Barking back at Blue Dogs

Next year’s midterm election is coming on fast, especially for a group of conservative House Democrats known as the Blue Dogs who could be particularly vulnerable. With 18 months to go before the 2010 general election, the National Republican Congressional Committee has begun airing radio advertisements targeting five members of the Blue Dog coalition.

Blue Dogs usually hail from conservative districts, including many that until recently elected Republicans to Congress, and so they are often viewed as potential targets. The NRCC, the fundraising and political arm of House Republicans, is airing the ads against Democratic Reps. Marion Berry of Arkansas, Charlie Melancon of Louisiana, Earl Pomeroy of Alabama, Zack Space of Ohio, and John Tanner of Tennessee.

“This year in Washington, Marion Berry’s not voting like a Blue Dog, he’s voting like a lap dog,” the ad’s narrator contends in one of the ads, as dogs bark in the background. To back up the claim, the ad refers to the $787 billion economic stimulus bill, which it attributes to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (even though it was President Obama who pushed for the measure) and the federal budget…
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