May 11, 2007 04:44 PM UTC

"Let The Crap Flow," Ethics Committee Says

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• by: Colorado Pols

As the Rocky Mountain News reports:

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.