But mostly, they are targeting the Republicans who they thought were their friends. Who could ever imagine the US Chamber of Commerce targeting Republicans? This only shows how far out of the mainstream the GOP has become with a little help from John McCain.

When the $700 billion Wall Street rescue plan went up in smoke on Monday, House Republicans who opposed it immediately got a threatening e-mail — from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

“KEY VOTE ALERT!” the headline read in GREAT BIG PRINT.

“Make no mistake: When the aftermath of congressional inaction becomes clear, Americans will not tolerate those who stood by and let the calamity happen,” it continued.

“The Chamber will score votes on, or in relation to, this issue in our annual How They Voted scorecard,” read its closing, underlined and bold-printed final sentence.

The implicit threat: A bad rating on that scorecard could mean a loss of campaign cash, direct mail and any other help the deep-pocketed Chamber can deliver to lawmakers in tight races.

To be fair, the alert was delivered to all lawmakers. But it carried its biggest sting in the Republican caucus, which has long relied on the Chamber for political support.