One of the time-tested traditions in modern American Politics is the interest group survey. One way for voters to become informed on where the candidates stand is these pointed issue-based queries done by a variety of groups and organizations. One of the most famous of these is the issue profile done by VoteSmart.org, but they are far from the only one to do so.
So...the AARP sends out a survey to 2006 Congressional candidates, seeking their views on items that would matter to seniors.
And, apparently, a septet of GOP Congressional wanna-bes will be heading to the principal's office for one simple reason: they all copied, word-for-freaking-word, their replies to the AARP.
More after the jump.....
Apparently, seven candidates copied their answers from talking points provided to them by the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC). The answers were in reference to several AARP core issues: Social Security, Medicare, insurance plans, and retirement.
The "magnificient" seven caught plagiarizing were a who's who of the GOP challenger wishlist for 2006:
1. Max Burns (GA-12)
2. Peter Roskam (IL-06)
3. Andrea Zinga (IL-17)
4. Jeff Lamberti (IA-03)
5. Chuck Blasdel (OH-06)
6. Ralph Norman (SC-05)
7. Van Taylor (TX-17)
The party responses were rather predictable. This, from Ralph Norman's communications director:
"Ralph has his own ideas, but we are lucky to have the NRCC's help during this campaign because it's more evidence that Ralph has what it takes to bring change to South Carolina and Washington"
EDITOR'S NOTE: WTF???
Meanwhile, DCCC press secretary Sarah Feinberg gets a pretty decent shot in:
"Nothing makes it more clear that Republicans stand for 'more of the same' in Washington than these plagiarized surveys."
It becomes pretty bloody obvious that these seven candidates cannot be trusted to protect seniors in America, given their reliance on a party-hack crib sheet to articulate a policy agenda for seniors.