The Washington Post follows up on an interesting case revealed last week. An employee of a lobbying firm forged a letter from a Latino social service group to Rep. Tom Perriello (D-VA), urging him to make changes in a bill capping greenhouse-gas emissions. Reportedly, the firm found out about the issue and promptly fired the employee. The letter used the letterhead of Creciendo Juntos, and asked Perriello to add "pro-consumer" changes to the bill.

"A spokeswoman for Perriello said the office had also received five letters containing very similar language that purported to be from members of the Charlottesville branch of the NAACP. When Perriello's office checked with the NAACP chapter, none of the names matched real members, Perriello spokeswoman Jessica Barba said."

Advocacy messages to lawmakers from constituents are valuable, and events such as this are toxic to the democratic process. As the Sunlight Foundation points out, it is the clearest cut argument for grassroots lobbying disclosure.