Blunt looking to ride the wave

Emboldened by recent events and internal polling showing overwhelming public support  for the work of George W. Bush, Matt Blunt, Tom Delay, Jack Abramoff and the Republican way for running government into the ground, Rep. Roy Blunt (R-Another Era) will kick off his US Senate campaign tomorrow morning at Harris-Stowe State University.

Clearly, the masses have been clamoring for a Blunt candidacy.  Blunt's core constituency of Washington insiders is already excited about his prospects. Last week, for example, Republicans cheered when Jim Talent chose not to run:

Blunt...is D.C. personified. Not only does he have more K Street ties than Mark Shale and Jack Henry combined, he's married to a lobbyist. His son is one. His links to that world, and by extension former Majority Leader Tom "The Hammer" DeLay, and by extension (again) disgraced superlobbyist Jack Abramoff, are ingredients for a Democratic campaign feast.

Those connections are a big reason why Blunt's fellow Republicans rejected the Missourian as majority leader in 2006, ultimately denying him his dream of becoming House speaker.

Blunt is the father of former Gov. Matt Blunt who remained popular among Republicans, but struggled at the end of his term with independents and Democrats. The Blunt name is golden no longer.

GOP Columnist Ryan Cooper beat the same drum this week:

Former Sen. Jim Talent would have been a better choice, but he announced last week that he wouldn't run. Blunt's biggest mistake was his support for the $700 billion bank bailout, an albatross that [Sarah] Steelman will hang around his neck. Outside of southwest Missouri, the only Blunt known statewide is his son Matt, an unpopular one-term governor. Roy will have to distance himself from Matt's support of embryonic stem cell research and shed his congressional image.

The New York Times looked at the Blunt-friendly big picture:

Right now, voters may hold Republicans responsible for the economic collapse...the election results in November suggested just how powerful a problem this is for the party.

And USA Today has been covering Blunt's impeccable credentials for some time now:

Blunt's own connections to Abramoff or his clients could complicate GOP plans to distance its leadership from the corruption investigation before the fall elections for control of Congress.

Abramoff pleaded guilty last week to felony charges and is cooperating with investigators whose bribery probe is now focusing on several members of Congress and their aides. As the Abramoff investigation has developed, many lawmakers have said they will donate to charity campaign contributions related to the disgraced lobbyist.

The board of Blunt's Rely On Your Beliefs Fund has voted to contribute to charity an amount equivalent to Abramoff's personal contributions, $8,500, according to Blunt spokeswoman Burson Taylor.

Blunt and DeLay and their aides frequently met with Abramoff's lobbying team and even jointly signed a letter supportive of an Indian tribe client at the heart of the Abramoff criminal investigation, according to records published by The Associated Press over the past year.

No way he can't win.