ottensteals

Les Otten Plagiarizes AGAIN – Can’t Be Bothered To Discuss Education With The Little People

By Matthew Gagnon
April 30, 2010

File this under one of the most disappointingly pathetic and lame things you have ever seen.

Derek Viger of Augusta Insider has been passing around questionnaires about education to both Republican and Democratic candidates for office, hoping to get, ya know, some real honest answers from the candidates about what they think about the issue.

Exactly three people in the state of Maine seem to care about getting some detailed policy ideas from the candidates (the rest of us are more concerned with the horse race ::hangs head in shame::), and Derek is one of them.

One of the questions Derek asked the candidates was “What is your opinion of the Federal Race to the Top, and is it worth it? Given what we know about the two 1st round winners (Delaware and Tennessee), do you believe Maine has made a strong effort to win the Race?”

Here was the beginning of Les Otten’s answer:

Under the Race to the Top program, $4.3 billion is being made available to states to help them fund promising education reforms.
The catch is that this is a competitive grant program.  States across the nation have responded by passing comprehensive reform legislation that moves their states forward in a dramatic fashion.

And, interestingly, here is the testimony of Stephen Bowen of the Maine Heritage Policy Center regarding L.D.’s 1799, 1800, and 1801:

Under the Race to the Top program, $4.3 billion is being made available to states to help them fund promising education reforms. The catch is that this is a  competitive grant program, and states across the nation have responded by passing comprehensive reform legislation that moves their states forward in a dramatic fashion.

Here is the rest of what Otten had to say on Michigan:

MICHIGAN:
•    Expanded the number charter schools in the state.
•    Empowered the state to intervene in the lowest performing schools.
•    Tightened certification requirements for school administrators.
•    Required annual evaluations of teachers and administrators using data on student growth.
•    Created alternative routes to teacher certification and raised the state’s dropout age.

And here is Bowen again:

In five separate bills totaling more than 50 pages, Michigan lawmakers expanded the number charter schools in the state, empowered the state to intervene in the lowestperforming schools, tightened certification requirements for school administrators, required annual evaluations of teachers and administrators using data on student growth, created alternative routes to teacher certification and raised the state’s dropout age.

Nice.  Bullet points completely made me gloss over the additional plagiarism.

And yes, it is plagiarism, he didn’t even bother to HINT that it was lifted from Bowen’s testimony.  As if it would have been hard to say, “this testimony from Stephen Bowen explains race to the top very well and I couldn’t hope to say it better”.

I could keep quoting what Otten said about Massachusetts and Maine, but I think you get what is going on here.  Les Otten lifted the testimony and passed it off as his own very deep thoughts.  I mean, it is almost like he Googled “Race to the top Maine Heritage” and get this testimony in his results.  Oh wait.  That is exactly what he did.

This is offensive on so many levels, that I can’t even begin to organize my thoughts.

It is yet another sign of a willful disrespect for other human beings, their hard work, their creativity, or their intellectual property.

It means he has absolutely zero interest in real policy discussion and is engaging in a substanceless, soul-less political campaigning – the very worst kind of politician that exists, and the last person you ever want to put in charge.

It means that he looks for the quick, easy and effortless way to get something accomplished.  Just like he has time and time again.

And most disturbing at all, it means he is – once again – completely willing to outright steal other people’s hard work to pass it off as his own, for his own benefit.

This might sound trivial as it is a minor answer to a blog questionnaire, but these types of things reveal the character of a candidate, and give you an indication of how they will behave once in office.  When – like this – it is the third, fourth or fifth example of the exact same disturbing behavior, it simply reinforces the point.

Les Otten can not be allowed to win the Republican primary.  If he does win, he can not be allowed to win the general election.  He must be stopped, and none of the Republican candidates has demonstrated the spine to take him on.  He is a candidate without any type of moral compass at all, a man who is unengaged with both policy and the people.  He is waging a cynical media war without the requisite human contact with voters outside staged debates, because everyone who knows him seems to hate him.

He will steal without any kind of remorse, and will look to cut corners at any opportunity when he doesn’t want to put in the work (which seems to be quite often).

Do not let this man get elected to anything.  I beg of you.

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20 Responses to “Les Otten Plagiarizes AGAIN – Can’t Be Bothered To Discuss Education With The Little People”

  1. Publius V. Publicola

    30. Apr, 2010

    Matt,

    I can’t begin to tell you how thankful I am that SOMEONE is having this discussion. I just wish some (or even one) of the candidates would point out the disaster that Les Otten would be.

    For the longest time, I have believed that Les Otten was nothing but a terrible business manager, rich playboy, who wanted to buy his way into the Blaine House. I didn’t think he had much of a shot to do it, but I’ve heard the noise about Otten leading the pack getting louder and louder. Your recent article handicapping the gubernatorial race served as the crescendo of this.

    I only hope that Maine Republicans are smart enough not to be fooled by this fool.

  2. Marc A. PItman

    30. Apr, 2010

    Matt,

    For what it’s worth…one candidate has the spine to take Les on. And you reported on it. :)

    Peter Mills Goes on Attack Against Otten.

