Middle school and high school students are taught to never plagiarize. When you turn your paper in, it better be your work. My then tweenage son forgot the rules and got a big fat zero once.
Apparently Colorado GOP gubernatorial candidate Scott McInnis missed class that day. Or maybe he thinks politicians should be held to a lesser standard. He is being accused of virtually lifting word for word essays on water policy, speeches to Congress and various and sundry columns. He never attributed anything to the Washington Post or now-Colorado Supreme Court Justice Gregory Hobbs, who actually were the authors of his work. He even had the temerity to blame it on his researcher, Rolly Fischer. The Hasan Family Foundation, which paid him the handsome stipend of $300,000 for his "original" work on water issues, is demanding their money back, and the heat is on for McInnis to get out of the gubernatorial race.
When asked by Adam Schrager of 9News about the controversy, he said unapologetically, "voters don't really care about this issue. They care about jobs, getting back to work."
Hello? Are you kidding me? Of course we care about jobs, but we also want our politicians to be honorable. Hearing our politicians lie and cheat is usually something that comes out after they are elected to office. Why would we put this guy in the state house when he already has this kind of baggage and bad judgement. His opponent Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper said the reports of plagiarism "create a cloud" over McInnis. That's a politically correct way of putting it. Talk about the understatement of the year. I really don't know much about McInnis as a public servant, and there are much bigger problems that we face than plagiarism, but at this point I think it would be difficult for him to have the kind of credibility and good sense Coloradans deserve from their governor. And you can quote me on that. Just put it in quotes.
For more information on Vicky Collins visit teletrendstv.com.