Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky) has been accused of multiple counts of plagiarism. Â The case against him seems fairly convincing. Â Perhaps this is why Paul has gone ad baculum against his accusers (from the same link):
“Yes, there are times when [speeches] have been sloppy or not correct or we’ve made an error,” Paul said. “But the difference is, I take it as an insult and I will not lie down and say people can call me dishonest, misleading or misrepresenting. I have never intentionally done so.”
He continued, “And like I say, if, you know, if dueling were legal in Kentucky, if they keep it up, you know, it would be a duel challenge. But I can’t do that, because I can’t hold office in Kentucky then.”
You really don’t get much of the old ad baculum. Â For the uninitiated, ad baculum, or appeal to force, occurs when one threatens violence or sanction as a means to change someone’s belief. Â Nice of Paul to give us an example.