One of the editors of RedState and Washington Post blogger Ben Domenech is being accused of plagiarizing material for pieces written while in college and in National Review. The other editors of RedState are calling this a witch hunt and a smear job. Many of the attacks on Mr. Domenech are disgusting, vile, and idiotic. There is no doubt that the left “netroots” are engaging in McCarthyite tactics to try and suppress Mr. Domenech – acting like the unhinged bunch of moonbats they are.
At the same time, Ben Domenech has a lot of explaining to do. The plagiarism charges look like they have some merit to them. Is there an innocent explanation for this? Perhaps so. However, Domenech owes his readers an explanation.
If these charges are true, and they’re pretty damning on their face, Domenech must resign from his position at The Washington Post.Plagiarism is simply unacceptable, and inasmuch as Ben is being asked to represent our movement on a prominent national forum, he needs to take responsibility for his actions. It’s simply the right thing to do.
UPDATE: Ben Domenech has resigned from The Washington Post. He did the right thing.
UPDATE: A note of due disclosure, I have written for RedState in the past, where Domenech was an editor and a founder of the site.
UPDATE: Domenech talks about his resignation here. He states that he did not plagiarize any material himself – although he doesn’t address the issue of the NRO articles he wrote after college. National Review is already apologizing to their readers for one of his pieces which they seem to think was plagiarized from another reporter. Sadly, it seems like the allegations are fairly substantial.
At the same time, the smears against him were part and parcel of the left’s tactics these days – the threads about him at Atrios were tatamount to libel, and if he has recieved death threats I’d hope he’s sending them onto the appropriate authorities for investigation. One can simultaneously decry Mr. Domenech’s lack of judgement at the same time one decries the left’s McCarthyism – and one should do both.
UPDATE: Ben Domenech has publicy apologized for his plagiarism, and the editors of RedState have their comments. What Domenech did is inexcusable, and his professional reputation is gone – which is a truly sad thing to see. It would have been much better for him to have come clean at once rather than make a half-apology when the evidence was so damning – and it appears that the charges were indeed true.
Still, the guy is 24 – and he has gone through an experience that I couldn’t even imagine. Being in his shoes right now would be something I wouldn’t wish on anyone, no less a guy who has a well-deserved reputation for being a class act in all other affairs.
On the brighter side of things, this whole business is another example of the power of the internet. Domenech, just as Dan Rather before him, had to find out the hard way that (some) people will not be deceived. It is somewhat ironic that the medium Domenech used has now (been) turned against him. His story should remind us to keep a clean record.
The net, it would seem, is a much more powerful tool of the panopticum than Michel Foucault could ever have envisioned.
“There is no doubt that the left “netroots†are engaging in McCarthyite tactics to try and suppress Mr. Domenech – acting like the unhinged bunch of moonbats they are.”
Ah yes, those unhinged moonbats — who just happen to be right. How dare they!