Here's an idea for raising the cost for those Dem House members who in 2006 and 2008 ran "I'm not a liberal" campaigns in districts that really should be Republican: Strategically select five of six of them who are the most vulnerable due to circumstances peculiar to their district (strong GOP base, strong likely GOP challenger, etc.), and organize recall campaigns once they start casting liberal votes this year (you know they will).

The signature-gathering campaigns must be well financed and credible to have the desired effect, but whether the recalls actually take place is secondary. The real goal is to send a message to the rest of the putative "blue dogs" that makes them think, "I don't want to have to deal with anything like that!" This would stiffen their spines when Pelosi's whips come around looking for votes on particularly egregious legislation.

The strategy will be familiar to Michiganders who watched Leon Drolet terrorize the Michigan legislature for three months by parking a giant pink pig outside the Capitol while legislators sought to summon the nerve to raise taxes in the midst of a one-state recession. In the end Drolet's recall threats weren't enough, but they did delay the tax hike, and in a more favorable overall political environment the result might have been different.

A similar strategic recall campaign at the national congressional level will require greater resources, including the implicit support of the Republican establishment (something not present in the Michigan example). The real purpose should be clearly announced both in the targeted districts and nationally, because the goal is to send a message to all the "blue dogs," not just the handful of recall targets.