Recently, a lot of people have been asking me what it’s like to lose an election.
It stings, that’s for sure.
And while I wouldn’t recommend it, falling short in a race is a very humbling way of appreciating just how far you’ve come. In fact, as a lifelong mountain climber, I’ve learned far more from the mountains I did not summit than those I did.
For the past 18 years, my most rewarding challenge has been exercising the power lent to me by the people of Colorado to fight on their behalf, first in the state House and then in the U.S. Congress. Throughout my career in public service – my six years in the U.S. Senate being but one chapter – I have always been guided by the rugged independence, strength and cooperative spirit that defines who we are as Coloradans and as westerners.
This uniquely western perspective holds that compromise is not capitulation, and that we are stronger when we all have a seat at the table – not only the privileged. This is a cause that my family has championed for generations, and it is a creed that will continue to drive all Coloradans who answer the call to serve.
At this point in our politics, Americans are rightly impatient with the willful, partisan gridlock and dysfunction in Washington. Yet in Colorado, we also know that, by working together, we have been able to keep our nation and our state moving forward and do our part to overcome Washington silliness for the good of the nation.
The idea that we don’t inherit the earth from our parents – we borrow it from our children – is the central idea of my long record of accomplishment. Throughout my career, this has led me to champion protecting our public lands and the special places that define Colorado, including Great Sand Dunes National Park, the James Peak Wilderness Area and Browns Canyon. It also has driven me to lead the fight to confront the real problem of climate change.
Colorado has spearheaded the nation’s pursuit of a balanced energy strategy. Most of the progress Colorado has made came after I fought alongside Republican Speaker of the Colorado House Lola Spradley to pass our state’s first renewable electricity standard. That important policy has meant Colorado is leading the clean-energy revolution, creating good-paying jobs while fighting the causes of climate change. I’ve been proud to continue this fight in the U.S. Senate by successfully extending the Production Tax Credit for wind energy and introducing a national renewable electricity standard mirroring Colorado’s.
I also have led the charge to meet the promise of the Bill of Rights. Thomas Jefferson once said that a true patriot loves her country not just for what it is, but what it can be. We still have a ways to go, but I am proud to have followed in the footsteps of leaders like my father to meet the promise of equality enshrined in the U.S. Constitution. That includes leading the successful fight to repeal the military’s discriminatory “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy and supporting policies that help women, the middle class and our immigrants get a fair shot at the American Dream.
I’ve said for years that Coloradans pull together come hell or high water. Little did I know that this saying would be proved true during my time in the U.S. Senate, from wildfires that left thousands homeless to a biblical flood in 2013 that swept over much of the Front Range. I was proud to help Coloradans rebuild in the wake of disasters and to secure resources that will help fight tomorrow’s wildfires – including a series of next-generation air tankers. I also went to work immediately after the 2013 flood, partisan federal government shutdown and successfully delivered more than $770 million in emergency flood support and marshalled nearly $2.5 billion, in additional federal assistance, so that Colorado could rebuild better and stronger than before.
And while there is much work left to be done to protect our privacy from government interference, I’m proud to have led the effort to reconcile the enormous power of our nation’s intelligence agencies with the bedrock principles of our democracy. We’ve proved that the choice between ensuring our security and protecting our privacy is a false choice, and that we can keep faith with our nation’s founding principles while also safeguarding our communities.
When I first came to the U.S. Senate, I told my colleagues that we were not elected to deal with Democratic or Republican problems – but to find uniquely American solutions to our toughest challenges. Just like mountain climbers who are all on the same rope, we know that we’re all in this together – and that we are only truly successful when we all succeed together.
The great writer Wallace Stegner challenged us to build communities to match our scenery. In a narrow sense, that means that we should strive to make our society as beautiful and thriving as the natural landscape that surrounds us. But in a broader sense, it also means that our communities should bring out the best in us, and that we should never stop building on the uniquely independent yet cooperative spirit that makes Colorado great.
That’s the spirit that has guided me throughout my time in public service, and it’s the spirit that will continue to guide me as I find new ways to help Colorado and our country move forward.
Udall is Colorado’s senior U.S. senator.
