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CT-Sen: NYT's Misleading Story on Dick Blumenthal

by: DavidNYC

Mon May 17, 2010 at 9:26 PM EDT


Politically speaking, I'm not sure it gets much worse than this:

At a ceremony honoring veterans and senior citizens who sent presents to soldiers overseas, Attorney General Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut rose and spoke of an earlier time in his life.

"We have learned something important since the days that I served in Vietnam," Mr. Blumenthal said to the group gathered in Norwalk in March 2008. "And you exemplify it. Whatever we think about the war, whatever we call it - Afghanistan or Iraq - we owe our military men and women unconditional support."

There was one problem: Mr. Blumenthal, a Democrat now running for the United States Senate, never served in Vietnam. He obtained at least five military deferments from 1965 to 1970 and took repeated steps that enabled him to avoid going to war, according to records. ...

In 1970, with his last deferment in jeopardy, he enlisted in the Marine Reserve, landing a coveted spot in a unit in Washington, which virtually guaranteed that he would not be sent to Vietnam. The unit conducted part-time drills and other exercises and focused on local projects, like fixing a campground and organizing a Toys for Tots drive.

Wow. We need to draft Chris Murphy into this race immediately.

UPDATE: The Dem statewide convention is this weekend. Conceivably delegates could nominate someone other than Blumenthal. If someone else wants to get on the primary ballot via petition, they need to file 7,500 signatures by June 8th (PDF).

LATE UPDATE (5/21): Upon further reflection, it looks like we seriously jumped the gun here, thanks to what turned out to be a very misleading story by the New York Times. I've edited the headline to reflect this.
DavidNYC :: CT-Sen: NYT's Misleading Story on Dick Blumenthal
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CT-Sen: NYT's Misleading Story on Dick Blumenthal | 170 comments
What a fucking idiot
Richard Blumenthal is not ready for prime time. I could excuse him for his "lawsuits creates jobs" but not this. You see what the Republican smear machine did to John Kerry...and he actually served in Vietnam.

19, Male, Independent, CA-12
That's exactly what I just said in my head...
What a fucking idiot.  

40, male, Democrat, NC-04
[ Parent ]
More bad news
He's probably not gonna win the primary, but if he does, Rob Simmons is a Vietnam vet
This could be fatal to his general election chances
If you believe Rasmussen, Linda McMahon has been making up ground as of late anyway.

For daily political commentary, visit me at http://polibeast.blogspot.com/ and http://twitter.com/polibeast
This is bad
The New Haven Register on July 20, 2006, described him as "a veteran of the Vietnam War," and on April 6, 2007, said that the attorney general had "served in the Marines  in Vietnam." On May 26, 2009, The Connecticut Post, a Bridgeport newspaper that is the state's third-largest daily, described Mr. Blumenthal as "a Vietnam veteran." And The Shelton Weekly reported on May 23, 2008, that Mr. Blumenthal "was met with applause when he spoke about his experience as a Marine sergeant in Vietnam."

And the idea that he served in Vietnam has become such an accepted part of his public biography that when a national outlet, Slate magazine, produced a profile of Mr. Blumenthal in 2006, it said he had "enlisted in the Marines rather than duck the Vietnam draft."

It does not appear that Mr. Blumenthal ever sought to correct those mistakes.

Linda McMahon has to be smiling right now.

19, Male, Independent, CA-12

[ Parent ]
ok, that's a lot worse
What was he thinking?
[ Parent ]
Mother of God
Maybe y'all can bring Dodd back!
[ Parent ]
Stupid
So stupid.

The article makes it sound like this has happened often, and the video is pretty clear. This follows him for the rest of the campaign, and opens up the "What else is he exaggerating?" line instantly. It could be a toss-up by July, if not sooner.

Forget Chris Murphy, I'd take Chris Dodd right now. He's not a brilliant politician, but he knows better than to do something like this.

Damage control time.
This sounds bad, but a good campaign can deal with it (see: Reverend Wright, Obama). Better it comes out now than during the general election.

On the other hand, I'm not very confident that Blumenthal can run a good campaign.

http://mypolitikal.com/

I don't see how any campaign can deal with straight-up, unambiguous lying about one's own war record
Blumenthal needs to step aside ASA.
[ Parent ]
That should be ASAP

[ Parent ]
Obama-Wright NOT comparable
This is straight up lying. I don't see how you do damage control.
[ Parent ]
Wow.
This is amazingly bad.
A Macca Moment
Anyone stupid enough to make that kind of mistake, will make many more before November.  Get this dumb fuck into a candidate school ASAP, and start making an alternative list.  
It's Macaca
And yes, this is on par with that comment.

40, male, Democrat, NC-04
[ Parent ]
It is worse than Macaca...
Most Americans do not know what the word Macaca is, but every American knows what lying looks like.

23, male, center-right cynical Republican, PA-7
[ Parent ]
Allen was defeated
By making a racial slur.  Can't get much worse than that!

