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Is the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) using former White House reporter Jeff Gannon as a fund-raising inspiration?

Depends on how one interprets a dramatic plea from Rep. Louise M. Slaughter yesterday, asking loyal Dems to sign a petition against him.

The New York Democrat characterizes Mr. Gannon as a Republican shill who was awarded under-the-table credentials by the White House press office to deliver "softball" questions at press conferences.

Mr. Gannon — whose real name is James Guckert — was issued credentials in 2003 as a representative of Texas-based "GOPUSA," according to White House press secretary Scott McClellan in an Editor & Publisher interview. His staff, Mr. McClellan said, had determined the group to be a "legitimate" news organization.

Mr. Gannon, meanwhile, might sue "liberal interest groups, bloggers and others for a 'political assassination' that drove him from his job as a reporter for a conservative news outfit," according to Newsweek.

Meanwhile, Mrs. Slaughter has ramped up the drama via an e-mail and at the DCCC Web site.

"Sign the petition and stop the propaganda," she advised in her missive, also accusing Mr. Gannon of recycling Republican press releases verbatim and characterizing Sen. John Kerry "as 'the first gay president.' "

The accompanying petition is a weighty read, indeed.

"The independence of the free press from interference and manipulation on behalf of the government is a sacred check & balance, enshrined in the Constitution to ensure that democracy continues to serve the free people of the United States," it states.