Ohio Rep. claims press release as own work

You'd think that Republican loyalists would've figured out by now that plagiarism ain't what it used to be. Especially in politics, the Internet has made it nearly impossible to get away with swiping other people's work and publishing it under your own name.

Enter Jean Schmidt, the Ohio Congresswoman who narrowly defeated Paul Hackett and, near as I can tell, made the news only when she embarrassed herself. Like her debut speech on the House Floor, in which she accused (by proxy, conveniently) John Murtha of cowardice. Or the revelations that she'd added some phony claims to her official resume. Now she's back, having passed off a press release-- by another Ohio Congresswoman, no less-- praising the GOP's brilliant Medicare plan as her own original op-ed.

It's impossible to excerpt, because Scmidt didn't just borrow a phrase here and there. Instead I'll highlight one of the more immediately apparent differences between the original and the copy.

Pryce: And there’s more good news.

Schmidt: And there is more good news.