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McCain, Mark Udall's closeness on issues could impact Schaffer

By Lynn Bartels, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published February 26, 2008 at 12:30 a.m.

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Udall and McCain share common ground on several hot-button issues. The Iraq war is a significant exception.

Udall and McCain share common ground on several hot-button issues. The Iraq war is a significant exception.

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Congressman Morris Udall has been dead for nearly 10 years, but on the campaign trail early last year Republican John McCain regularly invoked Udall's memory.

McCain repeated funny guy Udall's jokes - sometimes McCain even gave him credit. McCain talked about how well he works with Democrats, touching upon the relationship he had with his fellow Arizonan.

In Waukee, Iowa, in June, Rocky Mountain News reporter M.E. Sprengelmeyer pulled McCain aside. Considering how often McCain invoked "Mo" Udall might he endorse Udall's son, Mark, in Colorado's U.S. Senate race?

"I love him. He's a wonderful young man," McCain replied - but he didn't address the endorsement issue.

The Udall-McCain connection doesn't stop with Mo. With the significant exception of the Iraq war, Mark Udall, a Democratic congressman from Eldorado Springs, and McCain share common ground on several hot-button issues. And that could present a dilemma for Republicans as they prepare for the likely matchup between Udall and Bob Schaffer, a former GOP congressman from Fort Collins.

"On those issues where McCain and Udall are together, it does limit what Schaffer can do. It constrains the battlefield, which issues you can attack on and which issues you use in your ads," said Kyle Saunders, an associate professor of political science at Colorado State University.

If Schaffer were to go after Udall for his position on immigration, for example, "Political analysts would say, 'Well, are you going after your own presidential candidate?' " Saunders said.

McCain is the author of the most prominent immigration reform bill, which Republican critics have dismissed as "amnesty" for people who entered the country illegally. The bill stalled in the Senate and never made it to the House. Udall is on record in general support of McCain's approach.

McCain and Udall have voted the same on other topics, from supporting stem cell research to opposing a federal marriage amendment. They've worked together on bills dealing with native American issues. At McCain's invitation, Udall regularly attends a NATO conference in Europe on national security.

The biggest difference between the two is the Iraq War. McCain favored the invasion, Udall voted against it. McCain supported the surge, Udall did not.

Schaffer, who first campaigned for Congress in 1996 on the slogan "The real Republican, the real conservative," said he couldn't recall if he and McCain worked closely on any legislation during his six years in Washington. He said they both received publicity in 2000 when they were fighting earmarks for a transportation bill.

"I've admired John McCain for as long as I've known him," Schaffer said. "I think he's a good senator." If McCain is the presidential nominee, Schaffer said he will support him.

As for whether McCain and Udall's similar positions on some issues poses a problem, Schaffer said, "I've got plenty of issues that show contrast with the voters of Colorado and Mark Udall."

Schaffer said he wasn't surprised to learn that McCain frequently talked about Mo Udall in his early days on the campaign trail. "They're both from Arizona," Schaffer said.

McCain has said that when was elected to Congress in 1982, fellow Arizona congressman Mo Udall showed him the ropes. Four years later, when McCain inherited Barry Goldwater's Arizona Senate seat, he "felt his deepest sense of gratitude not to his fellow conservative" but to Udall, according to Udall's 1998 obituary in The New York Times.

Mark Udall has been just as effusive about his admiration for McCain, a man he has calls a war hero.

At the Colorado Democratic Convention in 2004, Udall told the audience that the country would have been better off if McCain, and not George W. Bush, had won the GOP nomination for president in 2000.

Udall also mentioned McCain in a speech at the Democratic National Convention in Boston later that year.

bartels@RockyMountain News.com or 303-954-5327

Comments

  • February 26, 2008

    6:27 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    a_watcher writes:

    Your article makes some interesting points but Bob Schaffer will not have many problems with Mark Udall cozying up to McCain.

    I write for the Schaffer v Udall blog which has accidently evolved to be an open source opposition research vehicle against Udall.

    I started to write some of the things we have found here but your page refresh feature killed my comments before I was half done (something you should fix).

    Readers who want to know why Bob Schaffer won't have the problem described can check Schaffer v Udall about noon. We will not only make assertions, we will provide the links that support those assertions, though the links may take longer to incorporate.