40, male, Democrat, NC-04
[ Parent ]
The difference was ...
... that Blumenthal was caught lying, Allen was caught saying what he really believed!
[ Parent ]
This is true (n/t)


40, male, Democrat, NC-04
[ Parent ]
LOL
What a dick!  
A video in honor of Blumenthal.
http://vimeo.com/5052034

What a joke.  That is straight out of the old Eddie Murphy movie "The Distinguished Gentleman" where he'd pretend to have gone to Vietnam when he wanted to be "serious."

Note to Richard Blumenthal.  That movie is meant as a joke and not as a guide.  Neither is the Martha Coakley campaign.

NY-13, Democrat. Blog @ http://infinitefunction.wordpr...

I would carry petitions for
Chris Murphy. But the question remains: Is he interested in it?  
Even if he is not done...
This will cause the Democrats problems defending this seat.  More millions blown in Connecticut defending a supposedly safe candidate that could be spent in Pennsylvania, Illinois, etc...  

23, male, center-right cynical Republican, PA-7
Rs will once again believe they have a shot at the majority
 in the Senate.

Well, don't they?
If they can sweep the toss-ups, not lose any incumbents, and knock off Boxer, all they need is to defeat Blumenthal, Feingold, or Murray, and they've crossed the finish line.

For daily political commentary, visit me at http://polibeast.blogspot.com/ and http://twitter.com/polibeast
[ Parent ]
They don't even need that much
if they can get Nelson/Lieberman to officially switch.
[ Parent ]
Nelson
would never switch, IMHO. He IS the Nebraska Democratic Party. He would also have too much power as a swing vote to pass up, a la Snowe. Plus, he would get teabagged to death by Republican purists for his vote for healthcare and the stimulus. No way he switches.

Lieberman is a dick, so anything is possible.  

NY-14, DC-AL (college) Distraught Mets fan

[ Parent ]
I don't think Nelson's running for re-election
He didn't want to run for a while in '06.
[ Parent ]
Lucky for the Dems this came out now
it would have made for one hell of an October surprise.  
Uh, no, not "lucky" at all unless Blumenthal forced from race......
I don't see any assurance that he'll be forced from the race for this.  There's no real consistency in what forces out a candidate, people with problems at least as big as Blumenthal's often refuse to leave.  Other times, they do leave, like David Paterson exiting the NY-Gov race.  But you can't just count on it.

And Blumenthal failing to leave means disaster.  The worst-case scenario is he delusionally insists on believing he can weather this, he can apologize and explain it away, and the party establishment will back him.  That can happen.

43, male, Indian-American, Democrat, VA-10

[ Parent ]
was it just the one time?
Is it possible that he misspoke?

If he repeatedly claimed to have served in Vietnam, that would be a lot worse.

He says he misspoke
But the pattern is ugly:

But an examination of his remarks at the ceremonies shows that he does not volunteer that his service never took him overseas. And he describes the hostile reaction directed at veterans coming back from Vietnam, intimating that he was among them.

In 2003, he addressed a rally in Bridgeport, where about 100 military families gathered to express support for American troops overseas. "When we returned, we saw nothing like this," Mr. Blumenthal said. "Let us do better by this generation of men and women."

At a 2008 ceremony in front of the Veterans War Memorial Building in Shelton, he praised the audience for paying tribute to troops fighting abroad, noting that America had not always done so.

"I served during the Vietnam era," he said. "I remember the taunts, the insults, sometimes even physical abuse."


[ Parent ]
This is repeated behaivor
according to the Times' article. At multiple veteran events, he said similar remarks. Take this quote, "It was a sad moment," she recalled. "He said, 'When we came back, we were spat on; we couldn't wear our uniforms.' It looked like he was sad to me when he said it." This makes me feel sick and mad as hell all at once.  
[ Parent ]
It is repeated behavior
It sounds like it was stated at least a few times, and heavily implied many others -- and if he DARE split hairs over that distinction now in defending himself, he's both dumber and more shadey than he seems now.
[ Parent ]
Wow.
What a stupid way to destroy your career.

Even dumber than politicians' chronic inability to sleep with their wives rather than other people, since at least that has some level of primal compulsion.

Aint that the truth.

[ Parent ]
If the convention is this weekend ....
.... that gives us a world of time, given how the politcal bombshells have been coming at us left and right for the last few months!  

In all seriousness, outside of being an idiot and everything else he's been called here, he's lost any moral authority to run for office.  It's one thing to potentially stretch and perhaps shade your military record (see Clinton, Bill; Bush, George W.; and Quayle, Dan), this is a flat out, bold-faced lie.  Maybe it's the type of lie he's been telling so long that he actually started to believe it himself.  No matter.  The damage is done.

The one upshot is that if it is Linda McMahon he faces, my guess is that she's got some pretty colorful stuff in her background as well!

If it's Rob Simmons, winner of two Bronze Stars for, you know, actual service in Vietnam, imagine the political ads that could be ran.

Gulp.

Dont even think of taking Chris Murphy out of his seat
We cant have any more tough open House seats for Republicans to come in and scoop up.  Tell the DSCC to get its damn hands off of our House seats!!!
Senate seat more important than House seat
Period.

Politics and Other Random Topics

24, Male, Democrat, NM-01, Chairman of the Atheist Caucus, and Majority Leader of the "Going to Hell" caucus!

[ Parent ]
Think about that
Even if Murphy's House seat is lost, we can get it back in two years fairly easily in 2012 with Obama on the ballot.

