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.

Body of War trailer

A few days ago I wrote about Body of War, a documentary about Tomas Young, an Iraqi War vet who is now paralyzed from the chest down after being struck by a bullet while serving in combat. Anyway, I found the trailer and wanted to bring it to you. I love it when lies and distortions are preserved for all eternity on video tape, and when said footage comes back to bite a politician in the arse. Looks like this movie contains plenty of that; the more the merrier.

The big question I have is where does the right wing come down on Young, Phil Donahue and this movie? Are these guys unpatriotic? Where is Sean Hannity, Bill O'Reilly, Ann Coulter, Michael Savage, Michelle Malkin and Rush Limbaugh? I would love to hear them criticize this man the same way they bludgeoned Cindy Sheehan on an almost-daily basis during the summer and fall of 2004. What's more, Young still has a brother over in the Middle East. Tomas Young deserves nothing short of our complete and unconditional respect. Something tells me he's not going to get it from Faux News and all its puppets. And he shouldn't care one bit, either.