My DD quotes from the Hauser Report on the battles in the Senate. Among those in trouble on the Republican side is Wayne Allard of Colorado. He and Democratic challenger Tom Strickland are running neck and neck in the polls with Zogby showing them equal at 42 percent each. Political Wire reported recently that independent voters are favoring Strickland by a large margin.

The campaign is nearing the end. Strickland needs help for his tv ads that have been very effective. Tim Russert said on Meet the Press a few weeks ago that this has become the most important race in the country because it could determine whether the Democrats or Republicans control of the senate.

We were at a fundraiser for Strickland last night. We've known him and his family for fifteen years as our kids went to school together. We've also observed his management and leadership skills first-hand when he was the U.S. Attorney in Colorado (appointed by Clinton, fired by Bush). As anyone who reads TalkLeft knows, it's rare that we praise prosecutors. Strickland did a great job. He took an office that was low in morale and performance and turned it around. By elevating the professionalism and spirit of his prosecutors, federal court became a fairer place for defendants. He was one of the rare prosecutors who instinctively understood and whole-heartedly believes that the job of a prosecutor is to do justice, not to convict.

Strickland cares about who gets on the Supreme Court. As a Senator he will vote against right-wing judicial activists. He considers Attorney General John Ashcroft "an enemy." Last night he said that when he got the telephone call from Robert Mueller (former Acting Attorney General and U.S. Attorney in California and current F.B.I. Director) telling him he was fired, Mueller told him that he had been instructed to make the call to Strickland first.

We don't agree on every issue. For example, he supports the Victims' Rights Amendment and we oppose it. But we agree with him on the fundamentals, and we know he will use his power in the Senate to restrain and oppose Ashcroft in his relentless assault on the Constitution.

Strickland is highly critical of Bush's foreign policy. He thinks he has politicized the Iraq issue to validate his father. He thinks Saddam is a threat, but he doesn't favor attacking Iraq now as the way to eliminate him--not until we've exhausted every other reasonable means. He thinks we should be helping to re-build Afganistan and similar countries. By attacking the poverty, despair and hopelessness that is the daily existence of people in these countries, we can reduce the number of those drawn to terrorism and those most susceptible to being converted by the terrorists.

If you can, go here and give him some money. If you care about the next twenty years of Supreme Court decisions, which will be affected by upcoming retirements of at least two and maybe more Justices within the next few years, we need to control the balance in the Senate. Strickland is a godsend on that issue alone.

If you give to one race this year, even if it's $25, give to Strickland.