Scott Brown Blames His Staff For Copying Elizabeth Dole’s Campaign Prose

by Nando Di Fino | 2:45 pm, October 13th, 2011

» 29 comments

American Bridge 21st Century, a “a progressive research and communications organization committed to holding Republicans accountable for their words and actions,” posted a story on Wednesday night accusing Massachusetts Senator Scott Brown of plagiarizing lines from a speech given by Elizabeth Dole in 2002. The organization posted screenshots of Brown’s now-taken-down “Student Resources” section on his website, and compared it with the transcription of Dole’s speech, found in her book, Elizabeth Hanford Dole: Speaking from the Heart.

Out of convenience, the parts of the text that weren’t directly copied are bolded below:

Brown:

“I was raised to believe that there are no limits to individual achievement and no excuses to justify indifference. From an early age, I was taught that success is measured not in material accumulations, but in service to others. I was encouraged to join causes larger than myself, to pursue positive change through a sense of mission, and to stand up for what I believe.”

Dole:

“I am Mary and John Hanford’s daughter, raised to believe that there are no limits to individual achievement and no excuses to justify indifference. From an early age, I was taught that success is measured, not in material accumulations, but in service to others. I was encouraged to join causes larger than myself, to pursue positive change through a sense of mission, and to stand up for what I believe.”

Brown’s spokesman, John Donnelly, said in a statement that the copying of Dole’s text was an innocent mistake made by staffers, and, therefore, should not be considered plagiarism. “Senator Dole’s website served as one of the models for Senator Brown’s website when he first took office. During construction of the site, the content on this particular page was inadvertently transferred without being rewritten,” Donnelly told the Boston Globe. “It was a staff level oversight which we regret and is being corrected.” A staffer for Dole told the Associated Press that the former senator believed the lifting was, indeed, an innocent mistake.

Consider this: the paragraph in question was found on a student resources section of Brown’s website. How many students are possibly visiting Brown’s website? And then how many more are cruising the student resources page, looking for ways to get involved with an election that’s still over a year away? 10? 15? There had to be an extraordinary confluence of events for someone to actually be on Brown’s student resources page, then to say to themselves, This inane paragraph above the ‘Fill Out The Fields Below’ part sounds vaguely familiar… I think these are the words of Elizabeth Dole! Who ran for Senate when I was eight!. Of course, American Bridge could be just copying every line on Brown’s site and then pasting it into Google, hoping it finds something like a Google Books cache…which might be the case here.

Plagiarism or no, Brown probably should have stepped up and said, “My bad. I should’ve been a little more vigilant.” Because nobody likes to see the young, eager, vague “staffers” get thrown under the bus. And maybe, on the flip side, American Bridge should be putting their resources into something more significant than trolling a student resources page.

Elizabeth Dole, Plagiarism, Scott Brown

Anonymous

I guess he figured no one would ever read a book by Liddy Dole
http://mediamatters.org/ Leedog

Proves Scott Brown can’t think for himself!! And also proves he’s a spineless coward for not taking the responsibility himself while blaming his staff!! What an A-Hole!!
http://mediamatters.org/ Leedog

Lol!! He figured wrong!!
Concerned Citizen

So now Mediaite isn’t satisfied with generating their own left wing liberal bias news stories, they are outsourcing to “American Bridge 21st Century, a “a progressive research and communications organization committed to holding Republicans accountable for their words and actions,”. When are you going to start citing newsbusters.org stories which holds dems/libs accountable for their words. Also are we saying here that Brown didn’t say Dole’s words, they were just on his website? I am sure Scott Brown is burning the candle as the web master of his web site. Sounds like it was the mistake of whoever maintains the site and a non-story. But oh anything to back a Republican/conservative.
Anonymous

The party of personal responsibility NEVER takes responsibility for their own actions
It wasnt me
really I paid my child support – my wife lied
I am not and have never been gay
I was buying crack from a male hooker for research
http://www.davidjkramer.co.cc// DavidKramer

If they used the website as a copy using a web based add on, like say Firebug, it is entirely possible all text and the format was copied. Later the web master would be replacing the text and making adjustments and the text could have been left. The one word being changed would back up that account. A person would go through and edit the page looking for mistakes.

Of course people like Widdlebabyidiot will assume that Brown is the devil incarnate and vent hyperbole.

Being that I have created websites using other websites as the beginning of my designs, I could see it happening.
http://www.davidjkramer.co.cc// DavidKramer

Hey Dog, do you think Brown is the webmaster on his site or do you think that maybe his staff or a subcontracting webmaster maintains the site?

You and the author are such idiots.
http://www.davidjkramer.co.cc// DavidKramer

Hey Dog, do you think Brown is the webmaster on his site or do you think that maybe his staff or a subcontracting webmaster maintains the site?

You and the author are such idiots.
http://mediamatters.org/ Leedog

I don’t care who maintains what!! It’s Brown who should be the one who takes the responsibility and not try to blame others like you are trying to do now for him!!
Anonymous

What’s with that Boston area? Doris Kearns Goodwin, Mike Barnicle and
now Brown….something in the water? But with Biden’s history of this
affliction, at least the Vice Presidency is not out of reach.
Anonymous

Do you get paid to plagiarize?
Anonymous

wow. brown caught with his pants down again.
http://www.davidjkramer.co.cc// DavidKramer

So I guess you blame Obama for Fast and Furious. You blame him for Solyndra. You blame him for the economy. You blame him for anything?

Just checking on your supposed furor to keep the one in charge as responsible. Hmmmm?
http://www.davidjkramer.co.cc// DavidKramer

Do you know what plagiarize means?

Do you know that many websites use a basic design that is under fair use or public use or under a hundred other open and free usage rights?

Maybe you should continue to comment on things you know. As soon as find out something you know, drop me a comment, I would really like to see your first intelligent comment.
Anonymous

Do you make sure that these websites that you copy fall under this category?
Anonymous

Maybe Eric Holder will use same defense on Fast and Furious memo and blame the staff.
jelliebean

“Inadvertently transferred”. That is so deliciously funny I hope SNL uses it…. my staff is so incompetent they confused me with a woman from South Carolina.
Dog, Bob Dog

I don’t blame him for any of those things, OK?
Charlie Kane

Yeah sure Scott. And your dog ate the homework. Clown.
Anonymous

If Scott Brown doesn’t vet his personal life stories, you have to wonder if he vets anything.
http://www.davidjkramer.co.cc// DavidKramer

I do not copy, I look at their structure, I look at the programming language they use and I go from there. But nice try attempting to say that I copy.

Wait a minute, you used the english language alphabet…………..PLAGIARIST!!!!
Anonymous

It sounds like you don’t understand how websites are structured and designed. This is in fact Plagiarism. Plain and simple.
Lallen422

Yes, Brown should stay on toes. People are scrutinizing him, and he is asleep apparently
Lallen422

Cross-checking quotes isn’t my idea of “trolling.” Sorry Brown is too stupid to check these things. He isn”t even good at cheating.
Lallen422

This guy is such an idiot and so arrogant. I really like the way he tried to turn out his daughters at his acceptance speech LOL
Lallen422

He shouldn’t be quoting someone else without the proper citation. It is that simple. We would not even be having this discussion.
Anonymous

Fact: When you act like a demarodent you get screwed!!!
Anonymous

What a lucky break that words that didn’t clearly show the 1st person language to not be ideas expressed by Brown , such as the bolded words, were not “inadvertently transferred”. That’s some coincidence.
http://twitter.com/MerryMarjie MerryMarjie

Blame the staff for the mistake. Classy. Not.