There are so many angles to the Domenech story that it would take a month to plumb their full scope and measure. But the one that fascinates me the most is the response of the RedStaters to the discovery and proof of plagiarism on the part of their own founder and wunderkind, Ben Domenech.
I'd never been to the RedState site before, but - in the immediate aftermath of the Domenech debacle -- I was curious to see how the self-proclaimed arbiters of personal morality would react. The crusaders for personal responsibility and accountability. The decriers of `identity politics'. The proud defenders of, you know, Judeo-Christian values and stuff.
First, the recap: On Thursday afternoon, reports of Domenech's plagiarism, sparked by
Oregon guy's diary hit the blogosphere, and over the next 24 hours - as evidence and more evidence popped up across the internets (you couldn't swing a dead cat without hitting another nicked paragraph) - the resignation calls multiplied, Domenech tendered, the WaPo explained, and various Dkos diaries commented on the events.
But what, one might wonder, was happening over at Red State?
Would they, in light of the undisputed evidence, hold Domenech accountable for his behavior? Would they be in the least bit disturbed that he left a swath of plagiarism across a span of years and publications, harking back to his 1999 stint at the William & Mary college paper, sullying numerous magazines and newspapers and stealing from writers - famous and not-so-famous -- in the time since?
And what about his first public response? Would anyone at RedState be skeptical of its weak rebuttals, its `only a lad' excuses, its swirling mists of obfuscation and misdirection? Would they find it at all reprehensible that Domenech placed the blame on W&M editors, accusing them of inserting plagiarized copy into his own articles?
And then came Domenech's "Contrition"- what would they make of such a terse, tepid apology characterizing plagiarism as merely "inappropriate", and making a wheedling re-play of the "teenage" card? Would any RedStater dare to be less than fully impressed? Would anyone notice that Domenech hadn't retracted or even apologized for his accusations against the W&M editors? Would any RedStater point out that Domenech never came forward of his own accord, but issued his confession only after the incontrovertible and still-growing record of evidence forced him out his bunker? Would anyone find it galling that, in his scramble to save himself, BenDom flung the dung in all directions allowing the credibility of his friends and his site to be besmirched in defending him?
I daresay we knew the answer without even bothering to look it up. (The rare RedState.com posts to suggest that Ben's mea-culpa was not a robust Guinness Stout of contrition but rather a watery glass of near-beer - well, they were promptly chastised for their unaccommodating palates).
But here's where it gets interesting.
What's so fascinating about the RedState reaction is what it never says. For all their love of Old Testament-style justice, the law-and-order crowd couldn't conjure up a single canard about the consequences of voluntary personal behavior. None of that "ye shall reap what you sow" stuff. Nary a peep about the sin of false witness against a neighbor. Nothing about how "the Lord hateth a lying tongue" nor any mention of the Commandment against theft.
Naw, what we had here was not the rehabilitation of a plagiarist, but the rehabilitation - however fleeting and arbitrary -- of rightwing Christian morality. Suddenly, their Vengeful Angry God and his Pauline enforcer have been replaced by the meek, forgiving lamb of Christ. Out with those beloved red-meat images of the Rampaging Jesus cracking a horsewhip, now we have the all-forgiving, group-hugging, "I-feel-your-pain" Prince of Compassion, complete with soft-focus lighting and a box of Kleenex.
In fact, RedState diaries boldly and with nary a hint of red-faced shame declared that the disgraced Domenech was a `man of principle' because -- by way of explanation? -- he's `passionate in his beliefs'. And, by golly, "all have sinned". For the boy who called Coretta Scott King a communist on the day of her funeral, they'll have none of this stone-throwing business, for nobody is perfect. And for god sake, don't use the P-word, when our Savior and Lord stands ready to forgive all of us for our youthful exuberances.
To put a point on it, they swapped their fire-n-brimestone God, He of the Smite and Slaughter, for - who'd a guessed - the liberal Jesus. Well, actually, it's the New & Improved RedState Jesus who not only forgives, but offers Instant Redemption with no strings attached. Got a 7-year history of proven plagiarism which upon exposure, you embellish with denials, obfuscations and the less-filling kind of contrition? No problemo, they'll clean up that little mess without hardly even mentioning the species of transgression and pronounce you pure as the driven snow - in fact, Better & Stronger than ever before - before the ink is dry on your tastes-great apology.
But just this once, and just for one of their own. But don't call it identity politics or ideological tribalism and don't mention the notion of personal accountability - not in relation to Ben Domenech, that is. Not now that he's been redeemed and all.