SENSENBRENNER, ONE OF THE MOST CORRUPT AND EXTREME IN CONGRESS, GETS AN EFFECTIVE CHALLENGER

When you look at the lists of likely Democratic wins in the 2006 midterm congressional elections, Wisconsin's 5th District doesn't show up. When you hear about the worst congressmen in America, Wisconsin's 5th District ALWAYS shows up. The mid-Wisconsin district is represented by Jim Sensenbrenner, a vicious and partisan fascist. Before he became famous as one of only 11 congressmen to vote "no" on relief aid for the victims of Hurricane Katrina, he was famous for his narrow-minded and dictatorial manner of chairing the House Judiciary Committee. A huge amorphous blog of a man and an unabashed glutton, Sensenbrenner brooked no debate on his so-called Patriot Act, demanding C-Span cameras be shut off, gaveling a meeting over and running out of the room with the gavel when Democrats started asking questions about violations of free speech, freedom of the press, human rights and the right to privacy. (Even earlier Sensenbrenner got a national reputation as one of the House managers of the impeachment of Bill Clinton.) Earlier this year Sensenbrenner again made national news when it was widely reported that he has had lobbyists pay for his transportation, a violation of congressional rules. His total travel expenses are higher than any other congressman (and that isn't because he's charged by the pound).

This year Bryan Kennedy is taking on Sensenbrenner again. (In 2004, the corpulent right-winger beat him with 66.6% of the vote.) Kennedy has just started running his first ad targeting his opponent, probably the first TV ad for the midterms. The ad is pretty aggressive but insurgent Democrats need to be aggressive against powerful, corporately-funded and well-entrenched incumbents like Sensenbrenner.

You can view Kennedy's ad (WMP, Real and QT) here:

http://www.bk2006.org/preview.mgi