Rep. Mark Udall, a windmill-promoting Democrat, is on TV with an ad featuring oil drilling rigs, and he joined Sen. Ken Salazar this week to endorse more oil drilling in the Gulf of Mexico, something he had previously opposed. The two plan to introduce a bill on the topic in September.
Bob Schaffer, a Republican who worked for a Denver-based natural-gas company before starting the campaign, called himself a "renewable-energy executive" in a debate this week and carries around a small solar panel in his suit pocket.
They both talk about expanding the supply of energy and echoed each other in a Friday debate.
"We must do it all," said Schaffer, a former U.S. congressman who represented Colorado's eastern plains from 1997-2003.
Said Udall, serving his fifth term in the U.S. House: "We have to do it all. We have to throw the kitchen sink at this."
They held back-to-back debates that touched on topics from Social Security to the Caucasian nation of Georgia, but they were most passionate when talking about energy.
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Despite some similarities, the differences between the two are stark, Schaffer said in an interview. He favors drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, which Udall does not. He called Udall's endorsement of Gulf of Mexico drilling the Democrat's "Rip Van Winkle" moment.
Udall repeatedly challenged Schaffer to endorse the bill, but Schaffer would not. The Republican opposes the way the bill takes away oil-company tax breaks and gives them to renewable-energy companies. Losing the tax breaks would cut the U.S. supply of oil and gas, he said.
The Udall-Salazar bill builds on a plan from the "Gang of 10," a group of five senators from each party who have agreed on an energy bill that is heavy on renewable-energy promotion, with authorization for some new drilling. Congress won't be able to pass anything until it returns from recess in early September.
Schaffer and Udall will meet again today in Colorado Springs and Friday in Vail before the Colorado Water Congress.
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