Ben Domenech: Serial plagiarist?
Goodbye, Ben Domenech; we hardly knew ye. Or at least I didn’t until this week. After all the asinine, vitriolic personal attacks on him, he’s now been accused of plagiarism. “Accused” isn’t really an accurate word, though, when the evidence is so damning.
What the hell is the Washington Post thinking, hiring this guy as their conservative blog voice, with all these questions? I have to say, there are plenty of other conservative bloggers with more of a proven track record, anyway. Like Dan Riehl said, being a founder of Red State is no small thing when you see how big it’s become, but it’s not everything. What about Lorie Byrd? John Hawkins? Ed Morrissey? I could come up with a lot more, of course.
Red State is standing by their friend, but it looks like few others are. Some are saying “it was college” (like that’s OK? WTF?), but it’s not “just college.” Some say “everyone deserves a second chance,” but what about writers who don’t need a second chance? I believe in loyalty to your friends, so I guess Red State can be forgiven for not seeing (or not wanting to see) what I’m seeing. Maybe if the bloggers on the left hadn’t been so driven by hate and didn’t start out their opposition to him with stupid, deranged personal attacks, the charges would be less easy to dismiss, because the Red Staters seem to think it’s just more of the same.
Now I’ll still defend anyone against the vile personal attacks from the left. I’ll still laugh at their outrage (!) that the Washington Post hired a conservative blogger. (Grow up, idiots.) But I will not defend plagiarism, not even if it’s “only” in college and on movie reviews. Maybe some people will, but in my opinion, there’s no excuse. Ever have your stuff plagiarized? I have (from this blog), and I’ve called out the offenders each time I’ve been made aware of it. What would you think of someone who plagiarizes your work? I don’t know about you, but I’d be really pissed if some jerk who ripped off my work got a plum job at the Washington Post because of “his work.” Plagiarism should always be exposed. I feel kinda a tiny bit bad for the guy (but mostly, I’m disgusted), having it all out there in public, but that’s the nature of the internets–and besides, if it’s not loudly condemned, what’s to stop the next person from doing it? I’m sure we’ve all done things we’re not proud of, but IMHO plagiarism, like theft or lying, is something everyone knows is wrong. Not just foolish or a mistake, wrong. Willfully so.
I’m interested to see what Domenech will have to say about all of this. He hasn’t posted at Red America since yesterday afternoon, so maybe he’s trying to come up with some defense. Howard Kurtz:
Domenech said he needed to research the examples but that he never used material without attribution and had complained about a college editor improperly adding language to some of his articles.
Or maybe Red America is finished. It sucks, because you know it’s going to be one of those memes that sticks to everyone else. It makes bloggers look like the hacks in pajamas that the mainstream media has accused “us” of being. We are amateur op-ed columnists, and this makes us look like shi’itety amateurs. And yes, it affects the perception of all bloggers–not just us on the right (although it does look worse for us). You know how Jayson Blair’s offenses have made the New York Times an object of derision; this will do the same to us if we blindly defend Domenech’s plagiarism. I agree 100% with Rick Moran in this statement:
Ben Domenech is not the kind of writer we want representing the conservative viewpoint at the Washington Post or anywhere else.
If the Washington Post is truly interested in presenting a conservative voice on their blogs, they’ll find someone else to do be that voice. I just hope they don’t decide to shelve the whole idea because of one guy.
UPDATE: Michelle Malkin agrees:
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. Then, the Left should cease its sick gloating and leave him and his family alone.
UPDATE 2: NRO’s Media Blog weighs in.
Tags: Washington Post, Red America
The Liberal Avenger says:
Unfortunately, the new meme is “Look how interested conservatives are in stealing.”
Domenech, Claude Allen, Abramoff, Cunningham… The list continues.
The Liberal Avenger says:
The poor kid needs a manshake or something.
The reaction from my side has definitely been shrill, but it’s foolish to pretend that all parties aren’t guilty of the same thing. I have seen such amazing cases of rabid wingnuttery in connection with the CRESCENT SHAPED PARK, Ward Churchill (who?), Eason CNN, Dick Durbin…
Come on. The rules of the game are that if you’re going to be an ass, understand that you’re doing so on the record - and live your life as if somebody might reveal everything at every moment.
