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May 15, 2014 01:22 PM UTC

Talk All The Smack You Want, Udall's Buzzfeed List Is Cool

  • 37 Comments
  • by: Colorado Pols

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The Denver Post's Lynn Bartels reported yesterday evening, and it rates a mention from us too:

U.S Sen. Mark Udall today showcased his previous life climbing 14s with a 14-point list on BuzzFeed that mixes summits and senatorial life — and might even be more interesting than any ad his campaign is planning…

“For Mark Udall, standing up for Colorado in the U.S. Senate and summiting the world’s tallest peaks are one and the same — well, except for the uniform,” a headline reads.

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Conservatives are straining to find something to complain about with Udall's Buzzfeed list, but there's just not much you can say negatively about a guy climbing a real rock (no blue screen fakery here) and smiling. This is great example of a campaign reaching out to where young voters already are, a popular forum like Buzzfeed, and giving them content that's actually fun to look at along with your campaign pitch.

Instead of grousing, we would suggest Cory Gardner's campaign come up with a Buzzfeed list of their own! Maybe there's something from that CBS investigation of Gardner's Florida fundraising junket that would look neat animated? Like a donor writing a big check or something? What does Gardner do for fun? Reread his Obamacare "cancellation letter" and circulate Personhood petitions at church? There's just not been enough life breathed into Gardner's carefully-manicured persona to identify with him. Not so with Mark Udall.

Above all, voters back candidates they like. And Udall has a edge in that regard you can't fake.

Comments

37 thoughts on “Talk All The Smack You Want, Udall’s Buzzfeed List Is Cool

    1. Just a thought: Hillary in '16 will be eyeing swing states for VP choices, or cabinet members.

      Colorado was the median electoral state in 2012. What I mean by that is that if you inched the nationwide popular vote toward Mitt Romney, some swing states would switch into the Romney pile, and then others, and then still others–and Colorado would be the state that put Romney's electoral vote total over the 270 mark, making him the winner. So Colorado is likely to be a key focus of Hillary's ambitions, although obviously 2016 will be different than 2012. If Hillary wanted Udall for a running mate, would he take the job? What about Sec. of State? 

      1. Fake. Fake. Fake. Fake. Fake. You're telling me that I can trust videdo from CSPAN and the Congressional Record? Bah, an obvious false flag.

        1. You want to know what's real? Paul Ryan climbed all our 14er's. Plus, he didn't need to leave Wisconsin to do it! Now that's true blue, no fake there.

        2. I'm talking specifically about the second Photo from Pols, the one of Udall looking up at the camera just in time for a huge smile. That was clearly staged.

          1. Clearly.  Now, back to my question from earlier this week on Hick's role in making SB13-252 the law of the land.  Good?  Or bad?

          2. Wow, your family picture albums must be filled with hundreds of glowering little faces because no one said "smile". To be fair though, if you did catch a 14 year old with a smile they, at least, did think that the whole thing was totally fake.

            So how do you envision this staging? Instead of Mark's climbing partner pulling out his iPhone and saying "Hey Mark, smile!" Do you think Udall was doing an Adam West "climb" in front of TV cameras? Tricky set, pulling those little rocks out to make them look like they fell.

            Or maybe you think his buzzfeed post should be him smiling as he's taking a leak along the trail.

          3. You're out of you're silly little mind, Modster.  And so what what if a climbing companion said "Hey, Mark!" and he smiled as we all do for pics?  What does that prove? Your post probably proves something, though…. that you  may finally be realizing how screwed you are in this particular race and are… does this sound familiar?… grasping at straws.

      2. In the 'fake' department you can be assured there is one side of this political equation that has a lock on 'faking it':

        Bob Schaffer in his 2008 bid to defeat Mark:

        In 2008, Bob Schaffer was running for the Senate using a TV ad that claimed "Colorado is my life."

        As Schaffer touted his Colorado roots and talked about how he proposed to his wife on Pikes Peak, the ad showed a photo of Mount McKinley, in Alaska, not Pikes Peak.

        In 2014, Both Ways couldn't get it right:

        When 7NEWS questioned the campaign about where the mountains were, we were told it was "illustrated mountains."

