"Let The Crap Flow," Ethics Committee Says

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by: Colorado Pols

A state ethics panel agreed Thursday that a lobbyist orchestrated “deceitful” and “reprehensible” automated phone calls to stir up voter opposition to a homeowner protection bill.

But a majority of the three-lawmaker panel concluded that an ethics rule against lobbyists using “deceit” to influence a lawmaker doesn’t apply to the actions of William Mutch. The recommendation now goes to a panel of House and Senate leaders from both parties.

Mutch is the director and lobbyist for Colorado Concern, an alliance of business leaders who said the bill shielding homeowners against construction defects would fuel costly lawsuits.

Rep. Claire Levy, D-Boulder, said if a lobbyist “misrepresents a bill to me, that’s a clear violation of the rules.” But she said extending the rule to lobbyists’ communications with the public could turn the legislature into the “political speech” police.

Mutch’s attorney has stressed that the U.S. Supreme Court has long ruled that political speech, even when statements are false or misleading, is granted broad constitutional protection…

And we can’t wait to see what next year’s calls have to say. “Would you vote for Rep. So-and-so if you knew he/she wanted you to die? What would you say if he/she supported legislation calling for your death? Would you call Rep. So-and-so and tell him/her that you don’t want to die?”

The moral of this story? The fact that there’s no moral to this story.

8 thoughts on ““Let The Crap Flow,” Ethics Committee Says”

Laughing Boy says:

May 11, 2007 at 4:57 pm

…calling something a property tax ‘freeze’?

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1. Car 31 says:
  
  May 12, 2007 at 1:49 am
  
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2. Another skeptic says:
  
  May 14, 2007 at 6:08 pm
  
  The First Amendment protects all forms of political speech.
  
  Voters must have the right to decide what to do with the messages, and if a call is a lie, the word gets out and the liars lose, just like they did in this case.
  
  Politicians like Howard Dean, who sicks his DNC lawyers on a blogger who reported he suggested that Kansas’ governor lie about the availability of National Guard troops to help in the ‘Greensburg tragedy and who suggested that polictians speak more honestly when the press isn’t present, want to debase the First Amendment.
  
  Whether it’s George Bush, the Clintons or even Obama, all of whom have at one time or another tried to shut up the press, the politicians must be kept honest by enforcement of the First Amendment.
  
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Ralphie says:

May 11, 2007 at 10:08 pm

Indiana passed legislation to deal with them.

The recipient of the call has to talk to a real human first, and then has to consent to listen to the recorded message.

It doesn’t outright ban the calls, it doesn’t regulate the message, it doesn’t interfere with free speech, and it appears like it might be Constitutional.

http://www.masson.us…

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1. Car 31 says:
  
  May 12, 2007 at 1:53 am
  
  automated customer service reps?
  
  A real person needs to answer the phone of a business and then if you consent you can go through the plethora of numerical options to push.
  
  Hmmmm, I may get that introduced as a bill next session.
  
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  1. riogrande says:
    
    May 12, 2007 at 2:27 pm
    
    ….and there are so many more pressing issues out there, like whether “Rocky Mountain High” should be our state song, and whether it ought to be a felony to have consensual sex with animals. 🙂 [Did this one ever pass? I concede that I really haven’t paid that much attention.]
    
    If our Legislature did its job, we wouldn’t need initiatives.
    
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riogrande says:

May 12, 2007 at 2:38 pm

When I think of how our government lied us into war in Iraq (and historically, how we were also mired in elective wars with Mexico, Spain, Viet Nam, and others), I wistfully contemplate the value of some sort of legal requirement that legislators and campaign staff be required by law to tell the truth. But that would require someone to be designated to determine what the truth is, and if there is anyone who is less morally qualified than our state Legislature in general (and Claire Levy, in particular) for that task, I am unaware of his or her existence.

The most effective antidote to bad speech is more speech.

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DavidThi808 says:

May 12, 2007 at 6:40 pm

Better to not have any regulation of political speech than to start bringing in reviews of what is and what is not ok to say.

Politics is a dirty fight. Always has been and always will be. It’s people fighting for power and no matter how selfless they all claim to be, they are all fighting for control if nothing else.

The best response to this is when the news media does their report on how accurate claims like this are. That causes the worst ones to backfire bigtime.

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