Talk about hitting below the belt. During the current legislative stalemate, Democratic Governor Rod Blagojevich has urged Democratic Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan to start acting "like a Democrat," which means supporting higher taxes and more spending, and has belittled him for having puny muscles.

But no epithet stings like lambasting Madigan as a "George Bush Republican" -- particularly going into 2008, an election year in which any tie to the president will be toxic. Already, shock waves are reverberating among the 67 Democratic state representatives. Their abject, palpable fear is that the governor will find and fund a slew of "real Democrats" to challenge many of them in 2008.

The Feb. 5 Illinois Democratic primary will be dominated by liberals, who will flock to the polls to support Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton. Democratic House incumbents, particularly those in Chicago or nearby Cook County suburban districts where Bush got less than 30 percent of the vote in 2004, and where his approval ratings hover around 15 percent, foresee huge problems.

Picture this: A torrent of Blagojevich-funded direct-mail pieces depicting Madigan with a monkey on his shoulder. The headline: Madigan is a "George Bush Republican" who rejects "Democratic values" and opposes health care and education funding, and so-and-so is a "Madigan Monkey," who is a puppet of the speaker.

In past election cycles, Madigan has raised more than $3 million from various special interests and has sent money and staffers into the districts of needy Democrats. Because Madigan recruited them and got them to Springfield, they do what they are told. When Madigan told them to vote against the governor's proposed $7.6 billion gross receipts tax, they did: It lost 107-0, with a few black Democrats abstaining.

The fund-raising works like this: Madigan is the state Democratic party chairman, so he raises money in the party name and distributes it as he sees fit. As speaker he protects the interests of teachers' unions, labor unions, trial lawyers and certain utilities. By killing the gross receipts tax, Madigan will reap an avalanche of 2008 money from business interests. They donate to his Friends of Madigan committee or to the House Democratic committee, which he controls. Madigan then doles out the money to other Democrats, thereby freeing them to campaign rather than raise funds. But by following the money trail, every Democratic incumbent is, to some extent, a "Madigan monkey," having accepted some money from some Madigan committee at some time.

The General Assembly is in overtime session. Other than raising its own pay, it has accomplished little. It failed to pass legislation regarding pension reform, gambling expansion, leasing the lottery, freezing utility rates or extending the property tax cap, or any additional funding for education, the CTA and the RTA, and health care insurance. For some, such as conservative Republicans, no new spending is damn good spending. For others, such as liberal Democrats, bragging about increased spending is what gets their base motivated and gets them re-elected.

Blagojevich is in a win/win situation. If Madigan's Democrats don't accede to more spending, the governor will brand them as "do-nothing Republicans," while if they do, Blagojevich will claim that it was he, not Madigan, who exerted the necessary "leadership" for "Democratic values." And individual representatives are in a lose/lose situation. If they stick with Madigan, Blagojevich will field somebody against them, while if they break with the speaker, they won't get any money.

The petition circulation period for nominating runs from Aug. 5 to Nov. 5, so the governor has plenty of time to find candidates. In the Northwest Side 40th District, the governor has already recruited his sister-in-law, Deborah Mell, to run against incumbent Rich Bradley, a Madigan loyalist. Here's a look at area House primary targets:

40th District (Argyle to Belmont, between Damen and Laramie): Bradley, age 52, was first elected in 1998, and he double dips as an assistant general superintendent of the city Department of Streets and Sanitation; his wife, Cynthia Santos, is a commissioner of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District and also works for the Secretary of State's Office. Bradley reportedly does not want to retire from the family business, as he needs one more House term to max out his state pension.

According to the 2000 census, Bradley's district is 47.1 percent Hispanic, and becoming more so. White voters are still a majority, but the operative numbers are: Bush got 23.6 percent of the vote in 2004 and 21.4 percent in 2000. Being a "George Bush Republican" is a ticket to oblivion. Bradley was unopposed in the 2004 primary and got 6,543 votes; in the presidential race, John Kerry topped the field with 6,033 votes, with 2,468 votes scattered among others. With an early 2008 primary, the Democratic turnout will top 10,000.

