Mark Udall: Dishonest Political Opportunist
It wasn’t that long ago that Rep. Mark Udall, (D-CO), was among the most reliable anti-drilling congressmen. With gas hovering near the $4/gallon average nationally. That’s suddenly changed. Let’s start by looking at Rep. Udall’s record:
He’s voted to:
- Block drilling for American oil in Alaska or off shore at least nine times.
- Deny tax deductions for production of U.S. oil and gas, thereby putting American companies at a financial disadvantage versus their competitors in the Middle East, Russia and South America.
- Declare oil cartels like OPEC to be in violation of U.S. antitrust law, even though most high school seniors, not to mention Members of Congress, are smart enough to know that our laws do not apply to foreign oil companies.
- Oppose making abandoned military bases available for construction of new oil refineries, oblivious to the reality no new American oil refineries have been constructed since 1976, increasing our dependence on foreign refineries.
In other words, he’s been a reliable vote for environmental extremists. That’s suddenly changed now that polls show he was on the losing side of the biggest domestic issue this year. Notice that I didn’t say he changed when gas prices skyrocketed. It wasn’t until today that Rep. Udall started talking about drilling as the only way we could bring oil prices down.
Notice that Rep. Udall didn’t speak out when oil prices hit their peak. He stayed silent when prices started dropping, too. The thing that triggered Rep. Udall’s change in attitude was a poll showing his 7 point lead over Bob Schaffer disappear into thin air.
Suddenly, Rep. Udall morphed into Oil Rig Mark. There’s nothing more disgusting or demeaining than seeing a politician abandon their principles. This article says that just 2 months ago, Udall joined with other Colorado Democrats to protest the Bush administration’s letting of leases for oil drilling. They complained that President Bush ignored their wishes.
Let’s remember that the Bush administration couldn’t auction of these leases if Congress hadn’t codified that into law.
Let’s hope that Coloradans reject Rep. Udall’s politics of oppotunism and elect Bob Schaffer.
Technorati Tags: Mark Udall, Environmentalist, Drilling, Polls, Bob Schaffer, President Bush, OPEC, Litigation, Election 2008
Cross-posted at LetFreedomRingBlog