Taking the Hill

TAKING THE HILL: A Discovery-Times Documentary Film

"Last year, filmmaker brothers Brent and Craig Renaud
gave us the outstanding documentary Off to War. This
year the Renauds have delivered a similarly powerful
film." --Media Village

"Very poignant, very moving" --CNN

"A great documentary" --The Nation

In November 2006, more than 50 veterans of the U.S. armed forces from around the country will be vying for seats in Congress. Since WWII, there has not been this many veterans running for national office at the same time. TAKING THE HILL tells the story of a group of veterans, most with no prior political experience or aspirations, who have chosen political action as a means to further answer the call of service to their country.

Beginning in February 2006, when U.S. Army veteran Mike Lyon brought together the veteran candidates in Washington, D.C., in a loose coalition called the Band of Brothers 2006, the Renaud brothers have followed the candidates as they travel throughout their home states: Illinois, Kentucky, New York, Pennsylvania and Texas. Although most of the veterans considered themselves politically independent, or in some cases Republican, during their active military careers, they have come together this year to run as Democrats.

Though each of the races is unique, what binds the candidates is their shared intense disagreement with the Bush administration’s handling of the Iraq war and their dismay with continued cuts to veterans’ programs back home. From Eric Massa, a retired Navy commander in rural New York State, to Rick Bolanos, a Purple Heart recipient in Vietnam, to Tammy Duckworth, an Army captain who lost both her legs when a grenade hit her helicopter in Iraq, this documentary will follow the stories of these veterans as they head into their respective political battles.

Having spent much of their working lives in the military, these veterans do not have personal wealth to fund their campaigns, nor do they have the political connections it takes to easily raise the vast amounts of money necessary to compete politically at the national level. Tammy Duckworth says that “all of us are underdogs,” running largely in conservative districts and often against entrenched Republican incumbents. Eric Massa calls himself a “no name, no money” candidate who, like the other Band of Brothers candidates, nevertheless believes he has what it takes to win.

TAKING THE HILL is about a group of outsiders fighting political battles and motivated by a desire to serve their country – not by going to war this time, but by going to Washington.