Senate’s Walsh Faces Plagiarism Claim in Uphill Campaign

[Purveyor]

By Richard Rubin and John McCormick Jul 23, 2014 5:05 PM ET

U.S. Senator John Walsh of Montana is facing allegations of plagiarism that may make his bid for election even more difficult.

Walsh’s 2007 master’s thesis from the Army War College contained significant sections that appeared to be copied from other sources without attribution, the New York Times reported today.

The allegations became public just as Senate Democrats gave the legislative spotlight to Walsh, one of the chamber’s most vulnerable incumbents. Lawmakers today advanced and are now debating a measure he sponsored to give tax breaks to companies relocating jobs to the U.S. from other countries.

Walsh, a Democrat, took office earlier this year as he replaced Max Baucus, the 35-year U.S. Senate veteran who became ambassador to China. Walsh is running for election in November against Representative Steve Daines, a Republican, in a state that President Barack Obama lost twice.

“This was unintentional and it was a mistake,” Lauren Passalacqua, a spokeswoman for Walsh’s campaign, said in a statement. “There were areas that should have been cited differently but it was completely unintentional.

more...

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-07-23/senate-s-walsh-faces-plagiarism-claim-in-uphill-campaign.html

[markpkessinger]

1. The NY Times has a front page story on this today

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/24/us/politics/montana-senator-john-walsh-plagiarized-thesis.html

[iandhr]

2. What an idiot

Last edited Wed Aug 6, 2014, 01:59 PM - Edit history (1)

Do these people think they won't be caught?

[former9thward]

3. At the time he did not know he would be in the public spotlight 7 years later.

So, yeah, he did think he would not get caught. And he would not have if he had not taken the Senate appointment.

[razorman]

12. I am often amazed at the stupidity of celebrities and public figures of all types.

Be they in politics, sports, entertainment, or whatever; many of them continue to act the fool and do stupid things in public. They seem to forget that everything is recorded these days. EVERYONE has a camera, and half of them think they are Spielberg.

[1StrongBlackMan]

4. "In an effort towards full disclosure and to get ahead of ...

any potential election scandal, should I decide to run for an office ... I, 1SBM, tore the label off a pillow I purchased 40 years ago. I don't know what I was thinking. I can only ask the public's forgiveness."

Bottom-line, any voter swayed by this revelation is a voter that did not/would not support Walsh ... ever.

[kiva]

5. I wouldn't vote for anyone who plagiarizes.

They are liars and scammers and willing to steal other people's work. And equating that to tearing off pillow labels is just supporting that behavior, not supporting Democrats.

[1StrongBlackMan]

7. No ...

plagiarizing, in College, is more a sign of a lazy college kid, than anything else.

[kiva]

8. Then they are lazy liars and cheaters.

[1StrongBlackMan]

10. I stand corrected ...

I spoke before I knew the story ... this was a masters program he attended while in the military.

(I normally don't speak before I know, at least, the basic facts ... )

[Sunlei]

6. I find that amazing, the only thing found in a released 33 years! of evaluations

“Senator Walsh released every single evaluation that he received during his 33-year military career"

[Jenoch]

9. This might make a difference in this fall's senate election in Montana.

However, VP Biden survived a similar situation in 1987 when he was caught plagiarizing sections of a speech. Of course, he was a long-term incumbant. I think plagiarizing in a master's thesis for th War College is much more serious than a political speech.

[jamzrockz]

11. Completely agree

If there is any place one should cross his T and dot their I's, it is in a college master's thesis paper. I just hope the better person wins the election regardless of the plagiarism issue. He is still better than the teabagger challenger even with this.