Hollywood Liberal Women Rally to Fund Boulder Liberal Mark Udall's Campaign

From the Politico:

One hundred of Hollywood’s most politically savvy women, ranging in age from early 20s to 75 years old, have been quietly gathering over the past few months, planning the event. It should benefit at least seven challengers to GOP incumbents this November — all of them in Senate seats that might make a serious difference in swinging crucial votes over the next two years, no matter who sits in the White House.

There’s no real organization in place yet, not even a rudimentary website. Going by the formal-sounding name Voices for a Senate Majority, the group has already signed agreements with a half-dozen Democratic challengers — Maine’s Tom Allen, Alaska’s Mark Begich, Minnesota’s Al Franken, New Hampshire’s Jeanne Shaheen and cousins Tom and Mark Udall from, respectively, New Mexico and Colorado — and is pledging a minimum of $100,000 to each of their campaigns.

Hollywood liberals sending cash to the Boulder liberal ... It won't exactly be the first time. There was the sweet $1,000 contribution from Barbra Streisand to Mark Udall's Senate campaign. Well, after all, Senate candidates who get donations from Hollywood liberals can be some of "the luckiest people in the world."

As September's liberal Hollywood fundraiser for Mark Udall approaches, we're also reminded of his special Left-wing Daily Kos fundraiser.

Mark Udall is becoming known by the company he keeps.

Photoshop by El Presidente.

And All We In Colorado Got Was a Lousy Essay

Mark Udall's essay in the Denver Post was easily topped by cousin Tom's poem. Two liberal peas in a pod if ever there were.

Our New Year's prediction: Mark Udall will get many more votes than Tom Udall, but Tom is a better poet and very possibly a better politician.

Does Lying Run In The Udall Family?

We have documented elsewhere the propensity of Mark Udall to be less than truthful, in fact, much less than truthful. We're beginning to think it runs in the family - that holding the power of a Congressman or Senator is so important to the Udalls that the truth has become unimportant, even inconvenient.

Remember, last month when Mark Udall said that Tom Udall had been "planning for this moment" to be a US Senator? Then, almost immediately, Tom Udall let it be known, untruthfully, that he wouldn't run.

It turns out that Udall always intended to run, and was playing coy in the hope that Chuck Schumer could clear the field. The field wasn't cleared, but Udall entered anyway. All that Tom Udall got for his gamesmanship was an opportunity for us to point out that the habit of lying to the public does run in the Udall family.

That Other Udall

No blog about Mark Udall would be complete without an occasional reference to his cousin, Tom Udall.

Joe Monahan seems to write an exceptionally complete blog about New Mexico politics. He reports:

Top Democratic Party insiders said they agreed that Udall's initial foray into the public arena following his decision to reconsider a Senate race was more muted than expected. They also said they believe he is taking two weeks not to just talk to the Senate leadership, but to see if D.C. Dems intent on getting ABQ Mayor Marty Chavez out of the race can work some magic on Udall's behalf...

Another political veteran offered her assessment where the Chavez-Udall situation stands.

"Chavez sleeps on cement. This is it for him. He is going to do whatever it takes. Udall has a soft pillow with his congressional seat. That's the difference." She said.

Others chimed in that Udall's two week stall could have the effect of drying up Marty's cash and also keeps the focus off of Big Bill who has been wounded by speculation that he might seek the Senate seat if his Prez campaign falters.

We will watch to see if the lefty blogs are as anxious to promote a Chavez-Udall primary in New Mexico as they have been to promote a primary against Schaffer in Colorado.

Udall Fans To Be Disappointed

A long time New Mexico political reporter/blogger is reporting that Tom Udall will be giving the NM Senate race a pass.

If you want to read good political reporting, read the whole post. It is quite long.

It does make one mistake. We would guess Colorado political news passes slowly across the border:

For Udall, who recently assumed a position on the House Appropriations Committee, the politicos said the decision was wise. His importance to the NM Congressional delegation has grown with his new House assignment and a statewide senate run would have been brutal for the liberal lawmaker. However, he will probably still be a frequent visitor to the Senate side of the Capitol come 2009. Tom's cousin, Mark Udall, is heavily favored to capture a Colorado senate seat next year.

Last poll we heard about, Mark Udall's "lead" was one percent in a poll with a 4.4% margin of error.

Planning For This Moment...

