I've not had the time to pay much attention to US politics which to be frank has been very disheartening as of late but if there's a breath of fresh air it is in Ohio and her name is Jennifer Brunner, the Democratic candidate for US Senate.

The video is courtesy of Chase Whiteside and Erick Stoll of New Left Media. Learn more about Jennifer Brunner on YouTube or become a fan on Facebook. You can also visit her website for more information.

A few months ago, Democrats were facing uphill battles in the Ohio races for governor and U.S. Senate. However, recent polls have been more encouraging. A new Quinnipac poll shows Governor Ted Strickland leading Republican John Kasich by 44 percent to 38 percent and both Democratic candidates, Lee Fisher and Jennifer Brunner, narrowly ahead of Republican Rob Portman in the U.S. Senate races, 40-37 and 40-36. Quinnipac was polling registered voters in Ohio, and polls that sample likely voters tend to produce better numbers for Republicans, but as you can see from the Pollster.com chart, several pollsters have found Strickland in a stronger position compared to a few months ago:

Here is the Pollster.com chart of Senate polls testing Portman against Fisher, who will probably win the Democratic primary next Tuesday.

It's not a big lead, but I'll take it in a state where unemployment is above the national average at 11 percent. Money will be a big problem for the Democratic nominee against Portman, who had $7.7 million cash on hand according to his latest FEC filing. Fisher had only about $907,000 on hand, and Brunner had just $59,000.

Share any thoughts about this year's Ohio elections in this thread.

I'm the New Media Director for the U.S. Senate campaign of a true progressive champion, Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner. She's the one who cleaned up Ohio's elections in time for the 2008 election of President Obama and a mess of Democrats in Congress, and she won the JFK Profile in Courage Award for her stalwart efforts to protect our votes.

Visit VictoryForCourage.com now for all the fun of today's money bomb. We've got videos, an endorsement messagae scroll, a CoverItLive chat box, and a cool Rosie the Riveter thermometer tracking the contributions as the roll.

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Welcome to 2010. Hope everyone had a good break.

In 2010 we still have a long way to go with our economic recovery. And, as I have been saying for more than 5 years, the best way to revitalize our economy is through conversion to a green economy. Focusing on energy solutions like solar, wind, small hydroelectric, methane capture, biodiesel, etc. we create American jobs, produce energy more locally (hence improving the efficiency of energy delivery) and reduce our dependence on nations like Saudi Arabia and Venezuela. The United States has dragged its feet on this. As individuals we have generally been reluctant to make the personal decisions necessary to create a sound market for clean energy. And our local, state and Federal governments have been painfully slow to put in the incentives and regulations that would encourage such a shift. In 2010 we have to turn the tide both as individuals and at the level of government. This is critical both for job creation and for addressing global warming.

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I blogged about this earlier in the week, and sure enough, its becoming the trend. In Kentucky, Jack Conway, who is the AG running for the open Senate seat, has come out saying he "expresses reservations about President Obama's plan for troop surge" and that Obama has not adequately expressed a rationale for sending more troops.

Conway's position is in opposition to KY LG Dan Mongiardo, who stated yesterday that he was "inclined to support a troop surge in Afghanistan." Combine that with the contrast over mountaintop mountaintop removal for coal, which Conway opposes and Mongiardo supports, and it's pretty clear whom is the progressive in the primary.

So that's Kentucky.

In Ohio, Jennifer Brunner has already come out opposed to the surge of troops. I've not seen anything from her opponent, LG Lee Fisher. [edit., Lee Fisher does have a position, saying that 30,000 additional troops are not required.]

In Massachusetts, Martha Coakley joined Mike Capuano in opposition.

In Pennsylvania, Arlen Specter has stated he is opposed, and Joe Sestak is in favor, and its become a central defining issue between the two candidates.

In Illinois, one of the leading candidates, David Hoffman, has put out a statement saying: " I am skeptical that our mission in Afghanistan should be to spend years rebuilding the country with our armed forces at potentially great cost of American life."

These are all open primaries, where the candidates have their ears much closer to the ground of Democratic voters than those in DC  currently do. I expect that we will see plenty of primary opportunities develop against incumbents whom are in Democratic strongholds that go along with support of the surge.

Look, when your allies are Byron York ("Obama keeps his Afghan promise") and Sarah Palin ("I support President Obama's decision"), you're on the wrong side of the issue.

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