Hagan blisters Dole over "Godless" ad; it's over

We are just hours away from the political death of Elizabeth Dole, and I couldn't be happier. Last week, the Dole campaign ran an ad accusing Kay Hagan of being an atheist, and Hagan is striking back. The above ad hits it right on the money.

However, the best news is that Dole is sinking almost as quickly as Sen. Ted Stevens in the polls, so in about 24 hours, two of the country's most moronic, mean-spirited Republican senators will be wondering how it all fell apart.

Anyway, support Hagan in the final hours if you have the means - even a few dollars will help. I'm rooting for Hagan's victory, along with Al Franken's, almost as much as I am rooting for an Obama victory tomorrow.

Gallup: All signs point toward Obama

Happy Sunday morning, everyone. Here's hoping you enjoyed the extra hour of sleep; I just woke up an hour earlier. No complaints, though - it's more time to blog about one of the most important elections in recent American history - two days to go.

Anyway, despite what some GOP hacks are promoting - the idea that McCain is gaining on Obama - the polls are not bearing this out. Yesterday, Drudge pimped a one-day Zogby poll that had McCain ahead 48%-47%. One day? A pimple on the face of the electorate. Even this morning, Drudge has up a Zogby poll that puts Obama up by 6. In the national polls, Obama is up by an average of 7.8%, which is just a bit over yesterday. WaPo has a pretty revealing story about polls - in the last 159 national polls, Obama has led them all.

McCain seems to be narrowing Obama's lead slightly, including right here in Pennsylvania, but I believe it will be too little, too late. I'm not at all surprised that the race is narrowing, however - the last two presidential elections, nefarious vote counting tactics aside, have been very, very close, and I don't think this one will be any different. Of course, I would love to be wrong - I'd love to see Obama run away with it in a landslide, but I have my doubts about that.

We all have to keep fighting - e-mailing, talking to friends, donating some time on Tuesday or even donating a few dollars through Obama's Website. Remember, Obama will still need resources after Tuesday, especially if, heaven forbid, we have a replay of 2000, when the lawyers and ground efforts have to be dispatched if the election is disputed. So, even if you can spare $5, please donate.

There's some good news and bad news in the Senate races. On the bright side, Ted Stevens is going to get bounced out on his ass in his up north after being convicted on seven felony counts this past week; and Kay Hagan is leading the insipid, vapid Elizabeth Dole by five points after her despicable ads portraying Hagan as an atheist. A bit of bad news, though: Norm Coleman now has a small lead on Al Franken in Minnesota, and Saxby Chambliss is up by 5 in the latest polls over Jim Martin, BUT both races are still winnable by the Democrats, especially if Obama carries both states (he will in Minnesota, and he has an outside shot at carrying Georgia).

To that end, please support these Senate Democratic candidates (and of course, others, too) by clicking the links below giving a little bit of money. Even $5 can help to make a difference in the final days.

Jim Martin in Georgia
Al Franken in Minnesota
Kay Hagen in North Carolina

Getting 60 votes in the Senate would be a major plus to Obama if he gets in, and would obviously be useful in blocking some of McCain's more ridiculous proposals should he prevail on Tuesday.

Senator Elizabeth Dole: beyond contempt

Sen. Elizabeth Dole (R-NC) is becoming increasingly desperate in her bid for reelection in North Carolina. So desperate, in fact, that she recently released an ad accusing her opponent, State Sen. Kay Hagan (D-NC), of accepting "Godless money" and consorting with "Godless" groups. Talk about desperate, pathetic and beyond the pale - Dole knows she's up against it in a year that will likely wash a wave of Democrats into Congress. Right now, polls show her trailing Hagan by anywhere from 2-4 points.

Dole's nickname is Liddy, but perhaps it should be Dip-Shiddy after approving an attack ad like this. (You'll notice that her voice appears at the very beginning of the ad, which is no coincidence, because she wouldn't want it at the end of the ad, when the pathetic "There is no God!" voice is heard, which intentionally is made to sound like Hagan's voice. Amid a sea of offensive political ads year after year, this one stands out amongst the worst of the worst.)

In fact, the ad is so offensive that even GOP operatives and pundits are speaking out against it. Alex Castellanos, a noted GOP operative and pundit, spoke out against the ad earlier today on CNN's Situation Room.

It's about time Dole gets bounced from the Senate. On a personal note, she's gotten on my nerves for years. In 2006, the Sunday before the mid-term elections, she appeared on Meet the Press and accused Democrats of being "content with losing" in Iraq. That year, Dole did a magnificently bad job as chairwoman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee; the GOP was routed and Democrats took control of the Senate.

Here's hoping that the polls bear out what will happen in six days - that Hagan will beat Dole and become one of the new Democratic senators in 2009. Click Here to donate to Hagan's campaign - even if you only have $5 to give - every bit will help in the final days of the campaign.

If you have a minute, visit Hagan's site to read her official response to Dole's "Godless" ad - it's a very well-put, appropriate response.

This ad is yet another reason why I will never run for political office - I would have an extremely hard time controlling myself in the face of such a despicable attack ad.

3 Senate candidates who need our support

Al Franken, the former liberal radio talk show host, comedian and author, is running for the U.S. Senate in Minnesota. His opponent is the Republican incumbent Norm Coleman. Since there's no Senate race to follow in Pennsylvania this election, I've been following this race the closest.

