I’m following up on this morning’s post from Jonathan Singer’s MyDD post on the fine levied against conservative 527 organization Progress for America.

Says Singer:

Given the amounts of money that Progress for America was able to raise in 2004 and the size of the contributions they received — “it reported raising $44.9 million in 2004, with nearly three-fourths from 13 donors”, according to Phillips — a $750,000 fine seems rather unconsequential and, frankly, not likely to deter others from undertaking the same type of malfeasance in the future.

That’s almost certainly true. But let’s be frank here. The 527’s create a gaping loophole in campaign finance regulation, and they are a blight on the Democratic process. I say this knowing full well that liberal 527’s have to date raised more and spent more than conservative ones. But the violations of Swiftboaters and the Progress for America fund are just the tip of the iceberg for what could happen in future cycles. These settlements set a precedent, one that is just as likely to send a green light to big spenders who can factor the legal fallout into their budgets.

Beyond that, does anybody want to argue that the 527’s overall are contributing positively to the character of debate? Even when I agree with the position of one of them, I find myself often dismayed by the tactics.