If we lose the Senate seat, it's gone for six years.

Kansan by birth, Californian by choice, and Gay by the grace of God.

[ Parent ]
Murphy's district is only D+2
It's no LA-02, with the incumbency advantage a Republican would be the favourite to hold it.
[ Parent ]
Incumbency advantage?
You should let ex-Rep. Nancy Johnson about that incumbency advantage thing...

She was the one whom Murphy crushed by 14 points in 2006 after 24 years in Congress.

Kansan by birth, Californian by choice, and Gay by the grace of God.

[ Parent ]
It begins
Now the party is going to eat itself alive over a Senate or House seat.

More importantly, this saves Lieberman.  Any Democrat that runs for Senate now would have been a prime target against Lieberman.

23, male, center-right cynical Republican, PA-7

[ Parent ]
This is getting a little ahead of ourselves
Do you possess a crystal ball?

Current SoS and AG candidate Susan Bysiewicz has been rumored to be interested in taking on Lieberman in 2012. That's one good option for Democrats still on the table -- and other choices remain, too.

[ Parent ]
Gov, AG and Senate candidacies all in one cycle?
That line of attack isnt enough steps in between "lying about your military record" to make me feel comfortable with her.

Do CT-4 and CT-5 have top challengers?  If not, we can wait til the last minute, get Blumenthaul out, Himes or Murphy in and let them be stuck with crap challengers while we sneak in a state senator or something.  And yes, Himes is only into his first term, but he's just as solid as Murphy for a Senate race I think.  His fundraising prowess was memorable.

[ Parent ]
Republicans have state Senators in both races
Dan Debicella is in CT-04 and Sam Caliguri, who originally ran for the Senate seat but dropped down after McMahon got in the race, is in CT-05.

No one of interest challenging Courtney yet, but there's always the possibility of Simmons dropping down to run for his old seat.

I made a case for Rosa DeLauro below but her age might be a concern.

20, CD MA-03/NH-01/MA-08

[ Parent ]
I agree with James L

S Bysiewicz show strenght running for governor, but I think R DeLauro would be too a good candidate. If Im not wrong, R DeLauro born the same year than R Simmons and L McMahon is only five years younger.

[ Parent ]
And P Murphy

Good candidate too. Young.

[ Parent ]
You misinterpreted me
I meant that Bysie can still take on Lieberman in 2012. I'd agree that she should sit this one out.
[ Parent ]
If Murphy gets in the Senate
he could easily become an institution since he isn't even 40 yet. If the Dems lose Murhpy's seat they would have lost the House anyway.  
[ Parent ]
I'd go with John Larson

safe district, safe vote, no drama.
[ Parent ]
CT
I fear the fallout from this will be so bad, no matter who we nominate we will now lose this seat.

29/D/Male/NY-01
Take a shot of whiskey
and call us in the morning.

40, male, Democrat, NC-04
[ Parent ]
that's because
your tek

18, Dem, CA-14 (home) CA-09 (college, next year). social libertarian, economic liberal, fiscal conservative.   Everybody should put age and CD here. :)
[ Parent ]
Wow. First Meek and now Blumenthal
Paging Chris Murphy, you are needed.
It could get worse...
Imagine a protracted legal fight between Specter and Sestak over the primary.  Its close so its possible both of them would start haggling over votes.

23, male, center-right cynical Republican, PA-7
[ Parent ]
Somebody mentioned the nominating convention this weekend
If Blumenthal doesn't explain himself, there must be a new recruit ASAP.

Blumenthal probably has other demons yet to be exposed as per NYT.

Ugh it's national news on CNN already.
He needs to be replaced immediately.

What kind of stupid way to go. Nobody freaking cares if you served in Vietnam...it wouldn't have mattered in the general, at least not in CT.  

This is disgusting
How can anyone, Democrat or Republican, lie like this? Not only is he a blatant liar, he also insults the service of all the men and women who have actually put themselves on the front line for our country by lying. Shame on Mr. Blumenthal.

It seems to me that Joe Courtney's seat is safer than Murphy's. Also, Courney beat Simmons in a district that is probably more conservative than the state overall. Is he an option? Still, I'd be more than happy if CT Dems nominated Murphy.

Blumenthal has GOT to go. He's toast.

NY-14, DC-AL (college) Distraught Mets fan

...
My sentence phrasing is a little awkward: I meant that--by lying--Blumenthal insults the members of our armed services who actually put themselves in harm's way.

NY-14, DC-AL (college) Distraught Mets fan
[ Parent ]
It was clear what you meant
And very well stated.
[ Parent ]
ROFL! Just finished reading the article
Absolutely devastating. This guy's political career is OVER!! Absolutely no way he can recover from this. You can argue a bribe, an affair but flat out lying when about being in a war is just not forgiveable. The pressure on him to step down will be like a ton of bricks and if he refuses and CT Dems go ahead and nominate him, they might as well be writing checks to the NRSC. The depth and timing of the article tells you they waited just at the right time to sink him and possibly save DEmocrats from an embarrasment of stupidity! Un-freaking-believable.

