In politics, it’s not always what you say, but how you say it. And some Republicans in the state Legislature have a way of saying things that is misleading and unethical.

Last week, House Republicans defended four GOP legislators credited with penning a political opinion column for newspaper publication in their home districts. The column appeared in Lincoln County, Norway and Portsmouth, N.H., newspapers in August and September, each with different bylines.

The column criticized Democratic Gov. John Baldacci over an embarrassing, and expensive, computer malfunction in the Maine Department of Health and Human Services. (An issue we’ve chided the governor for as well.) Each column appeared under the same headline: “The computer that’s eating Maine’s budget.”

“That’s ethically problematic, and it’s at least confusing to readers,” said Bob Steele, a former University of Maine journalism professor who is now a journalism ethics scholar at the Poynter Institute. “One of the hallmarks of our country should be original thinking.”

Here’s an original thought: if a legislator, Democrat or Republican, wants a guest column published in their hometown paper, please make sure to write one.

Don’t pass off a so-called collaborative effort with peers, and packaged by a communications officer, as original work. Such actions would have a university student expelled or a reporter exiled to the unemployment line; elected officials must be held to the same, or even higher, standards.

Teresa Swartz Roberts, a former journalist and director of the Writing Center at the University of Maine at Farmington, said the column flap is the equivalent of a student or students making multiple submissions. If known ahead of time and approved, she said, there’s nothing wrong. In this case, however, only the collaborators were in the know.

“The public didn’t know,” said Roberts. “That’s the biggest problem with it.”

House Republicans vehemently denied the column constituted plagiarism, and cited the official dictionary definition as proof. They are correct, but absolution from Merriam-Webster is worthless compared to the harmful effect this practice has on the populace.

Transparency in government is imperative. If four legislators, or more, contributed to a column’s creation, there’s little reason to hide it. Collaboration and idea-sharing among elected officials are positive traits, after all, and should be trumpeted, not obscured.

By concealing the process, the Republicans have succeeded in confusing their readers and eroding confidence in their party’s communications. It might not be plagiarism, but it’s too close for comfort.

“It doesn’t fit the definition of plagiarism,” said Steve Davis, chair of the newspaper journalism department at Syracuse University. “But it fits the world’s definition of dishonesty.”

There are enough allegations of dishonesty in politics. House Republicans need to find a new way to reach their constituencies without resorting to unethical practices, or label their columns appropriately.