Two weeks ago, I wrote a column about Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) advocating the use of misinformation and deception during a speech to University of Louisville medical students. Paul explained to the students that he would often spread false rumors about upcoming exams among his classmates and claimed that misinformation can be “a great tactic.”
Now, it seems that Paul has added a new tactic to his bag of dishonest tricks: plagiarism.
According to The New York Times, the senator has been accused of plagiarizing parts of one of his speeches from the Wikipedia entry for the science fiction movie “Gattaca.” Paul was attempting to connect the movie, in which the human population has been genetically engineered to eliminate undesirable characteristics, to the policies of progressives and liberals.
The speech contained two sentences describing the movie that were virtually identical to portions of the Wikipedia article.
This is not the first time Paul has come under suspicion of plagiarism. BuzzFeed uncovered another speech by the senator where he appeared to plagiarize information from the Wikipedia page for the 1988 film “Stand and Deliver.”
On Monday, the extent of Paul’s plagiarism was revealed to be much deeper than initially realized. According to Mediaite, the senator lifted more than 1,300 unaltered words of his 2013 book, “Government Bullies,” from a 2003 Heritage Foundation study.
Paul has attempted to justify his actions by claiming he gave appropriate credit. “We borrowed the plot lines from Gattaca,” he said. “I gave credit to the people who wrote the movie,” he said in an interview with Fusion. The co-author also denied the allegations of plagiarism in “Government Bullies,” claiming all of the information was properly sourced in the book’s endnotes.
Neither of the excuses provided by the senator and his staff is valid. In order to actually not have committed plagiarism, the senator should have credited the source of the plot summary — Wikipedia — and not simply acknowledge the existence of the movie. Paul’s failure to quote the Heritage Foundation’s words within the actual text of his book is also a clear-cut, indisputable example of plagiarism.
Paul’s denial of plagiarism leaves two possibilities: Either he was deliberately lying about his actions, or he simply does not understand what plagiarism is. Paul’s plagiarism is even more disturbing in light of his libertarian political philosophy. During Paul’s tenure in the Senate, he has been a forceful advocate against the social safety net, drafting a budget proposal that would eviscerate social programs like Medicare, Medicaid and food stamps.
Paul’s opposition to government social programs falls largely in lockstep with the perspective of Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wi.), a Tea Party hero and chairman of the House Budget Committee. Ryan frequently portrays Americans who rely on government programs like food stamps to make ends meet as lazy, uneducated “takers” who are wholly dependent on “makers” — i.e., business owners — for their survival.
Paul champions a political ideology that claims to value initiative, independence and personal responsibility. Despite these beliefs, Paul added uncredited, plagiarized material to his speeches, effectively stealing from the individuals who put time and effort into writing the Wikipedia articles and the Heritage Foundation study.
Even worse, the senator failed to take responsibility for his actions when the plagiarism was discovered, instead choosing to dodge the question and blame “haters” for the accusations. In addition to the dishonesty of Paul’s plagiarism, the point he was seeking to make about liberal policies leading to eugenics is completely inaccurate.
Progressives and liberals believe every individual should be given the greatest possible opportunity to succeed on his or her own merit. They also believe government can play an important role in “leveling the playing field” by ensuring all citizens have access to basic necessities such as health care, food and affordable education.
Progressives also advocate for a strong social safety net to ensure society collectively helps those who are unable to help themselves.
Paul’s libertarian philosophy takes exactly the opposite approach. Libertarians hold that government should have little, if any, involvement in the lives of its citizens. They oppose safety net programs and believe individuals should be left to fend for themselves. The philosophy portrayed in “Gattaca” is far closer to this kind of social Darwinist, “survival of the fittest” mentality than to progressive ideology.
By itself, Paul’s plagiarism is not cause for serious condemnation. Politicians across the spectrum, including both President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden, have been accused of giving speeches with uncredited information at one time or another. However, the hypocrisy of the senator’s plagiarism, given his belief in personal responsibility and initiative combined with his complete misunderstanding of the information from which he plagiarized, is shameful.
Elliot Levy is a UF political science and public relations junior. His column runs on Wednesdays. A version of this column ran on page 7 on 11/6/2013 under the headline "Sen. Paul’s hypocritical plagiarism makes him a ‘taker’"
