That freshman Rep. Betsy Markey (D-Colo) is a new member of the Blue Dog Coalition, the group of 52 Democrats who endorse fiscal restraint, probably will have no effect on her 2010 re-election bid.

After all, how many voters in Colorado’s 4th district (or any other district, for that matter) know what a “Blue Dog” is?

Still, the announcement did give Markey an opportunity to burnish her credentials on economic issues and maybe get some good press back home in Colorado’s 4th, where she faces a difficult re-election campaign.