  3. Garrett

    30. Apr, 2010

    Matt’s been trying (much like the duck in the Aflac commercials) for months to let people know what a charlatan and scoundrel Otten is. I also wrote a piece listing several of the seemingly endless examples of Otten’s swindler approach. You can check it out here. http://bit.ly/6nPDJX If Otten gets the nomination, kiss the Maine GOP’s chances of retaking the Blaine House goodbye.

    I don’t blame the other candidates for not making Otten’s wretchedness a campaign issue, though. It’s tough going negative against someone technically in the same party. Who I do blame are Maine’s political journalists. This information is beyond doubt relevant to Maine’s Republican voters while deciding which candidate they will support. The Maine media’s failure to inform Mainers is practically a scandal in its own right. Hey Maine media, it’s not too late…

  4. Chuck McKay

    30. Apr, 2010

    Great work, Mr. Gagnon. Any chance of some mainstream media catching on to this?

  5. Richard Begin

    30. Apr, 2010

    First I would like to thank the Publisher’s of Pine Tree Politics for providing many here in Maine an alternative to the other Political site. Now I reside in the Western Maine Foothiils. I never worked for MR Otten. However I know of countless folks who did and would never have anything to with Lb Otten.

    Here is an Individual who knows no Limits as to how Low he will go to win the Nomination. I find it ‘Puzzeling’ that he has not been looked at more closely. But as we know ‘as a result of the Clinton Era’ Americans are much more inclined to Headline and Not Details

  6. Stephanie

    30. Apr, 2010

    Thank you, Matt.

    The fluff stories in the papers about Otten are driving me crazy. At least 207 asked him about American Skiing Company.

  7. Mary

    30. Apr, 2010

    Thank you Matt. 25 years ago, my husband, 8 year old son, and I were spending a weekend in the Sunday River area. At dinner Saturday night at the drunken raucus table next to us, Les Otten loudly used every foul word in the dictionary. We complained to the resturant manager, and what we got back from the neighboring table was a go F— yourself, from Otten. It was the single most unpleasant meal we have ever experienced in our lives. The next day complementary lift tickets, or some such nonsense, arrived at our hotel room from Otten. I said no thanks then, and I say no thanks now in 2010.If he is elected it will be a four year horror show.. So thank you, Matt, for exposing what a scumbag I know Les Otten to be. And thanks for todays handicapping, what a great piece. Hope you are doing the same on the Dems.

  8. winston

    01. May, 2010

    Hey’ Stephanie Please to tell me what you mean by fluff Stories. this Chap Squire Otten seems to be a Snake Oil Drummer.He Acts like elvis’s manager Colonel Tom Parke,Now Stephanie I’m here to tell you In my ‘Seventy Three years on ‘God’s green acre I knew Colonel Parker and hear me when I say it .Lse otten you are no Governor

  9. Derek Viger

    01. May, 2010

    The Otten campaign has responded to the plagiarism issue. Check out it here. They said it was an “error of omission not an error of commission”.

  10. Publius V. Publicola

    01. May, 2010

    The response from the Otten campaign is laughable. As I said over on AMG:

    Now that is some spin if I ever saw it. Somehow the quotation marks and citation were inadvertently removed from the final draft of the response? Yeah right.

    But I guess he couldn’t just respond by saying, “I have no clue what the Race to the Top program is so I’m just gonna go with what the Maine Heritage Policy Center said.” He probably should have. That at least would have looked a little more credible. Read Mr. Bowen’s testimony and then Candidate Otten’s answer. This was no mistake.

  11. Stephanie

    01. May, 2010

    Yeah, Leslie omitted providing an answer of his own.

  12. Stephanie

    01. May, 2010

    winston – I love my local paper The Irregular but they did a bio on Otten and called him a “family man.” Um, he’s campaigning with a girlfriend half his age. Not sure how that makes him a family man. Just a few days ago Leslie got frontpage coverage in the Morning Sentinel: “Otten touts importance of education to economy”

    http://www.kjonline.com/news/otten-touts-importance-of-education-to-economy_2010-04-30.html

    Will the fact that he plagiarizes his views on education make the frontpage?

  13. KayInMaine

    02. May, 2010

    Why are some of you surprised Maine’s MSM isn’t catching on to Otten or reporting on this plagiarism? This is how the MSM here is! They spend most of their time hailing Collins & Snowe and never ever report the truth about them.

    Otten is scum.

  14. sowens

    08. May, 2010

    You realize Les will win don’t you. He is the type of business person love him or hate him has everyone talking about him. He is also the kind of person who people will vote for because he knows how to move business forward. Sustanability is a different subject but he can move business forward.

    Our Vice President plagerized and it didn’t hurt him any did it? Go toe to toe with him on education and you will lose. Check the facts he has always been a supporter and leader of education in the State of Maine.

    Remember this, Les Otten couldn’t revive Sunday River, he did. Les Otten couldn’t purchase his competitors, he did. Les Otten got too big to quick. Many many companies in the world did the same and failed. Les Otten couldn’t purchase the Red Sox by himself, so he was smart enough to get the help he needed to do it…. he did.

    Les Otten can’t be govenor? You watch, he will win. Will he be a good governor, that is a different debate. Right now, all he has to do is win.

Trackbacks/Pingbacks

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    [...] and sent off to the Augusta Insider, presented as Otten’s own original response. Gagnon published his initial post exposing the similarities on Friday, a piece he said was quickly circulated among [...]
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