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In a bid to woo what it sees as the “sensible center” and prevent massive losses in November’s election, Democratic officials released a new video as part of an effort to focus voter attention on Republican candidates with "tea party" ties espousing positions that appear out of the political mainstream.

The Democratic National Committee on Friday released a YouTube video entitled “GOP Tea Party: These People Could be in Charge.”

It is a compilation of news clips featuring statements by eight Republican candidates for governor, US senator, and member of Congress. They include tea party standard bearers like Senatorial candidates Rand Paul of Kentucky, Sharron Angle of Nevada, Linda McMahon of Connecticut, and Joe Miller of Alaska.

In the three-minute video, Ms. Angle is described as favoring the phase out of Social Security, Mr. Paul struggles with an answer on civil rights legislation, Ms. McMahon talks about 2 year-olds watching violent wrestling programs produced by a company she owns, and Mr. Miller is said to feel unemployment compensation is not constitutionally authorized.

The video ends with the tag line: “The Republican Tea party 2010. Imagine, these people could represent you."

Mike Allen, author of a widely read daily summary of political developments for Politico, dubbed the Democratic approach a “nuts and flakes” strategy.

Maryland Rep. Chris Van Hollen, chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, put it a bit more tactfully in a speech he gave Friday at the National Press Club.

“Conspiracy theories, rants – there is certainly an element of the electorate that is charged up by that,” CNN quoted Representative Van Hollen as saying. “But again, I think it is a turn off to the sensible center and the people who constitute the key independent voters in these swing districts. They see that kind of stuff and they say, ‘we don’t want to go there…. These guys are way off on the right.' "

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