In short, Coleman has been nothing short of a Bush rubber stamp since he took office in 2002, and it's essential that progressives send him packing. I normally am not a big fan of sharing political ads (ad fatigue is quickly setting in with 16 days to go), but the one above is pretty damning about Coleman and his alleged "investigations" of war profiteering. Take a look at the vid, and drop by Franken's Website and make a donation. Even $5 or $10 can make a difference. The Democrats, regardless of whether Obama wins or not, need as many seats in the Senate as they can to reverse many of Bush's disastrous policies. (And the Senate needs new leadership to go along with a nice majority, too.)

Anyway, Franken, by most accounts I've read, has run a remarkably honest campaign, while Coleman has lamely attempted to use Franken's sardonic wit from his past gigs as a radio host, comedian and author to discredit him. So far, it hasn't worked - right now, Franken is up in the polls, holding a small lead. An average of polls by Quinnipiac, University of Minnesota and Rasmussen gives Franken a four-point lead, but he needs all the help he can get, because Coleman is getting plenty from the RNC and his corporate contributors.

Two other U.S. Senate races that bear watching and deserve our support...

In North Carolina, Kay Hagan is running against Republican incumbent Sen. Elizabeth Dole. In case you're wondering, yes, this is the same Dole who did a spectacularly bad job as chairman of the NRSC in 2006 in recruiting strong senatorial candidates to challenge weak Democratic senators. For example, She couldn't find anyone better than the detestable Katherine "Cruella de Vil" Harris to unseat mediocre Democratic incumbent Sen. Bill Nelson. Even worse, Dole said Democrats were "content with losing in Iraq" on Meet the Press just days before the '06 election. (Anyone still wondering why the GOP got its collective butt kicked in '06?)

Here's hoping that Hagan sends Dole back to North Carolina, or Kansas, or wherever she says she's living, to be with another failed GOP presidential candidate, Bob Dole. Maybe she can help him spend all the money he made off of his Viagra ads (and help him use his medicine, too - eeeewwwwwwww).

The latest Rasmussen poll has Hagan up by four points, but the race is still very, very close. Please drop by Hagan's Website to make a contribution - every dollar will make a difference in this race.

In Georgia, the thoroughly contemptible Sen. Saxby Chambliss, the incumbent Republican, is running for reelection against Jim Martin. Chambliss is the man who ran an incredibly mean-spirited campaign against Sen. Max Cleland in 2002, where his campaign ads criticized Cleland for not helping to defeat Osama bin Laden and Saddam Hussein. (See video above) Of all of the incumbents running for reelection in the Senate, I'd like to see him bounced out more than any other.

Martin, another Vietnam vet, is running a pretty strong campaign, but he too needs our support. Two days ago, an average of three polls showed Martin running a razor-thin two points behind Chambliss. Martin is doing surprisingly well, and he's picking up plenty of support and endorsements, but he's also fighting an uphill battle against an incumbent with plenty of resources in party support and campaign cash.

Chambliss is yet another Republican on a very long list of GOP chickenhawks - a warmonger and Iraq War cheerleader who did all he could to avoid service in Vietnam in the 1960, receiving five student deferments (is he related to Dick Cheney?). Here's hoping that Chambliss' past embrace of Karl Rove tactics that helped him win his seat will come back to bite him this time around. Please drop by Martin's Website to make a contribution as well.

Please, even if it's just $5, support these three very, very important Democratic challengers - three keys to building a larger Democratic majority in the Senate.

Dole an outrage on Meet the Press

Above is a comment from Senator Elizabeth Dole (R-NC), Chairwoman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, on yesterday's Meet the Press. These kinds of comments have become so commonplace that in some circles they are routine, but not with me. It's inexcusable for a politician from either party to make comments like this, but I mostly hear Republicans saying it these days, for obvious reasons - they are in power, they set the agenda, and if you don't come along with what they want, well, then you're "for the terrorists."

Notice when Russert tries to let her Democratic counterparts rebut her outrageous claim, she won't STFU, repeatedly talking over everyone, including Russert, in an attempt to qualify her remarks. (No doubt saying to herself, "I just pulled a John Kerry - I'd better take that back!") Why? Because she knows better. Notice the second time she says it, it's qualified. Yes, it's campaign season, but some lines shouldn't be crossed, especially when they are lies.

Dole, known affectionately as "Liddy," (maybe now, she should be called "Dip Shiddy" - she could be a rapper!) ought to be ashamed of herself. No wonder her presidential campaign lasted about 10 minutes - with divisive, inflammatory comments like these, how much appeal could she hope to have?

And to be clear, I listened to all of yesterday's Meet the Press on my commute to work this morning, and Dole's comment in the clip above is NOT taken out of context. If you don't believe me, download the Meet The Press podcast - you can get it for free.

What's more, Dole made herself look absurd with her grandstanding and filibustering throughout the entire show, talking over Tim Russert more than once, making sure she mentioned every single Republican Senator who's in a competitive race. At one point, a clearly exasperated Russert said, "Okay, we know you endorse all of your candidates." I could hardly tolerate listening to it.

She boldly goes on to say that Republicans will retain control of the Senate (surprise). Her counterpart, Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY), chairman of the National Democratic Senatorial Committee, was more reserved, saying it's "not time to pop the champagne and high five just yet," saying he "didn't want to jinx it." Well said, Chuck.

We'll see if Dip Shiddy's predictions prove true when the returns come in - starting about 36 hours from now.