If you're a 3rd Legislative District (Spokane) voter who values independence and original thinking in your elected officials you need look no further than Republican Nancy McLaughlin for an example of everything you hate about politics. Indeed, McLaughlin is running such a cookie cutter campaign for state senate that she's repeatedly lifted campaign material wholesale from other Republican web sites and emails.

For example, until a local progressive PAC called her out on her plagiarism, the issues page on McLaughlin's campaign website was lifted word for word (typo for typo) straight from the issues page of the Senate Republican Campaign Committee website. (McLaughlin's issues page now says that it is "under construction.") Such an original thinker! Likewise an August 17 campaign email includes several sentences copied verbatim from a May 12 press release from Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus, while a June fundraising message cribs from another candidate's 2010 campaign for Spokane County Council.

This is the kind of lazy politics that makes Reagan Dunn look like a hard worker.

No doubt McLaughlin would probably blame her campaign consultant, but if she's putting so little thought and effort into her own campaign, it's no wonder that many political observers expect Democratic Representative Andy Billig to win their senate race, um, effortlessly.