I was in a debate a little while ago with a representative of MoveOn.org who got rather angry when I told him that his organization was going to wind up applying a lot more pressure on moderate Democrats than on Republicans over the next two years. He assured me that despite the defeat of dozens of swing-seat Republicans in the last two cycles, there were plenty of Republicans who would feel the heat and risk their political futures if they opposed the Obama agenda.

How quickly things change! It’s just a few weeks later, and MoveOn has apparently decided that the only elected officials with anything to fear from opposing Obama are Democrats in marginal seats. Here’s the message MoveOn is sending to my Senator (note that it’s a radio ad; I added the picture):

Similar ads are targeted at 9 other Democrats in moderate districts or states. They are Sens. Jeanne Shaheen (NH) and Evan Bayh (IN), and Representatives Gabrielle Giffords (AZ-8), Harry Mitchell (AZ-5), Jason Altmire (PA-4), Joe Donnelly (IN-2), Chris Carney (PA-10), Baron Hill (IN-9) and Mike McIntyre (NC-7). These ads serve as a reminder that there’s a price for defying the liberals in Washington, so Democrats better vote the MoveOn line, and not what their constituents may want.

The Campaign for America’s Future goes further. They accuse moderate Democrats of offering ‘treacherous opposition’ to the Obama agenda (via the Corner).

So much for ‘dissent is patriotic,’ huh? Now the mantra seems to be that the nail that sticks up gets hammered down.

That suits Republicans just fine. The holders of these districts determine who controls Congress; if MoveOn and the Campaign for America’s Future want to make their re-election runs a little harder, it makes it easier for Republicans to regain control.