Senate candidate Cory Gardner touts failed environmental policy

(Photo: Screenshot)
<p>A screenshot from a Cory Gardner advertisement that touts his environmental credentials.</p>

Colorado Republican U.S. Rep. Cory Gardner stands framed by sunflowers and wind turbines and tells voters he co-wrote a law to launch the state's green-energy economy.

But Gardner leaves out something important: The law he touts in a campaign ad for his Senate bid was repealed five years later after being deemed useless.

As Gardner challenges Sen. Mark Udall's re-election, Democrats say the ad whitewashes the Republican's environmental record.

Gardner's campaign says Democrats praised the bill and that it promoted efficiency in Colorado's electricity transmission lines.

The Clean Energy Development Authority was deemed unworkable by those who tried to use it to finance clean-energy projects. A bipartisan vote by lawmakers repealed it in 2012.