Make no mistake about it: New Hampshire and Maine have hit the big time. National political organizations with very deep pockets are targeting both states, aiming to sway voters to their points of view through concerted campaigns of media buys and grass-roots organization. Millions of dollars are feeding the coffers of television and radio stations in both states, bombarding the airwaves with ads that are long on scare tactics and short on factual information. The states are among a handful that have been targeted nationwide, because Republican Sens. John Sununu and Susan Collins are both seen as potentially vulnerable.

As the Herald reported on Sunday, two such groups have already been active in both states, with no foreseen letup between now and November. With the patriotic-sounding names of Employee Freedom Action Committee and Coalition for a Democratic Workplace, they have embarked on ad campaigns that are saturating the television market in both states. The ads decry a lack of "worker privacy," one using the Founding Fathers to make the pitch, the other using an actor who played a mobster on "The Sopranos." They do not illuminate. In fact, they obfuscate, and that is entirely the point. The viewers are meant to feel unsettled in a vague sort of way, to feel as if some fundamental right is being taken from them, even though they don't know what that is.

At issue is the Employee Free Choice Act, a bill that would allow employees at a work place to unionize as soon as a majority signs cards expressing support to join a union. Although it is never mentioned by name in any ad, we are left with the feeling that Thomas Jefferson and the Mafioso wouldn't much like it. Behind the ads, not surprisingly, is big business. The Employee Freedom Action Committee is the political arm of the Center for Union facts, founded by lobbyist Richard Berman. Berman has taken on the likes of Mothers Against Drunk Driving and anti-trans fat advocates. The Coalition for a Democratic Workplace is funded by a consortium of more than 300 businesses, trade associations and chambers of commerce.

But they will not be the only ones who will be vying for your discomfort in the months to come. Already, another patriotic-sounding group, Americans for Prosperity, has started anti-Jeanne Shaheen ads in New Hampshire. Big on rhetoric, small on facts, they are intended to instill doubt in every viewer about Shaheen's energy policy. And we assure you, you've just begun to view. Maine and New Hampshire are battleground states, and left and right alike want victory.

Let's be clear: These organizations have a First Amendment right to air their ads. We are not advocating censorship. What we are advocating is common sense. They are going to be counting on you to accept their ads at face value. Don't let them get away with it. This crucial election year is like no other; it is vitally important that an educated electorate go to the polls in November. Each organization, at least to this point, has provided a Web site for further information. Jot it down. Read up on them. Find out for yourselves who these folks are who are trying to sway you. Read up on the candidates, too. Don't give them short shrift, as these organizations would like you to do. After you've educated yourselves, you can decide whether you agree with them. Don't let your vague uneasiness or your first-blush anger rule how you vote come November.

The only ones who can separate the political wheat from the chafe are you, the voters.