Indepedent/Lean D. Dude.
All 5s (now TX-5; frmly VA-5 and CA-5)  
What about
Rosa DeLauro if Murphy decides to pass? I remember reading something a very long time ago that she said she would be honored to run in Chris Dodd's place if he so asked. Obviously, she older (67), but so is Mike Castle and he's doing just fine. DeLauro has a very Democratic district that you guys wouldn't have to worry about and is quite a popular figure here in New England.

And this may be just the glimmer of opportunity the GOP needs here, especially if Simmons escapes the primary (which I doubt will happen.)

20, CD MA-03/NH-01/MA-08

That's the first name that came to my mind
I have no idea how good of a politician she is though -- and maybe she doesn't, either, since she hasn't really been challenged in years.  And 67 is a spring chicken for the Senate!
[ Parent ]
I thought about her
But didnt know she wanted it since she was a long-time incumbent, in leadership, and on Appropriations.  She'd be a great nominee.
[ Parent ]
DeLauro called for recalling Lieberman
didn't she? That would be a campaign issue, because Federal office-holders cannot be recalled, under the U.S. Constitution. There has to be a candidate who doesn't either lie or have questionable knowledge of the Constitution.

"I'm not a member of any organized political party, I'm a Democrat!"
--  Will Rogers  
[ Parent ]
Teabaggers
in New Jersey are trying to recall Bob Menendez so Christie the Hutt can appoint a Republican.

19, Male, Independent, CA-12
[ Parent ]
But we understand Teabaggers can be ignorant of the Constitution.
Members of Congress shouldn't be.

"I'm not a member of any organized political party, I'm a Democrat!"
--  Will Rogers  
[ Parent ]
It's probably over-the-top political rhetoric
I doubt it ever becomes a campaign issue (especially given how unpopular Joe Lieberman has become in Connecticut lately).

Politics and Other Random Topics

24, Male, Democrat, NM-01, Chairman of the Atheist Caucus, and Majority Leader of the "Going to Hell" caucus!

[ Parent ]
And!
Rosa DeLauro is a fucking hipster!

http://rosadelauroisafuckinghi...

A Tumblr dedicated to the fact that you're a hipster....that's probably good enough for a 5% rise in turnout among young people in Connecticut.

Kansan by birth, Californian by choice, and Gay by the grace of God.

[ Parent ]
Also
apparently, according to the NYT, he has been known to be the former captain of the Harvard swim team... it's just that he was never on it. Hopefully Dems will realize that Murphy and Courtney will be able to stay afloat this November, not Blumenthal.

NY-14, DC-AL (college) Distraught Mets fan
That sound you just heard...
was Rod Blagojevich scoffing
You cannot make this stuff up...
Blagojevich looks like a choir boy compared to this.  

23, male, center-right cynical Republican, PA-7
[ Parent ]
Yeah, Senate seats really are a fucking valuable thing at least.....
Lying about serving in a war, I really cant think of a bigger controversy from my limited historical knowledge of races due to being 23.
[ Parent ]
i asked my 48 year old dad
he doesn't remember anything
closest comparison is biden saying he was first in law school class

18, Dem, CA-14 (home) CA-09 (college, next year). social libertarian, economic liberal, fiscal conservative.   Everybody should put age and CD here. :)
[ Parent ]
The most disturbing...
still is the PA State Treasurer that shot himself on live television during the 1980s.

23, male, center-right cynical Republican, PA-7
[ Parent ]
Then again, Joe Biden reminds me of a crazy uncle
He tells his crazy stories and you just say "Oh, it's just Uncle Joe telling his wacky stories again!"

Politics and Other Random Topics

24, Male, Democrat, NM-01, Chairman of the Atheist Caucus, and Majority Leader of the "Going to Hell" caucus!

[ Parent ]
Well, the president got away with lying about his National Guard service...
Not that I think Blumenthal will be getting away with this. But, that was a pretty big, pretty public lie, successfully pulled off, WHILE swift-boating Kerry too!

28, gay guy, Democrat, CA-08
[ Parent ]
Just to be clear
I'm not making a moral comparrison.  In my book, using a Presidential election to sell a Senate seat to the highest bidder and shaking down a childrens hospital for campaign funds is a far worse crime than lying about your biography.

But the level of arrogance that this requires, that is what I was referring to.

[ Parent ]
Everybody panic!
Oooh, it's the return of the onoz guys
I hadn't seen them in a while!

Politics and Other Random Topics

24, Male, Democrat, NM-01, Chairman of the Atheist Caucus, and Majority Leader of the "Going to Hell" caucus!

[ Parent ]
Their presence is due


Independent Socialist & Chair of SSP Cranky Indianian Hoosier Caucus, IN-09
[ Parent ]
Actually OMG does not do it justice...
This is probably an OMFG situation.

23, male, center-right cynical Republican, PA-7
[ Parent ]
This is actually very lucky timing for Democrats
Linda McMahon has spent untold millions on her campaign. She definitely knows about Blumenthal lying about his military record. I bet she's even found a bunch of Connecticut Republican Vietnam vets that are willing to act offended on TV. Imagine if she'd gotten to save this devastating, career-ending bombshell until Labor Day. At least now the Democrats can give Blumenthal the boot, get Chris Murphy or whoever to run, and salvage their Senate majority.
Nope, terrible timing unless Blumenthal bails fast, because...
the nominating convention is this weekend, and the petition deadline for making the primary ballot is June 8th, just 3 weeks away.

