On a talk radio show this morning, House Minority Leader John Boehner called out fiscally-conservative House Democrats, the Blue Dog Coalition, saying he now refers to them as the "lap dogs."

"I would hope that the Blue Dogs would look at this budget and realize this just isn't going to work," Boehner said. "But you know we don't have conservative Democrats in the House much anymore. We've got a handful of them, and by in large the Blue Dogs have become what I call the lap dogs because every time they get a chance they end up voting with Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid and doing what the President wants them to do."

House Republicans released the outline of their budget alternative today that they say creates more jobs and better controls the national debt than the Democratic resolutions that will hit the House and Senate floors next week.

"We just haven't seen any courage out [the Blue Dogs]," Boehner said, "and while I would love to have them take a serious look at our budget or work with us to develop a budget, I haven't seen any effort on their part to do so."

While Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.), ranking member on the Budget Committee, made a public plea yesterday for the fiscally-conservative Democrats to join with them in opposing the President's budget, there is no indication that Republican leadership has reached out to the Blue Dogs to work with them.

"These statements come from the same individuals who wrote the President a blank check for eight years, driving spending to the highest levels in our country's history," Rep. Charlie Melancon (D-La.), Blue Dog co-chair, said in response to Boehner's comments.

"Rather than just saying 'no,' the Blue Dogs will continue working in a productive manner to moderate legislation and offer commonsense policy alternatives," said Melancon. "We do not subscribe to the extreme philosophies of the far right or the far left, and we certainly do not take serious issues and use them for political gain."