Jon Corzine for his role in the fall of MF Global.  So, why won’t U.S. Senator Mark Udall (D-CO) return Corzine’s $4,600 donation?

According to the Wall Street Journal, CFTC enforcement chief, David Meister, said that Corzine “is charged with being more than a passive actor in the downfall of MF Global….  He lacked good faith and …violated his supervision obligations.”

While Udall’s campaign has been silent on the issue, not every Democratic committee and candidate has taken such a passive role.  Shortly after MF Global’s meltdown in the fall of 2011, Democratic U.S. House candidate Christie Vilsack and then-Presidential candidate Barack Obama returned donations in the amounts of $1,500 and $5,000, respectively.  The Democratic National Committee also returned $30,800 in donations from Corzine.

MF Global, led by Corzine, is currently one of the country’s ten largest bankruptcies.  Following the meltdown, MF Global clients, including ranchers and farmers, were shocked to learn that approximately $1.6 billion from their accounts was missing.  The company misappropriated funds from customer accounts to cover losses from its own reckless trading.

Is Udall so hard up for cash that this $4,600 is more important than the hardship ranchers and farmers dealt with throughout the Midwest following MF Global’s meltdown?