Between his efforts this Spring to counter the leftist attacks on General Petraeus by engineering a petition drive to show support for the U.S. effort in Iraq, to his insistence on realistically dealing with America's energy crisis, Mike Conaway has netted the ire of one of the biggest guns in the liberal arsenal: George Soros's ultra-left wing MoveOn.org.

Now, the group is paying to run ads against the Congressman, attempting to take him to task for supporting an effort to curb America's dependence on foreign energy sources by authorizing Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) oil drilling.

As a Republican, when the left's Big Gun comes after you, you know you've done something right -- even if their effort is almost sure to backfire. As an NRCC spokesman said:

“We wholeheartedly endorse this colossal waste of funds. Not only is MoveOn.org’s anti-drilling position out of step with 70 percent of Americans, but a member like Mike Conaway who represents the Texas oil patch will probably see his approval rating surge upward as a result of these ads.”

Democrats and Republicans alike in the Lone Star State recognize this effort for what it is: a futile attempt to go after representatives for putting partisan politics aside and actually fighting for what is best for America.

A Democratic Texas blogger wrote:

[I]t comes as no surprise that the anti-oil radio spots that have been funded by MoveOn.org, ads being aired in several areas around Texas...are being greeted with sheer glee by the NRCC.

MoveOn.org is targeting several Texas Republican congressional incumbents with these ads. Ads that condemn these congressmen for supporting the call for opening up all areas of America’s OCS (Outer Continental Shelf) to petroleum exploration.

Unfortunately, MoveOn seems to have a poor grasp of the political scene here in Texas. What plays well in Santa Barbara does not necessarily have the same effect in Midland-Odessa, where one of their congressional targets, Mike Conaway, is from.

[...]

Conaway faces no Democratic opponent this fall.

The ad's attempt to link Conaway, an unabashed Republican, with his party's presumptive presidential nominee on the specific issue of drilling makes MoveOn appear even more out of touch than usual, given that Texas is an oil state that tends to vote overwhelmingly Republican in national elections.

As Trish Choate wrote this weekend in the Abilene Reporter-News:

The ad left at least one West Texas political science professor chuckling. "Moveon.org doesn't have the greatest political credentials, at least in Conaway's district," Paul Fabrizio of McMurry University said. "If I'm Mike Conaway, I ignore it."

For one thing, the ad doesn't tell people to vote against him, Fabrizio said. And it's expected Conaway would have contributions from the oil and gas industry because it's one of the main drivers of the area's economy.

"He's in the heartland of the oil and gas industry, where a lot of people have ties to that industry," he said.

No one wants high gas prices, but some West Texans are benefiting, as well as school districts, Fabrizio said.

MoveOn.org would rather hurt local school districts and Texas workers -- not to mention keep America dependent on countries that, as Conaway has repeatedly said, "are at best not our allies" -- in order to score political points in Washington and California, and in order to keep promoting their far-left agenda.

Fortunately, they've run into a brick wall here in Texas 11.