9 August 2014

Who turned-in John Walsh to the NY Times?

At first I reckoned Republicans or big right wing operations were responsible. And they might be. But if they blew the whistle, why didn’t they wait until 12 August, until suicide was his only option for escaping the ballot, thus condemning Democrats to a candidate who’d be both an object of pity and a laughingstock for the rest of the campaign?

Some — not all, but some — possibilities:

1. Daines, the GOP, or right wing political operatives panicked when the July PPP and Gravis polls showed Walsh was closing the gap, sending the information to the NYT while Walsh still had an escape route.
2. Military enemies of Walsh, perhaps the same enemies who may have tipped of the press on his reprimand and denial of promotion to brigadier general; perhaps someone who knew him at the war college. The more I think about it, the more likely I think that is.
3. Someone whose work Walsh plagiarized. Similarities seeking software searches in both directions.
4. The NTY discovered the plagiarism on its own. I don’t think that’s likely — I do think the Times was tipped — but I’m convinced the Times did do its own investigation to verify the tip and unearth associated information. Indeed, I’m sure the story was vetted by the Times’ lawyers before being published.