CQPolitics reports:

Democratic Rep. Mark Udall of Colorado said his cousin, Tom Udall, has “been planning for this moment,” but noted that [ Bill ] Richardson remains a key player in the process. Udall was not expected to announce anything Thursday.

Udall for Senate???

The WSJ reports:

New Mexico Sen. Pete Domenici said he will step down from Congress after six terms next year and not seek re-election...

Even before Domenici’s decision, Democrats have been pressing Rep. Tom Udall of New Mexico to consider a run. If he should decide to do so, he would be joining a 2008 Senate field in which his cousin, Colorado Rep. Mark Udall, already is running for the Senate next door.

A Most Precious Commodity

Mark Udall is working in Congress, with Ken Salizar, to give Colorado Water to New Mexico. There are some Republicans in on the game, to their shame, but Udall appears to be trying to aid his New Mexico cousin, Rep. Tom Udall, while selling Colorado "down the river."

But there is still more. In a more recent House hearing on its version of the Navajo settlement act, HR1970, Colorado congressman Mark Udall, apparently acting as surrogate for his cousin, New Mexico congressman Tom Udall who is HR1970's sponsor, lit into the fretting Bob Johnson, Reclamation's new commissioner, who is obviously only carrying stinging coals for OMB.

Declaring himself the undying friend of the Indian, Udall said OMB had to get over its queasiness about how the public was being asked to spend its money, for after all hadn't Governor Richardson promised at least $75 million toward a tax bill that will easily exceed $1 billion in construction costs alone? Wasn't that enough he intoned? Never once did Mark Udall, the man who would be the next Democratic senator from Colorado, ask questions concerning the baffling hydrologic study; never once did he elicit concern over the adverse impact this settlement would have on Colorado's legitimate rights to water in the Colorado River under the interstate compact; and never once did he show concern that more irrigation for the Navajo might actually cause them to lose more money than presently.

This is came from a long article by Phil Doe, who once worked in the Interior Department, and is chair of Citizens Progressive Alliance in Littleton, Colorado. Read it all, and weep!

Reaching Too Far

Mark Udall sponsored an amendment to require utilities across the nation to get 20% of their power from renewables by 2020. He wants to restrict the definition of "renewable" to wind power (though not in Ted Kennedy's play place, Martha's Vineyard), and solar energy.

The bill was supposed to come to the House floor last night. It didn't. The goals have been cut to 15% by 2020 in committee and still it can't get a simple majority. Because the majority whip, James Clyburn, D-S.C., opposes the bill, Mark Udall and his cousin Tom have been acting as whips for the amendment.

CNN Money reports:

The speaker said the main cosponsors of the renewable energy standard, or RES -- Mark Udall, D-Co., and Tom Udall, D-N.M. - were still whipping up support Friday afternoon.

"They'll be reporting back to me this afternoon," she told reporters in a press conference, adding, "They felt pretty strong about it - that they had strong votes - but I count votes differently..."

[ Nancy ] Pelosi, D-Calif., Friday indicated, however, that the Renewable Electricity Standard amendment would likely be withdrawn if the proposal doesn't garner enough support to pass a simple majority of the House...

Make no mistake, this author favors a reasonable renewable energy power goal, but it should be a goal, and not an unreachable standard set in law. Different areas in Colorado claim to get 300 to 360 days of sunshine a year. Other states aren't so lucky. Likewise, the arid west can be more windy than other, more humid areas of the country.

The Udall cousins, and their ally John Salizar discovered this week that they couldn't stuff an extreme 20% "standard" down the throat of the most liberal Congress in 20 years. It remains to be seen if they have the votes to get a still unreachable 15% "standard." We will know shortly, perhaps today.

One Size Fits All, Or Does It?

Mark Udall, his cousin, Tom, and Diana DeGette are pushing for a national requirement for renewable energy. They want to force utilities to get 20% of their energy from renewable sources by 2020.

While that may be doable in the windy west, where wind power is already a proven renewable source, the south is relatively windless. What are they to do? Fight the proposal, that's what.

In some ways, this is humorous. Remember Homestake II? That was the Colorado water project killed in Congress by eastern lawmakers whose districts have no water shortages. Turnabout is fair play.

We remain curious as to whether Mark has talked his friend Ted Kennedy into putting 400 foot windmills in the water within sight of Martha's Vineyard. We doubt that he has the courage to broach the subject. For that matter, Ken Salizar sees Kennedy every day and seems to be running interference for Udall. Let's ask him the same question.