Democrats are in real trouble here if the establishment doesn't put the squeeze hard on Blumenthal to drop out right away.  With this little time left, it's entirely possible the establishment foolishly decides to stick with him.

This is a storm that I can't imagine Blumenthal weathering.  It's too easy to make news out of, and too easy for voters to understand and get disgusted by it instantly.  And, just as importantly, impossible to credibly explain away.

Blumenthal is toast, the only question is whether the Democratic powers-that-be realize it fast enough.

43, male, Indian-American, Democrat, VA-10

[ Parent ]
"And, just as importantly, impossible to credibly explain away. "
Blumenthal suffers from schizophrenia and believes that he did serve in Vietnam; or is the victim of a massive, "Total Recall"-esque conspiracy.

Man, why am I not a highly-paid spin doctor?

[ Parent ]
Just yesterday I was a strong supporter of him.
Now I want him to go away and never show his face on the political arena again!

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28, New Democrat, Female, TX-03 (hometown CA-26)
[ Parent ]
Damn, damn, damn.
I had such high hopes for Blumenthal. Now he pissed it all away by being a bumbling idiot. He needs to retire ASAP.

Paging Chris Murphy! Paging Chris Murphy!

Let's be grateful this broke now, rather than next Tuesday, the filing deadline, or the general for that matter.

My blog
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28, New Democrat, Female, TX-03 (hometown CA-26)

I think that Blumenthal would now have to be considered
the early favourite for this year's George Allen Memorial Award.
LOL!
Agreed.

My blog
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28, New Democrat, Female, TX-03 (hometown CA-26)
[ Parent ]
Blumenthal to respond tomorrow
Previewing a campaign event tomorrow, Myers (Blumenthal's campaign manager)  wrote that "Dick has a long record of standing up for veterans. Tomorrow, veterans will be standing up with Dick."

http://www.theatlantic.com/pol...

Should be interesting to see what he says to get himself out of this.  

21, male, CA-15 (home and voting there), LA-2 (college)


I should have included he'll have a press conference with some veterans flanking him


21, male, CA-15 (home and voting there), LA-2 (college)


[ Parent ]
UUGH -- Now I really want to start drinking
It sounds like he's going to dig in, justify, and try to explain away -- all with a tone of real self-righteousness.  Why do I see a bad situation getting even worse.
[ Parent ]
His campaign isn't coming across as very apologetic
From the Atlantic:

"The New York Times story is an outrageous distortion of Dick Blumenthal's record of service," Blumenthal's campaign manager, Mindy Myers, said in a statement.

"Unlike many of his peers, Dick Blumenthal voluntarily joined the Marine Corps Reserves in 1970 and served for six months in Parris Island, SC and six years in the reserves. He received no special treatment from anyone."

If the Times actually did get the story wrong than I suppose the campaign's making the right call here (though that doesn't explain all his other lies/exaggerations over the years).  But otherwise I agree with you that this will make things a lot worse.

21, male, CA-15 (home and voting there), LA-2 (college)


[ Parent ]
Exactly
As you said, unless the story is wrong and he really did serve in Vietnam, he should take only one step - end his campaign, immediately.

"I'm not a member of any organized political party, I'm a Democrat!"
--  Will Rogers  
[ Parent ]
This response sounds sooooo
RAAHHMMM.  
[ Parent ]
That statement
doesn't appear to contradict anything in the NY Times piece.  Not sure what their rational is for digging in their heels against the piece.
[ Parent ]
I think they have 24 hours
to find a sellable explanation - even if it's an admission of "guilt".

Otherwise the narrative will be set, and Blumenthal will be toast.

And I doubt that an admission of the "I was wrong" variety would hold any sort of water, but Jimmy Swaggert came back too.

[ Parent ]
Sigh.
Seriously, Richie, hand-in-the-cookie-jar.  It's over.
[ Parent ]
So he's digging in
Heh, wow. I don't know how he expects to get away with this.  If Blumenthal manages to explain all this away and win his Senate race, then he deserves the Nobel Prize for Politics. Surviving such a flagrant lie about his military record would make the 2008 Obama campaign pale in comparison.
[ Parent ]
Well pathological liars
have the biggest egos in the world right? Oh and Linda McMahon is claiming credit for blowing Blumenthal's candidacy out of the sky.

Linda McMahon, a Republican, is claiming that her campaign's research team provided the New York Times with the tip that led to the story.


19, Male, Independent, CA-12
[ Parent ]
That makes no sense
why would she do this now when Dems could nominate someone else? Either she's an egomaniac or she's an idiot. Smart money is on both.

NY-14, DC-AL (college) Distraught Mets fan
[ Parent ]
So, what would you like him to say?
I liked his response... it emphasizes that he DID wear a uniform, whereas the times piece (the headline at least) implies that he never served at all.

He's also quoted in the article that he's never served in Vietnam, and it is my understanding that in CT, that's pretty much common knowledge.

What would you have him say?  They've got three quotes against him, one that goes back 20 years... and, quite frankly, they are flubs if anything.

