Did he forget about his shadowy 527?

Blunt’s op-ed in the Wall Street Journal today contained several punchlines — “Congress must continue to work to shrink the size of government” (continue?), “The Republican legislative agenda for the year is not one crafted in response to the day’s headlines or the latest poll numbers” (ahem) — but none funnier than Blunt’s vow to crack down on “shadowy 527 organizations” with “new requirements” that subject them to “to the same rules and regulations as others who attempt to influence the legislative and political process.”

First, if Blunt means broadening the scope of the McCain-Feingold campaign-finance laws, then that’s a strange way to win over conservatives. Second, if he is serious about cracking down on 527s, he should start with the Rely On Your Beliefs Fund, a 527 spin-off of his Leadership PAC, the Rely On Your Beliefs Committee. Between them, these Blunt committees paid $485,000 in consulting fees to a lobbying firm that was “fatally damaged” by its association with Jack Abramoff. Most of that amount — $280,000 — came from the 527.

If Blunt is serious about getting support from House conservatives, he needs to drop the comedy and write a serious proposal for restoring the values of limited government and fiscal responsibility to the GOP. This isn’t it.