Freshman Representative John Hall got a boost during his campaign from his days as a bare-chested rock and roller with the group Orleans. But now, a few months into his first term, a Republican has stepped up to challenge him, criticizing not only his position on Iraq, but his ties to the music industry.

Kieran Michael Lalor, a former marine who served in Iraq, has launched an exploratory committee to run the 19th congressional district in the Hudson Valley, which Hall represents. Among his complaints:

Hall's campaign was supported by the likes of Susan Sarandon, who is so radical she was uninvited to a 2003 event at the baseball Hall of Fame because she was actively undermining the morale of American troops in Iraq. Musician Bonnie Raitt, who in 1999 traveled to Cuba to play for Castro and bash the United States in the Karl Marx Theatre, played a concert to raise money for the Hall Campaign.

-- Azi Paybarah