What would you have preferred him to say?

I suspect that the apology your looking for will come tomorrow for any misunderstanding, but the thing is, this case isn't cut and dry.  Why is everyone rushing to condemn this guy before he even tells his side of the story.

This is like all the conservatives believing the "death panel" BS.  Seriously... Linda McMahon writes it and it must be true?  C'mon!

[ Parent ]
Linda McMahon is not the New York Times
Presumably after their previous flubs, the New York Times has become more careful about their sources.

Despite their relatively recent problems, I'm more likely to believe the New York Times, even if the original source was McMahon, over Blumenthal.

If Blumenthal has proof otherwise, he'd better show it in 24 hours.

If Blumenthal has proof otherwise, then the NY Times is in for a bigger scandal than would otherwise beset any single Senator.

[ Parent ]
I'm sure their facts are accurate...
But, look at the way they are arranged.  It's a pure political hit piece.  The article uses extremely loaded language and pieces together very disparate items to form a conclusion that is based more on supposition than on fact.
[ Parent ]
If what you say is true
then it is game over for the New York Times.

Responsible reporting goes beyond just getting facts right. Woodward and Bernstein learned that the hard way.

And I do not believe that the New York Times is misleading or misrepresenting Blumenthal. But if Blumenthal has proof, then I will eagerly read about it.

The one credible measure of an effective Blumenthal response would be a retraction by the New York Times. Barring that, he'd better have proof of malicious intent that would hold up in court.

[ Parent ]
I'd like to hear from him first...
...before I try and execute him on a newspaper report written verbatim by the GOP.

Anyone who is being swiftboated like this deserves at least that common courtesy.

[ Parent ]
And where is your proof
that the New York Times article is

written verbatim by the GOP.

That is a pretty severe accusation.

[ Parent ]
The proof they didn't
The proof the GOP didn't write the article is that all the words were spelled right.  

Kansan by birth, Californian by choice, and Gay by the grace of God.
[ Parent ]
Man
Democratic attorney generals running for the senate are not doing so good this cycle. First Martha Coakley and the disaster at Massachusetts, now Dick Blumenthal, and probably Jack Conway losing in Kentucky tomorrow night.

19, Male, Independent, CA-12
Please don't let me down, Jerry Brown!
Hey, it rhymes! But seriously I don't want Brown to disappoint me like Blumenthal just did.

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28, New Democrat, Female, TX-03 (hometown CA-26)
[ Parent ]
Oh oops, that's for governor. But still, who knows if this will happen to any AG's running for gov.


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28, New Democrat, Female, TX-03 (hometown CA-26)
[ Parent ]
I'm not sure
that Conway will lose tomorrow. According to the last few polls, he certainly has the MO... so I don't think you can lump with him with the loser attorneys general, Coakley and Blumenthal.


NY-14, DC-AL (college) Distraught Mets fan
[ Parent ]
Also
let's hope that attorney general magic that hit Coakley and Blumenthal hits McCollum.

NY-14, DC-AL (college) Distraught Mets fan
[ Parent ]
And Ayotte.


My blog
Twitter
Scribd
28, New Democrat, Female, TX-03 (hometown CA-26)
[ Parent ]
Don't
forget Corbett!  

19, Male, Independent, CA-12
[ Parent ]
DUMBASS
Why would you even bring that up, Dick? Especially during this time?
I don't think its that bad
Sure, its bad. If it came out in October. I doubt too many people will remember come November. However, I'm pessimistic, so, I could be wrong.  
"Dick" seems to be the perfect name for him right now
While Linda McMahon's time with the WWE would look bad in the general election, she now looks like everyone's carrying grandmother when standing next to Blumenthal. I wonder if Robert Menendez is getting any sleep.

23, Male, PA-05 (summer) PA-12 (winter)
I wouldn't vote for him
Unless there is one hell of an explanation Blumenthal is toast. If I lived in Connecticut and he was the Dem nominee I couldn't vote for him. I wouldn't vote republican but I would either skip the race or vote 3rd party (who is the Liebermann for Connecticut party running?).

"Where free Unions and collective bargaining is forbidden, freedom is lost." - Ronald Reagan
Can 1 person run under 2 parties?
If so, maybe McMahon. Lieberman has not ruled out endorsing her to thank her for her support in 2006.
[ Parent ]
This really sucks
I feel like the ghost of Martha Coakley's Senate campaign has possessed Dick Blumenthal. This looks really bad right now, but I think the CT Dems need to wait a few days to see how this story affects his numbers before they start pushing him to the exits.

I know it seems like he's digging in right now, but if his numbers start to plummet and the establishment wants him out, I think he'll get out. Nevertheless, something tells me that this is not going to end well.

You just know
Rasmussen is polling Connecticut today.
[ Parent ]
You guys do realize...
...that the McMahon campaign is taking credit for this article.  They provided the oppo research piece to the Times.  Reading the article, it seems that McMahon wrote the darn thing given the way it sounded like a propaganda piece.

But, you guys are falling fr it hook line and sinker...

Let's see how Blumenthal responds. The AP has a good rebuttal out, BTW, defending Blumenthal.

