Sen. In CO Recall Attacked For Collecting Per Diem For 'Haircuts And Golf Games'

IACE Action is running an ad against Colorado state senator John Morse (D) for collecting per diem for “haircuts and golf games.”

Morse faced an ethics investigation for this in 2011, when it was learned that of all the legislator in Colorado he was one of only 11 who collected per diem during the entire 120 day legislative session. He was also investigated for billing the people of Colorado $99 a day for leadership pay for more than 200 days while the legislature was not meeting.

Because of this, the IACE ad claims Morse was collecting per diem for “haircuts and golf games.”

The ethics panel that investigated Morse ultimately cleared him. But on August 22, 2013, National Review Online (NRO) pointed out that the panel was comprised of three Democrats and two Republicans, and that it basically acknowledged “that a senator’s word alone is sufficient for claiming legislative per diem payments.”

“In short,” added NRO, “[Morse] said he did legislative work on those days, and that was good enough for [the ethics panel]; no need to verify that he actually did work related to his state-office duties.”

The IACE ad makes clear Coloradans did not elect Morse in order to pay for haircuts and golf games.

Follow AWR Hawkins on Twitter @AWRHawkins