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March 24, 2006
Conservative blogger caught plagiarizing - Thank you, Liberals.
When Michelle Malkin anounced that Ben Domenech's blog Red America was being featured on the Washington Post's website, I applauded. Imagine it - a conservative blog featured by a left-leaning newspaper.
Liberals objected to Red America, and they searched the blogosphere for any dirt that they could find on Ben Domenech.
Well, the liberals hit paydirt. They caught Ben Domenech plagiarizing.
As soon as Domenech's plagiarism was exposed, conservative bloggers Rick Moran and Michelle Malkin called for Domenech's resignation.
Over on the website The American Thinker, Moran wrote the following:If we conservatives have any claims to promoting honesty and decency, there will be more calls on the right for Mr. Domenech to do the honorable thing and save himself and his employer the embarrassment of being fired by resigning immediately. Little can be gained from his continuing to blog at the Washington Post as I for one never plan on linking to anything he writes and would hope that other conservatives would join me in such a boycott.
Over on her blog, Malkin wrote the following:I certainly understand the impulse on the Right to rally around Domenech. But I can't ignore the plain evidence. And the charges can't be dismissed as "lies" or jealousy attributed to Ben's age.
As someone who has worked in daily journalism for 14 years, I have a lot of experience related to this horrible situation: I've had my work plagiarized by shameless word and idea thiefs many times over the years. I've also been baselessly accused of plagiarism by some of the same leftists now attacking Ben.
The bottom line is: I know it when I see it. And, painfully, Domenech's detractors, are right. He should own up to it and step down.Domenech has yielded to pressure and has resigned from his position at the Washington Post. [Click here for the WaPo announcement.]
No matter how much conservatives and liberals disagree with each other on socio-political issues, both groups agree that plagiarism is taboo, especially on the blogosphere where bloggers are trying to earn respect and trust. Plagiarism is harmful to conservatives and liberals alike. So, if it takes liberals to expose acts of plagiarism, then so be it. Such liberals should be applauded for providing a service to all bloggers.
Update: Over at his blog RedState, Ben Domenech claims that he is innocent of the charge of plagiarism. He doesn't bother to address all of the evidence against him, especially the evidence of what he did after he left college. Instead, he makes comments such as the following:
Considering that all of this happened almost eight years ago, and that there are no files or notes that I've kept from that brief stint, it is simply my word against the liberal blogosphere on these examples. It becomes a matter of who you believe.
Actually, it is his word against that of the conservative blogosphere. Michelle Malkin originally defended Domenech. She wouldn't have changed her position unless her own research revealed that the plagiarism charge was valid.
Posted by Dodo David at March 24, 2006 03:30 PM
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Comments
I'm uncomfortable with Domenech's explanation as well; seems like he's trying to evade responsibility. The claim that an editor was trying to put words from a New Yorker column into his college newspaper seems wildly improbable.
Posted by: Pat Curley at March 24, 2006 05:16 PM
You beat me to the punch! I am very disappointed in Ben. But we all make bad choices; I hope he moves on and learns from this.
Posted by: aaron at March 24, 2006 06:14 PM
I forgive people easily for mistakes they made as kids. But not to recognize this would be discovered as a known blogger and either warning the boss or getting a less visible job, eg. a reporter or something, is just jumb.
Posted by: paul at March 24, 2006 07:26 PM
Paul, looks like they would have let him go on the W&M articles, but the NRO piece was apparently after his graduation. Kurtz specifically cites that in his second column today.
Posted by: Pat Curley at March 24, 2006 07:56 PM