Sen. Mark Udall (D-CO) has been attacked by Republicans for saying that the Islamic State is not an “imminent threat” to the United States, and he is now punching back with his own campaign ad talking a tough game against the militant group that has beheaded American journalists while terrorizing parts of Iraq and Syria.
Udall started to take heat last month when he said in a debate that ISIL, also known as ISIS, was not an immediate threat and invoked the names of the two U.S. journalists killed the group to explain his position (for which he apologized).
Gardner was soon criticizing him — “I believe that it’s time for Senator Udall to stop hiding behind this President’s lack of strategy and actually step forward and acknowledge that this is a terrorist organization that poses a threat that we must address and deal with” — the National Republican Senatorial Committee went up with an ad last week ripping Udall for the statement.
“Really?” the narrator asks after playing the clip of Udall’s “imminent threat” comments. The NRSC has spent $463,000 on TV ad placement against Udall since the ad came out. “Can we take that chance?”
Now Udall has put out his own ad that, without directly referencing the GOP attacks, pushes back against the idea that he is soft on ISIL.
“A barbaric terrorist threat met by a respected leader on national security: Colorado’s own Mark Udall,” the narrator says, referencing Udall’s position on the Senate Intelligence Committee and subcommittee on strategic forces. “No wonder military leaders have called him ‘a champion of an effective common-sense approach to fighting terrorism.'”
Gardner currently holds a slight edge over Udall in the race, 47.7 percent to 46.3 percent, according to TPM’s PollTracker average.
Here’s what I don’t understand about Democrats like Udall: Why don’t they ask their opponents if they want to put American troops on the ground in Iraq? Don’t let them define the issue as whether Obama should have withdrawn troops, define the issue as whether you support putting troops back on the ground in Iraq. Udall will win that debate every time.
I fear Americans once again failed to learn anything from thousands of lives and trillions of dollars wasted in Iraq for no particular reason. Udall knows that lacking a draft, CO voters are quite willing to send other people’s kids in harm’s way. The Chickenhawkitis plague is well established throughout the United More or Less States of America.
To be accurate, ISIL is NOT an imminent threat to the US. The countries to whom it is an imminent threat, like Turkey, don’t seem to want to do anything. So, it’s a perfectly legitimate question to ask why, if they won’t do anything, should the US do more than it is doing already?
Please don’t lump all us Colorado voters in with one broad brush. It’s much fairer to say right wing Colorado voters will be quite willing to send other people’s kids in harm’s way.
BTW, locally here, I’m seeing more Irv Halter signs in the Springs and practically none for Lamborn. I’ve seen quite a few for Gardner, but there are some for Udall popping up. I’ve also seen a few more Hickenlooper signs popping up to counter the number that have been up for Beauprez. I’m optimistic that Halter has a decent chance at beating Lamborn, and Udall and Hick should be able to win.
Coloradoan here, and a Udall supporter. Udall wasted a month of single -issue campaign ads (Gardner’s Personhood/anti-abortion stance), while Crossroads and Gardner’s campaign ripped him mercilessly on ACA (cancelled insurance policies), Obama-partisanship and now ISIL. Udall has been playing defense (meekly), and in my mind, has been running a plodding, reactive and poll-driven race. If the guy doesn’t grow a spine and start putting Gardner on the defensive for his Boehner partisanship (how many votes to trash ACA?), and start touting the fact that CO has the fastest growing economy in the nation, he’s going to lose this one. I agree that Hick is probably going to win, I don’t see Lamborn losing, and Romanoff is almost certainly doomed against Coffman. But Senate should be a slam dunk for Udall, and it certainly doesn’t look that way now.