Lobbyist Corky Kyle, who runs the Kyle Group, hosts an internet radio show called “In the Lobby,” which promises to give “you a backstage pass to the heated industry of lobbying and politics.”

Here’s a taste of the backstage heat you got when Kyle had Tony Gagliardi, a lobbyist for the National Federation of Independent Business, on the show May 7 (@24 min).

Kyle:  All right. We’re back.  We’re back, after the exciting first segment of our show.  How’s it feel, Denver, to be a small businessman?  Did you just want to bend over and grab the Vaseline®?  Or maybe they’re not going to use Vaseline ® this time.  I don’t think they are.

Gagliardi:  They’re not even going to take you to dinner.

Kyle:  They’re not even going to take you to dinner!  That’s right!  And, on top of that, they won’t even kiss you!

Gagliardi:  [laughing] I know.

Kyle:  What the heck is going on with this?

Watch here @ 19:30:

Kyle and Gagliardi were upset with the legislative session, generally, but in particular, they didn’t like a bill that would subject businesses with 15 or fewer employees to workforce discrimination lawsuits, even though damages and penalties would be limited.

“I represent 7,500 members in this state and another 2,000 in Wyoming,” Gagliardi said on the show. “And the worst thing I hated to see come out of this session was the lack of respect for those who actually generate the infrastructure in this state, and that’s business.”

But was it ok to compare the legislation and the session to being butt f*cked with no Vaseline or anything more advanced?

I don’t think so. Do you?

“I stand by that, even though it may be a little vulgar,” said Kyle, adding: “If someone can show me where small business was helped, I’ll eat my hat and buy them dinner.”

For his part, Gagliardi told me.: “I would stand by my comment as far as lack of respect [to small businesses]. The question is, was respect shown to the small business community during this session? And the answer would be no.”

But what about the specific wording of the radio conversation?

“In that venue, playing off Corky’s comments, it’s not something I probably would have said in mainstream, but in that venue, given the context, and given what had happened the previous 120 days, I would probably stand by it,” said Gagliardi, adding that on internet radio “they really do push the envelope with more open dialogue.”

He’s right about internet radio (See shows like “Panties.”), but I can’t find any shows, featuring serious lobbyists and legislators, like “In the Lobby” does, that hit such obscene notes.

Anal sex came up the other day on Grassroots Radio Colorado, but the reference point was host Ken Clark’s story about how somebody ” rear-ended me” (as in a car accident). His co-host dropped the line: “That’s what she said.”

I don’t recall Kyle’s “In-the-Lobby” show, which has featured dozens of elected officials, including leadership from both parties, getting so deeply in the gutter before.

I asked Kyle if he was changing his show, trying to be more abrasive, so to speak.

“I think it’s starting to change on me because I just don’t like the way things are going [in the Legislature.]  Before, the whole premise of the show was, ‘if you don’t get involved in legislative process, you get what you get.’ All of a sudden things have gotten very contentious. You have to draw a line, and people want to hear different things. I want legislators on who will express some sentiments…. I don’t like the way it’s going.  Small business is getting the shaft so bad.”

Still, Kyle says that anyone who knows him will say that he’ll treat guests with the respect they deserve.

“I really do try to go down the middle,” he says. “That particular day it got a little stupid. I figure after 32 years, I get a hall pass.”

This entry was posted on Monday, May 20th, 2013 at 8:40 am and is filed under Colorado State Legislature, Talk Radio. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.