The National Republican Congressional Committee is hoping to soften up Blue Dog Democrats with new radio ads that paint the self-described fiscal conservatives as big spenders who helped Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) push hundreds of billions of dollars in new spending through Congress so far this year.

The ads, which target Democratic Reps. Marion Berry (Ark.), Charlie Melancon (La.), Earl Pomeroy (N.D.), Zack Space (Ohio) and John Tanner (Tenn.), are the first salvo of the NRCC’s new “Accountability Offensive,— which is aimed at Democrats who consider themselves fiscal watchdogs.

Of the five Democrats being targeted in the new ad campaign, only Space is currently a member of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee’s “Frontline— program, which is designed to shore up vulnerable incumbents ahead of the 2010 elections.