Some Republicans Want To Be Somewhat More Honest In Some Subset Of Some Future Campaigns

So the Post-Dispatch has a story today headlined, "GOP may restrict attack tactics in ads."   (Apologies if coffee just spewed out your nose).

The article is interesting, even if it doesn't provide any evidence to believe the headline, or give any indication of how Sen. Majority Leader Kevin Engler (R-Farmington) and House Floor Leader Steve Tilley (R-Perryville) might enforce a "a code of conduct for primary campaigns" if they ever get around to drafting such a code. What's notable (to me, anyway) is that in an article in which Engler complains about "hard-charging consultants who orchestrate political attacks" and  "political consultants that use people like pawns in a chess game and don't care whether what they're saying is the truth," the consultant retained by each of the allegedly dirty campaigns is Jeff Roe.  Something tells me Roe doesn't really care what Engler thinks.  "You strap on the chinstrap and go to war" when you run for office, Roe told the Post-Dispatch.

But stepping back from the intraparty squabbling for a moment, the thing I find most striking about Engler's proposal is that his alleged concern for honesty and dignity explicitly excludes general election and public policy campaigns. His "code of conduct" is only meant to apply to primaries, and he's only worried about "whether what they're saying is the truth" when it concerns his Republican candidates.  How commendable! 

Couldn't he at least pretend to care about honest campaigning in the 90 days between the primary and general elections?