Top 30 Mark Udall Quotes (2025 Update)

1. “You don’t climb mountains without a team, you don’t climb mountains without being fit, you don’t climb mountains without being prepared and you don’t climb mountains without balancing the risks and rewards. And you never climb a mountain on accident – it has to be intentional.”

— Mark Udall

Featured in: Mountain Quotes, Climbing Quotes

2. “Our livelihood is intimately tied to the food we eat, water we drink and places where we recreate. That’s why we have to promote responsibility and conservation when it comes to our natural resources.”

— Mark Udall

3. “It’s tough to know the value of water until it’s gone.”

— Mark Udall

4. “I believe climate change is real – and I believe we have to act to protect the climate as fast as we possibly can.”

— Mark Udall

5. “Genuine dialogue, not rhetorical bomb-throwing, leads to progress.”

— Mark Udall

6. “The balance between freedom and security is a delicate one.”

— Mark Udall

7. “I’ve learned from being in the woods that titles don’t mean much and that actions speak a lot louder than words – even in Congress. I always look for the people who want to act – people who want to run the river or climb the mountain – even if they’re not members of my political party.”

— Mark Udall

8. “On the mountains mistakes are fatal. In politics, mistakes are wounding emotionally, but you recover. Personally, wilderness helps me get back in touch with natural rhythms, helps me reflect and, in the process, restore my creativity.”

— Mark Udall

9. “Political differences will always generate a healthy debate, but over time the dialogue has become more hateful and at times violent.”

— Mark Udall

10. “Any doctor will admit that any drug can have side effects, and that writing a prescription involves weighing the potential benefits against the risks.”

— Mark Udall

11. “When I talk about the importance of the institution of marriage, I think of the commitment and the significance of standing in front of those closest to you and promising fidelity to your partner ‘til death do you part.’”

— Mark Udall

12. “I haven’t inherited the earth from my parents, I am borrowing it from my children.”

— Mark Udall

13. “President Ford was a devoted, decent man of impeccable integrity who put service to his country before his own self interest. He helped heal our nation during a time of crisis, provided steady leadership and restored people’s faith in the presidency and in government.”

— Mark Udall

14. “I think most Americans would agree people should be treated equally and everyone ought to be able to pursue a fulfilling life with the ones they love.”

— Mark Udall

15. “Some of the best times I’ve spent in Colorado have been in the backcountry with my mom and siblings, and more recently, with my own kids. That is why I’m concerned to see today’s kids spending more time browsing the Internet than exploring nature.”

— Mark Udall

16. “In a country as large and diverse as America, compromise is how we get things done. It isn’t always pretty, but we have to find solutions to our problems that, at the end of the day, most people can live with.”

— Mark Udall

17. “The choreographed standing and clapping of one side of the room – while the other side sits – is unbecoming of a serious institution and the message that it sends is that even on a night when the president is addressing the entire nation, we in Congress cannot sit as one, but must be divided as two.”

— Mark Udall

18. “We all recognize that Colorado and our nation have a long and storied tradition of gun ownership for hunting, outdoor recreation and self-defense. However, I am not convinced that combat weapons are necessarily part of that heritage.”

— Mark Udall

19. “There is no question that we must do more to secure our borders – but how we go about securing them is also important.”

— Mark Udall

20. “Stem cells have the potential to be used to treat and better understand some of the world’s most deadly and disabling diseases.”

— Mark Udall

21. “I support allowing gay couples to marry because of – not in spite of – my values. And many of those values are the same ones deeply held by those who do not believe in gay marriage.”

— Mark Udall

22. “Truth be told, I’m much more comfortable in a pair of hiking boots or with a rack of climbing gear than in front of a laptop.”

— Mark Udall

23. “I’ve come to the conclusion that military style weapons really don’t have any place in our society. We ought to reinstate the assault weapons ban that served us well for 10 years from 1994 to 2004.”

— Mark Udall

24. “There is no getting around it; Congress is failing the American people.”

— Mark Udall

25. “The new Congress needs to move quickly to strengthen the Army and Marines – not to send more troops to Iraq – but to rebuild our capacity to meet national security threats globally.”

— Mark Udall

26. “Good-faith re-examination of a position you’ve held in the past should be seen as a virtue, not a vice.”

— Mark Udall

27. “It is deeply shocking and incomprehensible to me that despite volumes of documentation and living witnesses who can attest to the horrors of the Holocaust, there are still those who would deny it.”

— Mark Udall

28. “Climbing has worked for me in a number of ways on Capitol Hill. I’m much more inclined to look at what people do, as opposed to what they say. Also, it’s about working together – we’re all on the rope together, and you don’t get to cut the rope if you’re not getting along with someone.”

— Mark Udall

29. “While expanding market access for American industry, financial markets and farmers is critical, I believe it needs to be done responsibly, accounting for the treatment and protection of workers and the environment.”

— Mark Udall

30. “It’s my belief that, like every other American, gay and lesbian couples should be able to make a lifetime commitment to the person they love and protect their families.”

— Mark Udall

31. “I brag on the Democratic Party. We’re libertarian on social issues, it’s live and let live. Fiscally, we’re conservative and responsible, and were environmentally conscious.”

— Mark Udall

32. “Reform is not for the short-winded. I’m committed to making sure the Senate is more than just a graveyard for good ideas.”

— Mark Udall