Richard Blumenthal: Liar

UPDATE, February 10, 2011: Senator Blumenthal (D-CT) Gets Caught Lying Again, Claims He Clerked on Roe v. Wade
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Richard Blumenthal, DEMOCRAT, is running for the U.S. Senate.

Although it's not unusual for candidates to distort the truth, what Blumenthal has done is inexcusable.

He lied about his military service.

Hey, Dan Rather! Hey, Mary Mapes! 60 Minutes! Here's a story that could impact the outcome of an election and it's not based on fraudulent documents.

From the New York Times:

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.

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.

...[W]hat is striking about Mr. Blumenthal’s record is the contrast between the many steps he took that allowed him to avoid Vietnam, and the misleading way he often speaks about that period of his life now, especially when he is speaking at veterans’ ceremonies or other patriotic events.

Sometimes his remarks have been plainly untrue, as in his speech to the group in Norwalk. At other times, he has used more ambiguous language, but the impression left on audiences can be similar.

In an interview on Monday, the attorney general said that he had misspoken about his service during the Norwalk event and might have misspoken on other occasions. “My intention has always been to be completely clear and accurate and straightforward, out of respect to the veterans who served in Vietnam,” he said.

This is really disgraceful. It's so dishonest.

Blumenthal has lied about more than being in Vietnam.

...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 said he did not provide the information to reporters, was unsure how it got into circulation and was “astonished” when he saw it in print.

Captain of the swim team?

Oh, good grief.

The Democrats were counting on Blumenthal to be the candidate to fill the Senate seat occupied by the retiring Chris Dodd.

Without question, Blumenthal doesn't deserve the honor of being elected.

He should drop out of the race immediately.

It's impossible to say you were in Vietnam when you weren't. That's not a slip of the tongue or a mangled word. It's no "e-pants-ipation."

You don't lie about being in the Vietnam War. Period.
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CNN video.