July 23, 2008 09:18 AM UTC

A smile from 20 feet away was the basis for charge against Bruce !

• 4 Comments
• by: NEWSMAN

BRUCE GUILTY OF A BIG SMILE

From Wednesdays Colorado Springs Gazette

Investigation exonerates Doug Bruce

ATV reporter approaches the mayor of Any City USA, having heard or dreamed up an unsubstantiated rumor about the mayor abusing his wife. Reporter: “Mr. Mayor, is it true that you beat your wife?” Mayor: “No. I absolutely do not beat my wife, nor have I ever beaten my wife. I categorically deny beating my wife.”

With that response, the reporter has his story.

A teaser for the following newscast shouts: “Mayor denies beating his wife, tonight on Eyewitness news.”

It’s an old joke in journalistic circles, and like all dark humor it’s based in some truth. All too often a rumor, a careless accusation, or a bad rap by police can permanently damage a person’s reputation. Denial by the subject of an accusation sometimes only fuels the charge. Accuse someone of spousal abuse, child abuse, or any form of perversity, and no acquittal can repair all the damage. After becoming the target of a public accusation, a person’s reputation goes through a filter.

This phenomenon was probably known to the lobbyist who accused State Rep. Douglas Bruce of sexual harassment a few days before the end of the last legislative session earlier this year. The woman, whom Bruce had never heard of until his recent exoneration, complained anonymously that Bruce harassed her. The story found its way repeatedly onto newscasts and the pages of every major newspaper in the state. Bruce was criticized in this column for once again stumbling into bad publicity for himself, thus giving aid and comfort to big-spending liberals who loathe the Taxpayers’ Bill of Rights he authored.

Throughout the Legislative session, Bruce was like the featured clown in a circus. He was accused of voting against veterans, voting in favor of cancer, voting against reptiles, and of kicking a press photographer. It appeared he committed every social faux pas short of mutilating Bambi on the State House floor. If President Reagan was Teflon, Rep. Bruce is Velcro.

The woman who accused Bruce of harassment continues to enjoy complete anonymity. She risked nothing by making a ridiculous claim, and in return managed to paint Bruce with an ugly brush of shame. Nobody approves of sexual harassment, and the fact that Bruce may have done it raised major concerns about his character. Reporters trying to uncover the truth were told by ranking state officials that details of the investigation and complaint were top secret.

Friday, after a months-long “investigation” into the matter, Bruce received a letter from Speaker of the House Andrew Romanoff that dismissed the case. The letter included the woman’s name and address. Bruce refuses to disclose her name, or any identifying information, out of respect for her privacy.

However, Bruce did disclose what the letter said. In a written complaint, the woman claimed Bruce looked at her and smiled from a distance of 20 feet. That’s it. She didn’t claim that Bruce touched her, hounded her for a date, or commented on her looks. She didn’t accuse him of uttering a single word, ever. Like, you know, he smiled at me. Isn’t that enough? He’s yucky, ya know?

As a mostly down-to-business conservative Republican, Bruce is known for his gruff demeanor. He believes the content of the woman’s complaint shows personal progress in the development of charm.

“I’m relieved that I have finally been accused of smiling at a woman,” Bruce told the Gazette.

The idea that a smile forms the basis of harassment is sick. A smile, at any distance and from anyone is a positive thing. It’s a friendly gesture that brightens the day of a stable person. Even Charles Manson should be able to cast a smile without causing another person grief. Sexual harassment is too serious of an offense to have people playing games with the definition.

Romanoff and anyone who had anything to do with this investigation, and the dam-burst of a leak that brought it to the attention of the press, should explain how a smile was permitted to linger as an unresolved accusation of sexual harassment that dragged on for months. With no more than the woman complained of, the accusation should have been summarily dismissed. The complainant, if she has an ounce of decency, should come forward and publicly apologize to Bruce.

After all, this was a legitimate case of harassment. It was the harassment of Douglas Bruce, for purely political reasons, by an opportunistic lobbyist and liberal accomplices who can’t stand the fiscal constraints Bruce helped impose on Colorado governments.

http://www.gazette.com/opinion…