Tell me again that "both sides" do things. When Rand Paul plagiarized, the GOP shrugged, he made a bunch of excuses, and everyone went about the business of promoting Young Paul as the next Cool Dude to run for President.

John Walsh, on the other hand, appointed to the Senate seat Max Baucus used to inhabit, has now withdrawn from the Montana Senate Race, effectively handing it over to a Republican. Because plagiarism.

CBS News:

Sen. John Walsh, D-Mont., threw in the towel on the Montana Senate race on Thursday after his campaign faltered in recent weeks following a report last month that the senator plagiarized large portions of a research paper in graduate school.

"I am ending my campaign so that I can focus on fulfilling the responsibility entrusted to me as your U.S. senator," Walsh told supporters in a statement,according to the Billings Gazette. "You deserve someone who will always fight for Montana, and I will."

Walsh will serve out the remainder of his current Senate term, which expires in January 2015.

At a nominating convention on August 20, approximately 175 delegates, most Montana Democratic party officials, will select Walsh's replacement to appear on the ballot in November. The Democrat named will face off against the Republican nominee, Rep. Steve Daines, and Libertarian candidate Roger Roots.

"I am proud that with your support, we held our opponent (Daines) accountable for his hurtful record to privatize Medicare, to deny women the freedom to make their own health decisions and to sell off our public lands," Walsh said in his statement on Thursday. "I know how important it is to continue the fight for these Montana values, and it is time for us all to return to the real issues of this election."

Oh, if only. Walsh was gaining in the polls when this news broke. I'm not condoning plagiarism, but will someone please make a list of what disqualifies Republicans from running for national office? Evidently the current list only applies to Democrats.