Local issues....

I live in Colorado, and I have been seeing a lot of Mark Udall (D for Senate) ads, a couple for Bob Schaffer (his Republican rival). Also occasional ads for Jared Polis (D for Congress) - though apparently he is still fighting the Democratic primary. Polis is running to replace Mark Udall in Colorado's 2nd Congressional District (which includes Boulder).

Mark Udall is the son of "Mo" Udall (among other things, Senator McCain's mentor in Congress). Representative Udall voted against the Iraq War, and is a progressive Democrat on the issues. Here's a story on the Udall-McCain connection and how it might play in the CO Senate race. Mark Udall also has a much better, fully-developed website compared to Bob Schaffer.

A sign this is Colorado is that even Bob Schaffer's ads include support for comprehensive energy reform, and show a Toyota Prius! One of Mark Udall's ads has him against a backdrop of wind turbines:


Incidentally, the Udall family appears ready to take over the US Senate. Mark's cousin Tom Udall is a Democrat running for NM's open Senate seat. Tom is also a strong progressive and also voted against the Iraq War. Oregon Senator Gordon Smith is their "double-second-cousin," and a Republican up for re-election this year. Gordon Smith voted for the Iraq War, and appears moderate-to-conservative.

Among other local issues - the University of Colorado, Boulder. Now, Boulder is often referred to (by outsiders!) as the "Boulder Bubble," a reference to the leftist leanings of the denizens. CU-Boulder was also the home of Ward Churchill. Perhaps following that episode, Bruce Benson, a former head of CO's Republican Party and fund-raiser/ex-oil man, was appointed the President of CU (here's a story). And now, it appears CU is looking to fund a Chair of Conservative Thought and Policy to the tune of $9 million (a move that even conservatives oppose!) That link is from Stanley Fish's column in the NYT; here's his take (and application for the post!)