Lying politicians, beware.

Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch would like to add an amendment to the Stolen Valor Act, making it a crime to make a false statement about having participated in combat operations in the military. Doing so would land you in jail for six months and/or saddle you with a fine.

This would seem to be a direct response to Connecticut attorney general and Democratic Senate candidate Richard Blumenthal's recent lies about serving in Vietnam.

The Stolen Valor Act makes it illegal to falsely wear military decorations and medals. In proposing his amendment, Hatch said, "It is a crime to dishonor the sacrifice of so many by falsely representing combat service for the purposes of self-promotion or benefit. My amendment would deter those who would falsely prop themselves up in order to appear worthy of the award and title of 'combat veteran.'

My take? The senator has some First Amendment problems here. It's one thing to make it a crime to falsely wear a medal (although even that comes close to being a free-speech problem, considering how courts have interpreted clothing and other symbols as speech). But punishing what people say? That could open a big can of worms for politicians. Is Hatch sure he wants to go down that path?

I'm as offended as anyone by Blumenthal's statements, especially when his service is compared to the enormous sacrifices of combat veterans, and those who never made it back.

But false statements ought to be their own punishment. Voters in Connecticut should be the judges of just how offensive Blumenthal's claims were.