Rand Paul, Wikiplagiarist?
Any politician knows that when it comes to campaigning and honing an image, their speechwriters do a lot of the heavy lifting — but that they are not supposed to be lifting word-for-word. That’s called plagiarism.
MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow knows a thing or two about research, as does the staff of her prime-time weeknight show. And they’ve stumbled across evidence that Rand Paul is, to put it politely, borrowing from others word-for-word for his speeches.
Did Rand Paul plagiarize his speech from Wikipedia? It sure seems that way, as Rachel Maddow pointed out on Monday.
In a speech given in support of Virginia gubernatorial candidate Ken Cuccinelli, Paul referenced the 90s science fiction movie Gattaca. The Kentucky senator used the plot of Gattaca–a dystopian world in which eugenics is widely practiced– to attack pro-choice advocates. Even more bizarre than his choice of metaphor are the similarities between Paul’s speech and the Wikipedia page for Gattaca.
As Maddow points out, Paul said:
“In the movie Gattaca, in the not-too-distant future, eugenics is common and DNA plays a primary role in determining your social class.”
From the Wikipedia entry:
From Paul’s speech:
“Due to frequent screenings, Vincent faces genetic discrimination and prejudice. The only way to achieve his dream of being an astronaut is he has to become what’s called a “borrowed ladder.”
From Wikipedia:
