‘Keeping the Blue Dogs Honest’

Hastings Wyman has a good piece up at the Southern Political Report, talking to Oklahoma strategists about the NRCC’s eyebrow-raising inclusion of Rep. Dan Boren (D-Okla.) on their target list. The five Republicans who’ve thrown their hats into the ring present basically no threat to Boren; one is a law student at Drexel, one’s a garage door salesmen who writes for conservative magazines.

Keith Gaddie, the political guru of the University of Oklahoma, says that the NRCC is only trying to keep Boren “honest.” Evidence that it’s working:

He has now decided he will hold a town hall meeting, where health care will be the hot topic. This after one of the GOPers, Dan Arnett, blasted Boren for planning to have a “phone-in” meeting rather than come face-to-face with voters on the issue. Arnett planned to hold his own meeting in front of one of Boren’s district offices.

Boren has also stepped up his profile as the sort of conservative Democrat whose comments infuriate the liberal blogosphere.