The Return of Scooter McPlagiarist! (Election Pending)

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by: Colorado Pols

Scott “McPlagiarist” McInnis.

According to the Grand Junction Sentinel's Emily Shockley today (story behind the paywall), former U.S. Representative, brief 2008 candidate for U.S. Senate, and 2010 GOP gubernatorial candidate Scott McInnis has announced a return to electoral politics–at a much lower level than before, seeking the seat on the Mesa County Board of Commissioners set to be vacated next year by term limited Republican Steve Aquafresca. McInnis will reportedly run against another Republican, former Grand Junction Mayor Gregg Palmer, among other candidates who may get in the race.

The Sentinel's Gary Harmon reported in July about McInnis' anticipated return to politics:

“I missed helping people out,” McInnis said of what prompted him to consider a return to elected politics.

We assume the people McInnis hopes to "help out" include fellow Republicans, but there are plenty of reasons they might think the best way for McInnis to help would be to stay away.

As our longtime readers remember well, McInnis lost the GOP gubernatorial primary in 2010 after revelations that a series of essays on water policy and history written for the Hasan Foundation and attributed to him were extensively plagiarized, including material directly lifted without attribution from articles written by a Colorado Supreme Court justice. McInnis' loss to unqualified minor candidate Dan Maes following his plagiarism scandal was a part of a wide-ranging breakdown for Colorado Republicans in an otherwise Republican wave year. It also allowed now-Gov. John Hickenlooper to skate through that election without having to make a serious effort.

The following year, McInnis escaped professional sanction by the state Office of Attorney Regulation, an outcome that was dubiously represented as "exoneration"–the defrauded party, the philanthropic Hasan family, certainly didn't consider McInnis "exonerated."

For our part, we consider the Ward Churchill amalgam we Photoshopped up in July of 2010 (above right) to be some of our very best work, and we look forward to breaking it out of cold storage–much like McInnis himself.

10 thoughts on “The Return of Scooter McPlagiarist! (Election Pending)”

davebarnes says:

September 17, 2013 at 10:10 am

Wait a minute! Scooter is looking to replace someone named Aquafresca? Hasn't he had enough problems with di-hydrogen monoxide?

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V2Media says:

September 17, 2013 at 10:14 am

Hmmm! Scooter Come back? <a href="http://chinhhinhbachmai.vn" title="Chân giả">Chân giả </a>

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DaftPunk says:

September 17, 2013 at 10:40 am

“I missed helping people out,” McInnis said

Isn't Elk season coming?

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Moderatus says:

September 17, 2013 at 12:20 pm

I was saving this for the next Caldara post, but it's appropriate here too. Democrats believe in second chances for criminals, and second chances for fellow Democrats like Anthony Weiner. Why wouldn't Scott McInnis also deserve another chance? He was cleared by the attorney board, and he has a lot of experience in government.

I'm probably asking an obvious question, but I'd really like to know: do Republicans just not deserve second chances?

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1. Duke Cox says:
  
  September 17, 2013 at 1:07 pm
  
  Who said he couldn’t run for the Mesa BOCC? He can have as many chances as he is willing to take. I would be delighted to vote against him.
  
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2. Phoenix Rising says:
  
  September 17, 2013 at 1:08 pm
  
  Anthony Weiner: 5% in the NYC Mayoral election – complete with heaploads of Democratic scorn for being an ongoing idiot.
  
  To be honest, there are a lot of people who I don't believe should have second chances at their previous careers – or at least shouldn't have automatic "ins". Professional sports players and politicians are at the top of that list, being positions where you at least theoretically should be a role model. You screw up while you're already in one of those professions and you need to work your way back in from the bottom. Even County Commissioner might be a step too high for a starting point IMHO – but it's a whole lot more realistic than Weiner's mayoral bid.
  
  If you want to discuss this re: Caldera – he can start over after he gets out of prison for purjury under oath, voting fraud, and conspiracy.
  
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3. Curmudgeon says:
  
  September 17, 2013 at 8:18 pm
  
  Scooter McPlagiarist has the right to run for any office he wants. And, just like Anthony Weiner, he deserves to be a laughingstock.
  
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gertie97 says:

September 17, 2013 at 12:58 pm

Scooter will have a tougher time with the GOTP crowd in Mesa County than many might think. In the land of wingnuts and teabaggers, he's far too liberal for them.

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hawkeye says:

September 18, 2013 at 6:48 am

McInnis must see some business opportunities, or personal benefit, from being a Mesa County commissioner, as this guy is all about himself.

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Duke Cox says:

September 18, 2013 at 10:38 am

A six figure salary plus the opportunity to stimulate his O&G investments. Worked for Meis …should be a financial windfall for McInnis, too.

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