I think the names of the biggest offenders from the WO thread (the ones who are handing out merits to posts that don't deserve it) should be compiled into a list and then someone should PM them with a request to visit and comment in this thread. That way if they didn't realize this was a problem that's being noticed by the community, they'll have no excuse in the future.
And after that, if the behavior isn't stopped perhaps DT members can come up with a plan of action--or not. I don't actually know how bad the problem is in the WO thread.
I agree on the part that goes to good. Tell those who give merits too blithely to come to this thread to be aware of the problem because some of them may not even be. But I don't know what strength you think DTs can have over people who don't participate in signature campaigns, are loaded with Bitcoins, and practically their participation in this forum is limited to that thread.