HELENA -- A top Democrat on Tuesday accused Republican Rep. Denny Rehberg of abusing the congressional franking privilege by sending out three "barely disguised glossy campaign literature."

"The congressman has shrewdly exploited the rules governing taxpayer-funded mail, but clearly has violated the spirit of the limits on franking privileges and distorts his own record for re-election purposes," said Jim Farrell, executive director of the Montana Democratic Party.

At issue are the three fliers that Rehberg sent to targeted Montana audiences -- seniors, veterans and families -- at a cost to taxpayers of slightly under $60,000 in printing and postage. A total of 147,000 documents were sent, a Rehberg aide said.

Rehberg also got these fliers in the mail before Aug. 9, the start of the 90-day blackout period prior to the Election Day in which franked mass mailings by members of Congress are prohibited. Rehberg faces Democratic state Rep. Monica Lindeen and Libertarian Mike Fellows in the general election.

The front of one flier says: "Congressman Denny Rehberg. Putting Families First. Education. Health Care. Child Protection." On the other side, it lists votes Rehberg cast or bills he sponsored aimed at "improving education through accountability and affordability," "making health care more affordable" and "protecting our children."

Farrell blasted the mailings as "a shameless waste of taxpayer dollars" and called on Rehberg to write a check from his re-election campaign account to the U.S. Treasury for their cost.

The Democratic official charged that Rehberg's fliers are intended to deceive Montana voters.

"A casual reader would think Rep. Dennis Rehberg is a liberal Democrat from Massachusetts who champions funding for health care, public education and poor kids every day in Congress," Farrell said. "The truth is far from that, however. And his claims of having supported needed funding hikes for veterans health care are flat-out lies."

In response, Rehberg's chief of staff, Erik Iverson, said that the Rehberg fliers were all approved by the bipartisan House Franking Commission, which has three Republicans and three Democrats, as all mass mailings must be.

The commission spells out in its rules how many times the name of a congressman may be mentioned in a mass mailing, the size of type and the number of photos a member may appear in, he said.

"The truth obviously hurts," Iverson said. "Out-of-state political operative Farrell is clearly frustrated at Denny's effectiveness and would like nothing more than for that effectiveness to be kept from Montanans."

Farrell moved to Montana a year ago when he was hired as executive director of the Democratic Party here.

Iverson said the three-term congressman is "not going to apologize for communicating with constituents."

Iverson said all three members of the Montana congressional delegation regularly send mailings to Montanans. Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., for instance, put out one after Hurricane Katrina hit and a targeted one on funding for the Going to the Sun Highway in Glacier National Park, Iverson said.

"It's part of communicating with constituents," the chief of staff said.

Rehberg certainly is not trying to pose as a liberal Democrat from Massachusetts, Iverson said.

"While that might be news to an out-of-state political operative like Farrell, this isn't news to Montanans," Iverson said. "Montanans know that Denny has a long record of supporting veterans, seniors and families. Being relatively new to the state, Mr. Farrell probably doesn't have that historical perspective."

Iverson returned a shot at Farrell, saying, "This is the guy who invented the use of constituency funds to send out mailers for some of their most vulnerable (state legislative) incumbents."

A dozen Democratic state lawmakers received $1,000 each for their constituency funds from a national organization campaigning for Democratic state legislative candidates.

"I don't think the irony of that should be lost on anyone," Iverson said.

Since the first U.S. Congress in 1789, members of Congress have had the privilege of sending mail for free. It originated with the Continental Congress in 1775, according to Wikipedia, an online encyclopedia.