The Republican Standard For Plagiarism

I recently caught Thomas Croom plagiarizing GOP talking points. (I originally credited Blogger X and corrected the mistake in an update.) Croom made the defense:

Furthermore, GOP talking points (or democratic ones for that matter) are rarely, if ever, cited as such either by those who employ the information or by those who report the information. The only exception to that statement would be in instances when the reporting organization has a clear political bent, be it neutral or bias, and has a purpose for reporting the sourcea as talking points.

That was the same defense Jeff Gannon made for cribbing White House press releases. Gannon's excuse was he wanted to bypass the filter (read: media). That doesn't change the fact Gannon put his name on the byline and didn't cite the source.

Croom uses another excuse of "GOP talking points (or democratic ones for that matter) are rarely, if ever, cited as such either by those who employ the information or by those who report the information." That's not true. Kevin Drum ran an email from Harry Reid's office and told his readers where the talking points came from. Croom's excuse is if other bloggers lower the bar then there is no reason he shouldn't be able to limbo under it.

My favorite Croom response.

When the GOP starts accusing me of plagiarism then I will adjust my tactics.

It's only plagiarism if the Republican Party says so. I like to see students use that defense for term papers.

Note: the post isn't personal. I have nothing against Croom. I do strongly this agree with him on this matter.

(Crossposted at Loaded Mouth)