Seriously, folks... this is a campaign piece and it is full of holes, but everyone is assuming that every allegation is true.  It's no different than the folks who wanted to believe Death Panels.  Let's at least let the defense have a say before we condemn the man and execute his career.

Fine
I hesitantly agree with you; if it turns out the allegations are false, then the NY Times will have a serious, serious credibility problem from here on forward.

NY-14, DC-AL (college) Distraught Mets fan
[ Parent ]
I'm just saying...
...before we try and convict the  man, maybe he should be allowed to tell his side of the story first?
[ Parent ]
At best, it appears to be a lie of omission
http://www.theatlantic.com/pol...

Blumenthal is -- or was -- the odds-on favorite to win Chris Dodd's seat in Connecticut. This is the type of story that Blumenthal can close off tomorrow; if he doesn't, it likely drags him down significantly.

The facts are not unambiguous. The best the Times has is statements where Blumenthal talked about "returning" or "getting back" from Vietnam, but there are plenty of instances where he acknowledges that he never served overseas. That said, he never seemed to correct the impression that he did serve overseas.

Hit piece or not, Blumenthal has 24 hours. Otherwise, he may take the D majority in the Senate with him.

[ Parent ]
Another NYT hit piece
They sure like whacking Dems. After the first one on Blumenthal, I guess they smelt blood in the water and decided to go in for the kill. I don't see how he can bail at this point. You can't have Dodd and Blumenthal blow up and expect to hang on to this seat with a 3rd candidate. That's wishful thinking.

How depressing.

Stick a fork in him.

Let the Dodd nostalgia begin
Murphy better, omg I'd even be happy for Dodd to get back in.
And when they get swiftboated....
...by a Linda McMahon written Times piece, will you want them thrown overboard, too?
[ Parent ]
Before y'all get on the swiftboat parade....
Blumenthal's been running a thuggish campaign all around though
Not letting Alpert speak at the Democratic Town Council meetings, maybe not even letting him speak at the state convention, trying to dissuade people from supporting him so that it doesn't even go to a primary.  Let the people decide!  These lies are just one more instance of a pattern of unethical behavior.
[ Parent ]
The true slant article
is comparing the Blumenthal "service" to the McCain "affair" incident. The two are dissimilar at best, the Blumenthal's own words are used against him, and while the trueslant article mentions the one time he actually said he served in Vietnamn it fails to relate the multiple times he said things like, "when we came home." Trueslant also fails to address why multiple newspaper biographies said Blumenthal served in Vietnam and why Dick never saw fit to correct an error that was repeated time and again. When someone gets swiftboated it usually means that the charges against them are false, not recorded statements that have been repeated time after time.  
[ Parent ]
Why do people keep mentioning Murphy?
Why not get Lamont or Malloy instead?

party: Democratic, ideology: moderate, district: CT-01
PANIC!
Panic panic panic!

All he has to do is say it was a slip of the tongue.  Six months from now we'll find it might have cost him 10 points in the final results maybe.

That means he'll still win by 20.

Too optimistic, IMHO
According to the latest poll he was winning over McMahon by 13% (52-39). Loss of 10% will be accompanied by corresponding gains for McMahon, because no viable 3rd-party candidate exist. So, you can expect something about 49-42 in her favor in such case. I don't think many Democrats will be satisfied with such result.
[ Parent ]
This is the last Rasmussen poll

The last not-Rasmussen poll give to Blumenthal +33%, and is not old.
[ Parent ]
Scott is cranking up a new one as we speak
He wouldn't be if this was a Republican.
[ Parent ]
Sure

You will not find Rasmussen polls about Ensign, as example.

But I will not talk about Rasmussen polls. This is for republicans.

The last not Rasmussen poll gives to McMahon 28% and to Blumenthal 61%.

[ Parent ]
Ensign isn't up until 2012
n/t
[ Parent ]
and Nelson (D-NE)

But Rasmussen has since 2009 a poll Nelson-Heineman.
[ Parent ]
So what???
Rasmussen has rather good reputation among pollsters. It's not Zogby...
[ Parent ]
I'm
sorry but anyone with half a brain knows Scotty is full of it. Other pollsters might not speak ill of him, but it doesn't mean they don't think it. We all know they lean to the right.  

Proud member of the Indiana Democratic Party from IN-9.  
[ Parent ]
In 2008 his polls were rather precise. We shall see

[ Parent ]
Oh for goodness sake just stop
His final polls are accurate yes but we don't know this cycle since he doesn't seem to be releasing any right before elections. Besides that it is very different from picking and choosing when and where to poll for partisan purposes.
[ Parent ]
As i said - we shall see and time will tell)))

[ Parent ]
Read Nate on Rassmussen
He has data that shows Rassmussen's post-08 polls as about 5% more R than others, on average.

http://www.fivethirtyeight.com...

In contrast, Nate also shows that in '08 Rasmussen was in the mainstream, so what you say is true, but misleading.

[ Parent ]
Do you think i didn't read it?)))

[ Parent ]
It doesn't show in your posts
It's as if you're ignoring the bias in Rasmussen's polls in '09 and '10 completely.

