Colorado: Mark Udall

You've been reading about the scandal surrounding an apparently impostor Marine who managed to insert himself into a number of campaign-related events last year, mostly (but not exclusively, we'll get to that) on behalf of Democrats.

There's no question that the impostor in question, one Rick Strandlof, enormously embarrassed anyone who was conned by him--though he by all reports never actually worked for any Colorado campaign last year, he did volunteer to host receptions for candidates, and appeared in a 527 TV spot targeted at the Senate race.

Whatever the facts of this scandal ultimately shake out to be, we've seen nothing to indicate that anyone else, particularly other veterans associated with the organization Strandlof ran, were similarly misrepresenting themselves.

Democratic Sens. Mark Udall and Michael Bennet announced today in a joint press release that they are now officially part of a moderate working group/coalition/thingy called "The Moderate Dems Working Group." According to the announcement:
The Moderate Dems Working Group will meet every other Tuesday before the Democratic Caucus lunch to discuss legislative strategies and ideas. The Moderate Dems held their second meeting Tuesday to focus on the upcoming budget negotiations and the importance of passing a fiscally responsible spending plan in the Senate.

Leading the new group are Democratic Senators Evan Bayh of Indiana, Tom Carper of Delaware and Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas.

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced Tuesday afternoon that fourth-generation Colorado resident Will Shafroth, who ran unsuccessfully for Congress last summer, will be the department’s deputy assistant secretary for fish, wildlife and parks. A few weeks ago Salazar nominated another Colorado politician as Shafroth’s boss, naming former Senate candidate and one-time U.S. Attorney Tom Strickland as his assistant secretary for fish, wildlife and parks.

The announcement from Salazar’s office:

Salazar Names Land Conservation Leader Will Shafroth Deputy Assistant Secretary for Fish, Wildlife and Parks

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar has named Will Shafroth, a land conservationist executive and founding director of the Colorado Conservation Trust and Great Outdoors Colorado Trust Fund, as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Fish, Wildlife and Parks.

Not bad for a guy who became Colorado's Senior Senator shortly after being sworn in as a freshman. From Congressional Quarterly (subscription required):
Mark Udall of Colorado spent a decade in the House slowly inching up the House leadership ladder. Now, just nine weeks into his Senate career, he's working from a post where he can influence his party's agenda on Capitol Hill.

As a newly minted deputy whip, Udall is charged with building close ties between Democratic leaders and a gaggle of senators just like him - the freshmen who will be crucial to so much of President Obama's legislative success.

In the session's first two months, Udall has helped align every one of the 11 new Democrats behind two of the first big-ticket items on Obama's agenda: the $787 billion economic stimulus package and the expansion of the State Children's Health Insurance Program.