The National Republican Congressional Committee is targeting three veteran Democrats who voted for the House version of the health care bill in a weeklong round of television ads that will begin airing on Thursday.

The new 30-second spots hit Democratic Reps. Earl Pomeroy of North Dakota, Vic Snyder of Arkansas and John M. Spratt Jr. of South Carolina for their votes by using the words of fellow Democratic legislators who opposed the legislation.

Among the statements the NRCC uses in it' new ad against Pomeroy is one released by the office of Rep. Dan Boren, D-Okla., when he announced he was going to buck his party and vote no on the bill two days before the vote came to the floor.

"The worst thing we could do during a recession is raise taxes and this bill does just that," Boren said in his statement.

Four out of every five House members who didn't side with their party on the health care bill represent districts that voted for the opposite party's presidential nominee in the 2008 election.

The party-buckers on the 220-215 vote on Saturday night included 39 Democrats who voted against the bill. Of them, 31 represent districts that voted for John McCain over Barack Obama. Republicans are targeting many of them for defeat in the 2010 election. Of the other eight, three are serving their first terms in districts in which they defeated or succeeded Republicans in the 2008 election.

Eighteen Democrats from McCain-voting districts backed the bill. Among this subset, seven-term Rep. Marion Berry of Arkansas represents the most pro-McCain district (59 percent). He's more politically secure than other "McCain Democrats" who voted for the bill, including first-term Rep. Tom Perriello of Virginia and second-term Rep. Zack Space of Ohio.

Virginia Republican Rep. Eric Cantor, the House Minority Whip and one of the GOP's most potent fundraisers, used his leadership PAC last month to donate mostly to Republican candidates who are challenging Democratic incumbents in the 2010 election.

Cantor's organization, known as Every Republican Is Crucial (ERIC) PAC, reported Monday that it donated $2,500 apiece to five GOP challengers about whom the congressman and other national party officials are bullish.

They are Andy Harris of Maryland, a state senator challenging Rep. Frank Kratovil Jr. in a rematch of their close 2008 race in the 1st District; Martha Roby of Alabama, a Montgomery city councilwoman who is taking on Rep. Bobby Bright in the 2nd District; Steve Pearce of New Mexico, a former House member who lost a Senate race in 2008 and is seeking to reclaim his old 2nd District seat, now held by Rep. Harry Teague; Steve Stivers of Ohio, who is waging a rematch campaign against Rep. Mary Jo Kilroy in the Columbus-area 15th District; and Van Tran of California, an assemblyman who is taking on Rep. Loretta Sanchez in the 47th District.

The anti-tax group Club for Growth released their 2009 "RePork Card" rating House members' efforts to rein in public spending, and by the Club's standards, the Democrats failed miserably.

The one exception: Idaho freshman Rep. Walt Minnick, who along with 21 Republicans earned a perfect 100 percent score from the Club. That means he voted for all 68 amendments proposed in the House to strip out earmarked spending projects, or "pork," from the 12 annual spending bills. The average Democratic score, in contrast, was 3 percent, with a median of zero.

Republicans averaged 57 percent, with a median score of 69 percent.

The next-highest scores for Democrats were Tennessee Rep. Jim Cooper with 97 percent and Rep. Bobby Bright of Alabama with 61 percent.

Alabama Democrat Robert E. "Bud" Cramer no longer serves in Congress, but he's donating campaign funds to his colleagues as if he still were.

Cramer, who represented northern Alabama's 5th District from 1991 through 2008, gave $68,000 in this year's second quarter to Democratic candidates and committees, according to a filing his still-active campaign committee made Monday.

Cramer's committee gave $50,000 to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, the campaign arm of House Democrats. He gave $2,500 to the Blue Dog PAC and also gave money to House or Senate members who affiliate with that group of centrist Democrats who promote fiscal restraint: Reps. Bobby Bright of Alabama ($2,000), Dan Boren of Oklahoma ($1,500) and Lincoln Davis of Tennessee ($2,000) and Sen. Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas ($1,000). Bright will face a tough re-election race.

Cramer's committee also gave $4,000 to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada, who also faces the voters in 2010.

Though Cramer's contributions were generous, they amounted to a very small fraction of his overall campaign treasury. Cramer had $1.3 million in his account as July began.

While members of Congress are home for recess, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) is using a $2.5 million ad campaign to boost the health care records of several potentially vulnerable House Democrats.

Television commercials began running June 27 in six members' home districts and will air for two weeks. Accompanying mailers were also sent to voters.

"On health care there are two sides of the coin. On one side, do nothing. On the other, move forward- like Congressman Jim Himes, who's making real progress on reform," said the voiceover in one targeted television ad. The commercial continues by crediting Himes for expanding coverage for children, veterans, and protecting Medicare.