Knowing they are on the verge of suffering massive election losses at every level of government, the Republicans have reached the point where, monkey-like, in many campaigns they are simply flinging their own waste at the wall and hoping something sticks.

It would obviously be impossible to chronicle every ad of this caliber in one brief blog post. Nor would every negative ad qualify; political realism dictates that many ads from both sides will be riddled with remarkable truth-stretching. We speak now only of ads that contain outright lies or logic so laughably flawed that it would get one expelled from a first-year philosophy course at any decent university.

One prime example is a recent ad run by the NRSC claiming Ohio Senate candidate, Rep. Sherrod Brown, hadn’t paid his unemployment taxes in 13 years. And although Mike DeWine improbably told Ohioans to “read his lips,” (always a good idea for Republican politicians), the ads were false and TV stations pulled them shortly before the NRSC did. This ad was so egregious it earned DeWine the appellation of “Mud-Loving Mike DeWine” from the Dayton Daily News.

But our favorite comes from Wisconsin’s 8th Congressional district, where the NRCC has engaged in bizarre flights of fantasy to discredit the honorable life of businessman and physician, Dr. Steve Kagen. The first claim was that Kagen was a big bully for forcing patients who stiffed him to pay up; as The Capital Times’ Joel McNally noted, this is surely a novel argument coming from Republicans, who have otherwise rarely been known to side with the Jean Valjeans of this world.

When that didn’t work, Republicans have settled for trying to impugn Steve Kagen’s character using the tried-and-true trickery of guilt by association. Since Steve Kagen’s lawyer has done criminal law work, says the NRCC, Kagen’s evil-doing mind surely holds a vast reservoir of sympathy for serial killers and rapists. This claim is of course preposterous, but is an excellent sign of how desperate the GOP is and why it must lose this November.

Now that the One Minivan Tour has rolled into America’s Dairyland, it’s worth taking a quick peak at three of the hottest races in Wisconsin this fall.

GOVERNOR: A hard-charging challenge from hard-right Congressman Mark Green notwithstanding, Governor Jim Doyle still leads by a few points according to the latest Republican poll. Democrats won’t be able to rest easy before Election Day, because this one is definitely coming down to the wire.

ATTORNEY GENERAL: Democratic Dane County Commissioner Kathleen Falk is one of the talented and articulate players in Wisconsin politics. Nevertheless, Christian fundamentalist Republican nominee J.B. Van Hollen is running a strong race for the GOP. Touting his prosecutorial experience, endorsements from law enforcement (including seven “Democratic” County Sheriffs), and some labor groups, Van Hollen is threatening to become the most reactionary Top Cop in Wisconsin history. A recent poll gives Falk the lead, but this race could also have voters and activists up ’til the wee hours on Election Night.

CONGRESS, 8TH DISTRICT: Democratic Doctor and Businessman Steve Kagen is running a great campaign to pick up a much-needed seat for the Democrats in this Green Bay-based district. GOP Assembly Speaker John Gard is the repugnant Republican version of D.C.’s Denny Hastert and the Culture of Corruption. Among recent shenanigans, John Gard forced anti-death penalty Republicans to be suspiciously absent from the Assembly Floor when voting to place an advisory referendum on the issue on this November’s ballot. One Republican chalked up her absence to a nasty bout of diarrhea contracted at an unnamed pizza parlor! John Gard needs to go down, and various polls have suggested Kagen has a small lead.

All of these swing state races will be very close, so if your wallet isn’t already empty for this cycle, help these Wisconsin candidates win today! And stay on the lookout for the Wisconsin episode coming soon.

There were many interesting races in Wisconsin last night.

Brutal primaries on both sides of the aisle in the Attorney General’s race have been resolved. Incumbent Democrat Peggy Lautenschlager lost renomination to Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk. In addition to other controversies, Lautenschlager plead guilty to driving while intoxicated in 2004. A very sad end to a promising political career, but Democrats should be excited by Kathleen Falk’s experience and strong progressive record. Former U.S. Attorney J.B. Van Hollen, a hard-core Christianist who has likened abortion to pre-meditated murder, defeated immigrant-bashing Waukesha County District Attorney Paul Bucher for the GOP nomination. Van Hollen will try to paint Falk as an out-of-touch Madison liberal with no experience as a prosecutor.

In the Green Bay-based 8th Congressional District being vacated by Mark Green to run for Governor, Dr. Steve Kagen defeated former Brown County Comissioner/ex-Republican Nancy Nussbaum and businessman Jamie Wall in the Democratic Primary. Kagen will battle Assembly Speaker John Gard, Wisconsin’s own Tom DeLay, for the seat in November. The NRCC anticipated Kagen’s victory, as they are already running sleazy, misleading attack ads against him. Kagen’s outsider message and career as an allergist and businessman should compare favorably to John Gard’s life as a career politician; Gard has never held full-time employment outside of the State Capitol’s walls. Although the district leans Republican, this is a great opportunity for Democrats to win a new House seat in November.

The Wisconsin 8th is heating up. The House seat is being vacated by Rep. Mark Green (R) and both Democrats and Republicans believe that they can win the seat.

Wisconsin Democrats think the northeastern-based 8th district is so competitive that three credible candidates have emerged to try to put the seat being vacated by Rep. Mark Green (R-Wis.) into the blue column.

Collectively they raised more than $2 million in 2005, bolstering national Democrats’ claims that the area encompassing Green Bay is not solid GOP terrain.

The Republicans have coalesced behind Assembly Speaker John Gard (R), which will give them early fundraising and organizing momentum.

The Democrats have a 3-way primary, which will take place on September 12, 2006. The announced Democratic candidates so far are: Jamie Wall (Businessman), Nancy Nusbaum (former De Pere mayor and Brown County executive) and Steve Kagen (an allergist and immunologist).

On the good side…

This should be an interesting race and certainly one to keep on the radar. DoubleSpeak will follow this race and will sit down with the Democratic nominee in the fall.