From the link, bolding mine

Their use of a likely voter model alone is not sufficient to explain the differences. Citing Rasmussen's success in calling past election outcomes, which is formidable, is also somewhat non-responsive, since their house effect was not so substantial in past election cycles.

In other words, Smoltchanov, you are also being non-responsive.

[ Parent ]
You want to quarrel? What for?
May be - it's a nervousness before primary? Or generally - before November? I don't have corresponding desire to quarrel with you)))
[ Parent ]
yeah
I was pretty much disregarding the Ras poll and going with the others that have him up 30%.  And when I said it would cost him 10% I meant only net 10%.  That is, he drops 5% and McMahon or Simmons picks up 5%.  I really don't think this is going to swing massive numbers of people six months from now.  People forget things.  I mean, look at David Vitter.
[ Parent ]
Panic! at the Blumenthal
Doesn't roll off the tongue like Panic! at Tedisco does :(

20, Male, Democrat, CA-44 (home) CA-12 (college)
[ Parent ]
well
Maybe we could make it Panic at the Blument Hall and consider Blument Hall a sort of Disco.  

Wow that was stretch and senseless..oh well...POST

[ Parent ]
Congrats
You may have just "topped" my Chu-Chu-Tran!
[ Parent ]
Just as the national outlook
Seemed to be brightening somewhat this happens. Dems are exacerbating their problems just as the GOP did during 2008. Remember the self-destruction threads? Urgh.
I agree

This is true.
[ Parent ]
It's the kind of situation that can affect other races
w/r/t money that Lee Fisher and Marshall/Cunningham could use to great effect in their races.

If that DSCC money has to be spent in CT, that hurts our chances in OH/NC.

And now I suspect the MSM will investigate the purported service records of all major Senate candidates. More shoes may drop.

Only proviso - if Blumenthal can force the New York Times to retract their story, that would lead us back to status quo.

[ Parent ]
I
can honestly say that as someone in a military family this man sickens me. He MUST be replaced immediately, I will probably root for the Republican (not vocally on this site) if he is the nominee.  

Proud member of the Indiana Democratic Party from IN-9.  
I can't believe the panic on here
Blumenthal is a well-known commodity in the state.  It's not like he's some novice, unknown candidate.  If he gives a decent accounting of himself today, he should be able to ride this thing out.
At the same time
(at least - so far) he is rather bad campaigner who got himself in situation everyone would prefer to avoid. Taking into account that Democrats are guaranteed to lose seats (probably - at least 4-5) in November -no one wants addiditonal headache in Connecticut, where (as it seemed) everything went fine after Dodd's declaration of retirement and Blumenthal's entrance.
[ Parent ]
Who are you going to replace him with at this point?
And would that candidate be stronger?  Murphy is fine, but that creates a problem with retaining his house seat.  Lamont is running for governor.  I think Blumenthal can ride this thing out, and the wake-up call to his campaign might actually be a plus.
[ Parent ]
IMHO - Bysiewicz. Then find somebody to run
for AG - that must not be SO difficult
[ Parent ]
FWIW
I am in no way condoning Blumenthal's dishonesty about his alleged service in Vietnam--let me say that off the top.  But you had to live through the sixties and seventies to really understand what a deeply unpopular war Vietnam was.  I served for four and a half years in the Army in the sixties, including a tour in Korea--I had a wife and two little boys and considered myself fortunate to not have to go to Vietnam.  I had three cousins who did serve in Vietnam, one died there.  But thousands and thousands of guys during that period were doing everything they could--wangling deferments, relocating (many permanently) to Canada--because they were deeply and passionately opposed to America's commitment to a stupid and impossible-to-win conflict in Southeast Asia.  These were not cowards; they were for the most part highly principled people.  Someone once said that war is too often a game where old men send young men to die for no good reason, and Vietnam epitomized that concept.  Deep in my heart, I cannot blame Blumenthal for not wanting to serve in Vietnam, but he definitely should have been open and honest about his past and his reasons.

68, Dem-leaning indie, MI-8
Menendez won't dump Blumenthal
Give him a chance to explain himself
Maybe it has the same result as Hillary being under hostile fire in Bosnia. But I doubt it.
[ Parent ]
Remember that Hillary lost
You think Blumenthal is likely to weather this? Why?

"I'm not a member of any organized political party, I'm a Democrat!"
--  Will Rogers  
[ Parent ]
Actually
She won Pennsylvania after it broke. I've softened my stance a bit. I think he may be able to fudge it a little playing on the semantics angle. But clearly it has become much more competitive than it was.
[ Parent ]
Because it's not that big of a deal
He has a deep reservoir of good will in Connecticut that will permit him to ride this out.  I think he went a long way to put it behind him today.
[ Parent ]
The full video
I'm surprised no one's commenting on the full video, or the reporter who says he never misrepresented his service in 20 years, or the recent debate in which he made it clear he didn't serve in Vietnam, or the statements on his website and the many pieces of campaign literature that clearly describe his service accurately.  The more that emerges, the thinner this whole thing appears.  Saying he lied about his service appears totally unsupportable when the whole record is examined.  Maybe some folks will start being a little less ready to jump to conclusions (yeah, right!).
CT-Sen: NYT's Misleading Story on Dick Blumenthal | 170 comments

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