His arrogance didn’t help, either.
Scrutator » RINO hall of shame says:
[...] My Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy [...]
MY Vast Right Wing Conspiracy » Blog Archive » Ben Domenech Resigns says:
[...] Now watch. I hope they still plan to run a right-of-center blog, but you know that no matter who they hire, that person will be viciously attacked. Hopefully that person will be more well-known/more “tested” by the public (Red State is somewhat insular, after all), and they’d better have a very thick skin. It’s not that hard to find someone like that on this side of the blogosphere. [Previous post on Domenech] [...]
Beth says:
The rules of the game are that if you’re going to be an ass, understand that you’re doing so on the record - and live your life as if somebody might reveal everything at every moment.
Absolutely right. That’s why I said he ought to be out of there (which he is, now).
MacStansbury.org » Blog Archive » Ben Domenech Resigns says:
[...] On allegations of plagiarism. Beth covered it here and here. [...]
chez Diva » Ben Domenech Resigns says:
[...] Beth pretty much summarizes how I feel: Now I’ll still defend anyone against the vile personal attacks from the left. I’ll still laugh at their outrage (!) that the Washington Post hired a conservative blogger. (Grow up, idiots.) But I will not defend plagiarism, not even if it’s “only” in college and on movie reviews. [...]
Ben Domench - Blogger blows it at Washington Post at Bene Diction Blogs On says:
[...] If you are going to go mainstream, you need to know you are going to be under heavy pressure. Interestingly it has been blogs that have helped expose Ben Domench lifting other people’s work, on all sides of the US political isle. Lifting, plagerizing, theft. [...]
Judy says:
The problem was not that the WaPo hired a conservative blogger. The problem was that he was insulting and offensive from the word go. Lots of WaPo readers, including me, routinely read conservative bloggers and columnists, but Ben’s columns were graceless from the outset. Of course, there were lots of “out there” comments, but, if you really look at them closely, you’ll see that there were many people who just wanted to hear a cogent argument presented in a less supercilious tone. Ben set himself up—both in what he said and what he did.
Striving For Average » The Red America Blog says:
[...] I don’t know if you’ve followed or noticed all of the fall out around it, but this is funny. Technorati Tags: Posted by tommy @ 8:50 am and Filed under Almost Funny, Satire, Humor [link] [Trackback URL] [...]
Steve H. says:
Beth, I agree with you a hundred percent. Domenech admits he’s a thief, and we don’t need him stinking up our side of the political spectrum. I am shocked to see conservative idiots defending him. If his simpering toadies don’t care about honesty, how can they claim to be conservative? Goddamned sheep. They are an embarrassment to the cause. Domenech makes us look corrupt, and his sycophants make us look stupid.
I can’t believe people are suggesting that a limited, weasel-worded apology, AFTER being caught and AFTER issuing a bullshi’ite defense, somehow indicates the presence of character. A decent person would not have done these things in the first place. If he hadn’t been caught, this man of character would presumably still be stealing other people’s work.
Let him find some other way to make a living. Lots of people want to be pundits, but they manage to survive at other jobs. It’s time for him to join them, permanently. Someone deserving should have his spot.
I’ll tell you something else. Regardless of the residual bickering, this guy is FINISHED. No respectable editor will want to be associated with him after this. You don’t bounce back after a plagiarism scandal of this magnitude. So people who are currently rubbing his head and going “awwwww” need to realize that they are going to look very stupid to future observers.
MacStansbury.org » Blog Archive » Amazed, again, by the moonbat internet says:
[...] It’s part of this blogfluffle that reminds me of the Red America mess. There was a conservative who plagiarized his way into a choice Washington Post gig, and the blogoshpere totally ripped this guy apart, on the left and on the right. However, even with all the ripping on Domenech, the leftosphere had the idea that he was being apologized for by the rightosphere. Well, I’m here to tell ya, I don’t consider this and this apologizing. [...]