A citizens group pushing ethics reform could learn something from late-night infomercials: “The first 500 callers get not one, but two free packs of ExtenZe for even more male enhancement!” Now that’s a sales pitch with a sense of urgency. But, “Everyone is urged to sign the ethics reform petition as soon as possible,” needs a little ExtenZe itself, because the rhetoric feels limp.

Online commenter BlackMamba criticized a letter to the editor containing that pitch (see “Ethics Need Public Support,” Nov. 19, City Weekly) written by the Utah Citizens’ Counsel, the group pushing for a ballot initiative to force new ethics laws on Utah’s legislators. At least 95,000 people must sign a petition by April 2010 for the initiative to be placed on the November ballot.

“Where can I find a petition to sign? … Who has them? Should I stop people on the street and ask?” BlackMamba snarked about the letter, which lacked those details.

Surely, Citizens’ Counsel has a Website that is easy to find and answers these questions, I thought. Alas, at the time of printing, UtahCitizensCounsel.org does not say how, when or where to sign. The site has a button labeled “endorse the reforms,” which allows visitors to leave a comment on the Website. Only three people have left a comment, so it appears Rant Control isn’t the only (skeptical) one wondering if those “endorsements” count toward the 95,000 signatures needed.