        When 7NEWS pointed out that the mountains resembled the Grand Tetons in Wyoming, the campaign official once again stressed that it was just an artist's interpretation of mountains.

        However, minutes later, the mountains were removed from the logo.

         

        and lest we forget, Scott used Mt. McKinley in his gubernatorial ads:

        In 2009, Fox News reported that when Republican Scott McInnis was running for governor, his website showed a picture from the Canadian Rockies with the question "What do you want for the future of Colorado?"

        You can be assured the rocks in the Udall video are actual Colorado rocks being scaled by an actual Colorado Senator.  But knock yourself out and run with "fake".

      3. If there's anyone that has a lock on 'fake' regarding Colorado mountains, it's your side, Moddy:

        In the 2008 election cycle, Senate Candidate Bob Schaffer used Mt. McKinley as his photo for an email describing Pikes Peak, the very place he proposed to his wife:

         

         

         

         

         

        Not to be outdone, Scotty moved mountains in his failed gubernatorial campaign.  Literally – he moved mountains – from Canada to Colorado:

         

         

         

         

         

        What would an election cycle be without yet another mountain faux pax?  Well, not to fear, Both Ways stepped to the plate:

        The logo featured a mountain background with four, very pointed mountain peaks.

        When 7NEWS questioned the campaign about where the mountains were, we were told it was "illustrated mountains."

        When 7NEWS pointed out that the mountains resembled the Grand Tetons in Wyoming, the campaign official once again stressed that it was just an artist's interpretation of mountains.

        However, minutes later, the mountains were removed from the logo.

        One thing I'm sure of: the rocks Senator Udall is transcending are actual Colorado rocks on an actual Colorado mountain.

         

         

        1. Look, it was a nice but befuddled elderly genetleman that thought he was doing Scooter a favor that borrowed those Canadian mountains with improper attribution.  

          Crunch-Crunch…and the wheels of the bus go round and round… 

      4. Udall has serious cred as a climber and mountaineer.  He's summited Denali (highest peak in North America), Aconcagua (highest peak in South America), and Kanchenchunga (the third highest mountain in the world).  He also came close to summiting Everest by a difficult route.

        The fact that you reflexively dismiss significant accomplishments as "fakes" shows what a complete and utter moron you are.

      5. Please do some research to support your idea that this is all fake. Are you saying he really hasn't spent a good deal of time climbing 14ers?  That his campaign just made that up out of thin air and dragged him to some pile of rocks to stage this photo op? If that is what you're saying present proof. If not then WTF do you mean by "fake"?

        1. In addition to the international climbing accomplishments listed above by Old Time Dem, the Senator has climbed all the state's 14'ers and is working on getting to the top of the 13,900 ft peaks.  It is a personal accomplishment that he enjoys pursuing when he can.  Google Independence Monument July 4, 2012 – Udall and see if what you find looks fake. See comment below out of the box of the reply thread….

           

          1. Moddy, I'll make it easy for you.  Pay particular attention to 0:51-0:59 in the video, you might see something that looks familiar:

            1. Well that certainly makes Modster look like an idiot and Cory look like an insignificant little piss ant by comparison. It does reinforce my notion of Senator Udall looking like the rugged western senator straight out of central casting, though, doesn't it?  The difference being it ain't casting. It's all for real. Love how he included the part where he needed a little help and guidance to attain the summit. Courage, skill, endurance, becoming humility, patriotism and lookin' really good.  If Modster (or Cory) bothered to watch he probably peed his pants a little.

  1. None of those videos are staged. Senator Udall climbed Independence Monument, a rock formation in Colorado National Monument on Independence Day, 2012. It is a tradition and when the climbers get to the top they raise the American flag. The Senator climbed with rangers and Mesa County Search and Rescue. It was as real as it gets and is one of may reasons why Udall is so well liked. Do the research.

      1. There's nothing that tightens up a sphincter muscle of a neo-con posing as a moderate than to have a Boulder liberal anywhere within 10 feet of Old Glory.  They can't get why anyone might actually get out there with the people, sweating and all, when they could simply call up their grassroots supporters money lords, order a chopper, fly them to the peak, exit in their perfectly coiffed hair and Armani suit (complete with an Old Glory lapel pin), put their hand over their heart, sing a few bars and whirl away to the next grassroots event fundraiser.

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