Sen. Mark Udall tells Democrats about November: “Let’s get it done”
In a hallway outside the auditorium of Denver’s North High School, he opened his wallet and pulled out his insurance card.
He and his family are enrolled in the state’s version of the Affordable Care Act, Connect for Health Colorado. He said he made the decision to do so last year when his federal health-care plan was expiring.
It was Udall’s support for Obamacare, as it is called, that prompted Gardner to abandon his safe congressional seat and challenge Udall. Part of the national Republican strategy to take control of the U.S. Senate hinges on attacking Democrats on problems with the roll out of the new insurance program.
Gardner spoke at Republican assemblies in Weld, Adams, Arapahoe and El Paso counties where he made sure Obamacare was part of his speech.
“Mark Udall cast the deciding vote on Obamacare, and as a result, millions of people across the country lost their health care,” he told Republicans.
In an interview with The Denver Post, Udall on Saturday was asked about a statement he made last week on radio that implied he didn’t vote for the Affordable Care Act, when he did.
“I think, look, if I were there, I would say, ‘Here are some things that we should have done differently, here are some things that make more sense,’” he told KOA radio. He said he meant to say “If I were there again.” In hindsight, he said, he should have pushed back in 2010 for “better implementation and a clearer provision that you could keep your insurance policy if you like.”
He said insurance companies “did not keep faith” with that provision, and he both “drafted legislation and put pressure on the White House to provide that option for people here in Colorado.”
Udall added that health-care reform was needed because insurance companies were dropping clients who got sick and refusing to cover women’s issues.
At the Denver Democratic assembly, chairman Ed Hall’s introduction of Udall was brief but enough to get delegates cheering.
“He voted against the war in Iraq. He voted against the Patriot Act. He is working to rein in the NSA,” Hall said. “This guy is great.”
“You don’t schmooze your way up a mountain. You don’t climb a mountain by accident,” he said. “Let’s get it done.”
