From today’s Morning Jolt:
And you thought you didn’t like Mark Udall before:
Republican operatives believe they have found a smoking gun against Democratic U.S. Sen. Mark Udall, who said during a 2008 debate he was against a “government-sponsored” solution for health care.
The then-congressman, who was running for an open seat in the U.S. Senate, echoed arguments made by conservatives.
“I’m not for a government-sponsored solution,” Udall said. “I’m for enhancing and improving the employer-based system that we have.”
In a debate overshadowed by other issues — rising energy prices and the war on terror — Udall’s answer that July barely created a ripple. But in the context of Sen. Udall’s vote for the Affordable Care Act in 2010 and his tough re-election bid against Republican Congressman Cory Gardner in November, the statement takes on new meaning.
These red and purple state Democrats just lie. They say they oppose these liberal ideas, and then once they’re in, they go along with Pelosi and Reid and all the rest.
Because by 2010, Udall, the guy who insisted he didn’t want “a government-sponsored solution,” said he supported the public option:
Bennet made national headlines by writing a letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid demanding the chance to put a “public option,” government-run insurance alternative in the final legislation. More than 40 senators signed the letter, but the public option was never reconsidered. Udall, however, was not among the Democrats who signed Bennet’s letter.
Udall said he supports creating a public option, but added, “I thought we needed to bring this drawn-out process to an end.”
Words don’t have much meaning anymore, huh?