The Attorney General of Connecticut, Democrat Richard Blumenthal, is now running for the United States Senate. But his cause suffered a hard blow this morning when the New York Times reported his long history of lying about his service record.Yes, lying.
The newspaper gives several direct quotes of Blumenthal saying he had served in Vietnam though he never set foot in the country. Also laid out are numerous reports from the Connecticut press and even national media that touted Blumenthal's Vietnam service -- reports that were never corrected. Blumenthal didn't even set the record straight when he was publicly introduced to audiences as a Vietnam vet.
Yes, Richard Blumenthal is a liar. And yet only now is he being called out for it.
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.
The deferments allowed Mr. Blumenthal to complete his studies at Harvard; pursue a graduate fellowship in England; serve as a special assistant to The Washington Post’s publisher, Katharine Graham; and ultimately take a job in the Nixon White House.
In 1970, with his last deferment in jeopardy, he landed a coveted spot in the Marine Reserve, which virtually guaranteed that he would not be sent to Vietnam. He joined a unit in Washington that conducted drills and other exercises and focused on local projects, like fixing a campground and organizing a Toys for Tots drive...
On a less serious matter, another flattering but untrue description of Mr. Blumenthal’s history has appeared in profiles about him. In two largely favorable profiles, the Slate article and a magazine article in The Hartford Courant in 2004 with which he cooperated, Mr. Blumenthal is described prominently as having served as captain of the swim team at Harvard. Records at the college show that he was never on the team...
Mr. Blumenthal has made veterans’ issues a centerpiece of his public life and his Senate campaign, but even those who have worked closely with him have gotten the misimpression that he served in Vietnam...
One wonders just how the press has missed this amazing story for so long. Blumenthal, after all, has been active in Connecticut politics for three decades. Has he been given a free pass because he's been seen as a child of privilege -- and a Democrat? And even now will the local press call Richard Blumenthal to account for his egoism, his misdirecting the public, and his outright lies?