Deborah Mell, who is openly gay, is the daughter of Alderman Dick Mell (33rd), who has been feuding with his son-in-law for years. The alderman was embarrassed in the April 2007 aldermanic runoff in the 35th Ward when, despite an influx of 300 precinct workers, his candidate, Vilma Colom, lost.

Bradley is Madigan's guy and a loyal cog in the "Daley Machine." The governor will be vigorously supporting Deborah Mell, who will be attacking Bradley as a "Bush Republican." If Bradley loses, it will be a huge triumph for Blagojevich. Does the alderman support his daughter? Does he take a pass? Or, in reality, does Dick Mell make any difference?

My early prediction: It should not be too difficult to find 5,000 fervently anti-Bush Democrats in the 40th District. Nor should it be too difficult to paint Bradley as a "Madigan monkey." Madigan will pour in $250,000 to rescue Bradley, but Deborah Mell will win.

18th District (North Shore: Evanston and Winnetka, and part of the 49th Ward): Incumbent Democrat Julie Hamos has served in the House since 1998 and is a die-hard liberal. She's also well connected: Her husband is Appellate Court Justice Alan Greiman, who, during his 14 years as a state representative from Skokie, was a Madigan confidant and advisor. Bush got 29.3 percent of the district vote in 2000 and 25.7 percent in 2004.

The strongest Democratic organization in the area belongs to U.S. Representative Jan Schakowsky (D-9), whom Hamos, age 57, succeeded in the Illinois House. Schakowsky's liberal agenda differs little from Blagojevich's, and she has a definite stake in the 2008 presidential contest: If Obama is elected president or vice president and vacates his Senate seat, Schakowsky tops the list of successors. Blagojevich, as governor, will make the appointment.

My early prediction: Despite her public misgivings about the Madigan-passed state budget, Blagojevich will find somebody to run against Hamos, and she won't be able to count on the support of her erstwhile ally, Schakowsky. Turnout was 15,619 in the 2004 Democratic primary, and it will be up to 20,000 in 2008, but Hamos will win.

16th District (south Skokie, Lincolnwood, parts of the 50th and 40th wards): Incumbent Democrat Lou Lang was appointed to replace Greiman in 1987, and he has since risen up the House leadership ladder. He is now an assistant majority leader, and he covets the speakership after Madigan retires.

Lang, age 57, had a tough primary in 2004, winning with 61.7 percent of the vote against a candidate from the 50th Ward. He raised $779,000, including hefty contributions from Madigan and the state's gambling industry. Lang's House committee recently killed Blagojevich's plan for three new gambling casinos. Bush got 25.2 percent of the vote in the district in 2000 and 32.1 percent in 2004.

My prediction: More so than Hamos, Lang's reputation as a "Madigan monkey" puts him in jeopardy. He will face a credible, well funded foe in the 2008 primary.

11th District (Near Northwest Side: Winnemac to Armitage, between Sacramento and Sheffield): Incumbent Democrat John Fritchey may occupy the seat formerly held by Blagojevich, but that's where the connection ends. Fritchey, age 43, sponsored a bill to ban contributions from any individual or corporation which receives a state contract. In Springfield they called it the "Neuter Rod" bill, as it would have eviscerated the governor's capacity to raise $10 million a year.

Fritchey will run for 32nd Ward Democratic committeeman in 2008 against incumbent Terry Gabinski. He also is angling to run for state attorney general, the post held by Lisa Madigan, Mike Madigan's daughter, who is primed to run for governor against Blagojevich in 2010. If Fritchey goes statewide, the Madigans' support is more important than Blagojevich's. Unlike the 2007 aldermanic runoff, when Madigan sent 13th Ward workers to the 32nd Ward to aid Gabinski-backed Ted Matlak, he won't help Gabinski in 2008.

It will be tough to tag Fritchey as a "Madigan monkey," and even tougher to tab him as a Bush Republican, but the governor will try. Bush won 30.3 percent of the vote in the district in 2000 and 28.8 percent in 2004.

My prediction: Fritchey will face Blagojevich-funded opposition for both committeeman and representative but will win both easily.