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The National Republican Congressional Campaign Committee began sending recorded telephone messages Wednesday into the districts of four North Carolina Democratic congressmen, criticizing them for their votes on the payroll tax cut.

The robo calls went into the districts of four Democrats targeted for defeat next year, Brad Miller of Raleigh, Mike McIntyre of Lumberton, Larry Kissell of Troy, and Heath Shuler of Bryson City.

“If you're as fed up with Congress as everyone else is, wait til you hear what your Congressman Mike McIntyre did,” said one recording. “Not only did McIntyrle vote last week to pave the way for a tax increase for you and every other American middle class family, but he is now stubbornly standing by his position that could raise your taxes by over thousand dollars starting January 1.”

Andrew Whalen, spokesman for the Blue Dog Democrat PAC, noted that the four Democrats are being attacked for voting the same way as the Senate Republicans.

“The National Republican Congressional Committee will begin bombarding homes with robo-calls, just days before Christmas and on the second day of Hanukkah, peddling their dishonest spin about why millions of America's working families are facing a tax increase beginning January 1st,”  Whalen wrote in a memo reporters.

“Blue Dogs stand with the overwhelming bipartisan majority of the U.S. Senate ready to protect working families from a tax increase. House Republicans, their Tea Party freshmen, and commitment to ideology rather than American families are to blame for this looming tax increase.”

Whalen said the calls are also going into districts of Reps. Jason Altmire of Pennsylvania, Ben Chandler of Kentucky, Jim Costa of California and Collin Peterson of Minnesota.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee on Monday began running robo calls in the district of Republican Rep. Renee Ellmers of Dunn.

Democratic Congressman Brad Miller is the target of a new round of robo calls today, criticizing him for opposing a constitutional amendment requiring a balanced federal budget.

The recorded telephone messages going into Miller's 13th district are being paid for the National Republican Congressional Committee, which has winning the seat a high priority in next year's election.

The Republican legislature last month re-aligned the district to make it much more GOP-leaning, attracting a growing Republican field of candidates. The legislature moved  Miller's home into the 4th district, and he has may consider running in the 4th district, if the new district maps survive a court challenge.

The announcer in the robo calls says in part: “Brad Miller continued to oppose a Balanced Budget Amendment that would force Washington to live within its means. Brad Miller and his fellow Democrats' addiction to big government spending has led to a downgrade of America's credit rating and a dramatic loss in the global markets that could force you to pay more for everyday expenses,”

“While Brad Miller keeps standing in the way of real fiscal reform, middle-class families in North Carolina could now see a loss in retirement savings while mortgage rates, car payments and student loans could become even more expensive.”

The National Republican Congressional Committee today began making robo calls against three  Democratic House members that are likely to be targeted next year.

The calls have gone into the districts of 8th District Congressmen Larry Kissell of Biscoe, 11th District Rep Heath Shuler of Bryson City and 13th district Rep. Brad Miller of Raleigh.

The recorded messages blame the congressmen for “supporting big-government policies that lead to higher gas prices and restrain the production of American-made energy.”

It claims the House members are are “so detached from reality that while families in North Carolina are forced to pay more than $3.50 a gallon.” It urges  listeners to call the congressman identified in the message.

Earlier this week, the committee began running a TV ad in Shuler's district.

The campaign comes at a time, when the new Republican majority is beginning the process of redistricting. GOP strategists say they hope that by drawing more favorable lines they can pick up three or four new seats in North Carolina next year – knocking off Kissell, Shuler, and Miller as well as possibly 7th District Rep. Mike McIntyre of Lumberton.

Jim Neal

On Sept. 1 of that year, the Chapel Hill investment banker gave $300 to the National Republican Congressional Committee, which handles races for the U.S. House of Representatives.

He said he gave the money in order to get on the group's mailing list.

"I want to stay in touch with what they're doing," said Neal, a lifelong Democrat. "I get all the blast e-mails from the Republican Party now, though they'll probably cut me off the list now."

He said he may have given to the National Republican Senatorial Committee as well.

The donation is a trickle compared to the $9,000 that Neal has given directly to Democrats, including U.S. Sen. John Kerry and Wesley Clark's presidential campaigns, Erskine Bowles' Senate campaign, and U.S. Rep. Brad Miller's campaigns.

He's also given $5,000 to Keeping America's Promise, a political action committee working to elect Democrats at the national level.

After the jump, a full list of his donations.