Five of the 10 position statements Idaho congressional candidate Vaughn Ward has had posted on his campaign website for at least the past five months are word-for-word identical to statements on other candidates' and congressmen's sites, including one in which Ward touted "my roadmap legislation" - actually something proposed by Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, whose campaign website contains an identical paragraph. Ward's statement on tax relief - all but its first sentence - is a repeat of a statement on the campaign website of third-term Rep. Geoff Davis, R-Kentucky. Half of his statement on health care matches a Jan. 7, 2009 Wall Street Journal article by Rep. Tom Price, R-Georgia. And his entire statement on "Definition of Marriage/Family Issues" matches a statement posted on the website of Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., with such minor changes as substituting "I believe" for "Sen. Jim DeMint believes."

Within a half-hour after a reporter called Ward's campaign Thursday with questions about the position statements, all links to them on his campaign website were disabled; Ward said new statements should be up shortly. You can read my full story here at spokesman.com.