Common Sense Issues Ad Highlights Udall's Support for Department of Peace

The Denver Post reports that a third-party group titled "Common Sense Issues" is publicizing information about Boulder liberal Rep. Mark Udall that was highlighted months ago here at Schaffer v Udall. Namely, that Udall was a co-sponsor of left-wing Rep. Dennis Kucinich's idea to establish a "Department of Peace" in the U.S. government, for an $8 billion-a-year price tag (quote from earlier report):

The secretary of the Department of Peace also would develop a peace education curriculum to include the civil rights movement in the United States, how peace agreements have worked to stop conflict and to work with teachers to help students work on peace through reflection and conflict resolutions.

A highlight of that would be a Peace Academy, which would provide a four-year course of instruction in peace education, after which graduates would be required to serve five years in public service in domestic or international nonviolent conflict resolution programs...

The Post story tells us about the work of "Common Sense Issues":

Though the new ad describes the Department of Peace as Udall's idea, the Colorado congressman was actually one of 44 co-sponsors of a bill in 2001 written by Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, a move Udall's campaign said he now regrets. Udall removed his support of the bill when it was reintroduced two years later, according to Udall campaign manager Mike Melanson.

"The devil's in the details, and when you look at the legislation more carefully, there were certainly some things in there that Mark wasn't comfortable with," Melanson said.

So Udall decided to sponsor a far-out proposal like the Department of Peace without reading the "details" first? Are Coloradans seriously supposed to believe that the Boulder liberal candidate is that lazy or incompetent? From his campaign's point of view, I guess it's better than being pegged with the fact that he actually believes in a taxpayer-subsidized national Peace Academy.

My guess is that this ad will be effective because it brings attention to a very real-to-life example from Udall's Congressional record showing just how out of touch he is both with international political realities and mainstream Coloradans.