Blumenthal Answers Critics, Fights Back
GOP Chair Healy: "It is a lie - period"
Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal told reporters today that he regrets having misspoken about his military service in the Vietnam era. The Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, is defending himself after a New York Times report revealed that his words don’t match his record.
A video posted on the New York Times website shows Attorney General Blumenthal addressing veterans and their families in 2008.
Blumenthal: "We have learned something very important since the days that I served in Vietnam. And you exemplify it."
The phrase.. “I served in Vietnam” is at the heart of the controversy. Blumenthal said it more than once and The Times story revealed that Blumenthal obtained at least five deferments and never served in the war…he served stateside in the Marine Reserve during the Vietnam era.
Blumenthal spoke to reporters less than 24 hours after the article appeared online, surrounded by veterans at the VFW in West Hartford. "I have misspoken about my service and I regret that. And I take full responsibility..but I will not allow anyone to take a few misplaced words and impune my record of service to our county," Blumenthal said.
Blumenthal, a Democrat, is the leading candidate for the US Senate seat being vacated by Senator Chris Dodd. The longtime Attorney General is very popular - squeaky clean image, meticulous in his appearance, known for carefully choosing his words..which makes the revelations all the more surprising.
"He can surround himself with veterans all he wants, but it is a lie - period," said Chris Healy, state chair of the Republican Party. "The story, in its entirety, points to more to than just a few instances where he’s embellished his war record or lack thereof in print. No effort was made to correct it."
Michael Cacace has chaired every Blumenthal campaign for the past 20 years. He says all press releases and campaign literature accurately reflect Blumenthal’s history of military service. "That he may have misstated it on one occasion in Norwalk in 2008 flies in the face of literally hundreds of other occasions and statements where he’s been very clear, forthright and honest about his military record," Cacace told WNPR's Where We Live.
64-year old Vietnam vet Greg Kitchen stood by Blumethal at the press conference. He says the whole thing is an overreaction. "I’ve been involved in many many functions with him and he’s always been a straight shooter and he’s never ever tried to cover anything up," Kitchen said.
Kitchen also said he hopes the flap won’t affect Blumenthal’s Senate race. One of his Republican opponents is Linda McMahon –former CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment . Her campaign claims to have tipped the Times off to the story. The other Republican is Rob Simmons, a Vietnam veteran who won two Bronze stars.
WNPR's Diane Orson reported this story for NPR's All Things Considered
More coverage from our partners below:
New York Times Report Says Blumenthal Misrepresented Vietnam Service Record
The New York Times late Monday reported that Attorney General Richard Blumenthal falsely described himself on at least two occasions as a Vietnam veteran, instantly roiling his campaign for the U.S. Senate four days before he is set to accept the Democratic nomination at a state convention.
Blumenthal frequently and accurately refers to his stateside service as a Marine reservist during the Vietnam War, but The Times found him twice referring to having served in Vietnam and also described him as the beneficiary of hard-to-get draft deferments.
"We have learned something important since the days that I served in Vietnam," Blumenthal told veterans and others in Norwalk in March 2008, according to The Times, which posted a video of the speech. "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."
The campaign of Republican Linda McMahon acknowledged finding and providing the video.
Read more from The Connecticut Mirror...
Blumenthal Defends Vietnam-Era Service
NPR's Morning Edition - Revelations about one candidate's military past could shake up the Senate race in Connecticut. Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat and the state's attorney general, is campaigning for the seat opening up with the retirement of Christopher Dodd. A report in The New York Times says that while Blumenthal has portrayed himself as having served in Vietnam -- he never actually did. Raymond Hernandez wrote the story, and talks with Lynn Neary.
Conn. Attorney General Richard Blumenthal's Vietnam Stories
WNYC's The Takeaway, featuring WNPR's Colin McEnroe - Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat now running for the United States Senate, has spoken at different military gatherings about his time in Vietnam. However, The New York Times dug into his stories and found that he never actually served in that war. Raymond Hernandez broke the story for The New York Times and details his investigation.
According to WNPR's Colin McEnroe, the strangest thing about this story is that Blumenthal didn't need to spin tales about his service. In fact, the attorney general had long enjoyed a strong reputation that centers on his integrity. We discuss whether this issue will destroy his chances at a Senate seat.
AG Richard Blumenthal's Service
WNYC's The Brian Lehrer Show, featuring Colin McEnroe - New York Times reporter Raymond Hernandez discusses his article charging that Connecticut Attorney General and Senate candidate Richard Blumenthal has lied about his military service during the Vietnam War. And Colin McEnroe, host of the Colin McEnroe Show on WNPR, Connecticut Public Radio, discusses the political reverberations of this story.
NYT: Sen. Candidate Blumenthal Misrepresented Vietnam Service
NPR's Political Junkie, Ken Rudin - The news, for Democrats in Connecticut, was bad.
Sen. Chris Dodd, the state's longest serving senator, was in deep trouble in his bid for a sixth term. His polling numbers were worse than any other Senate incumbent seeking re-election. There were allegations about a sweetheart mortgage deal, charges that he protected bonuses for AIG executives and was too close to the insurance industry. Republicans were licking their chops about picking up the seat in November.
But when Dodd announced in January that he saw the handwriting on the wall, and would retire instead of running again, Democrats rejoiced. They got, with little prodding, state Attorney General Richard Blumenthal — the state's most popular official — into the race. Suddenly those chops Republican were licking stopped tasting so good. The race moved from potential GOP takeover to likely Democratic retention.
It's too soon to tell whether the story that The New York Times broke Monday evening will have legs; at the very least, it's raising eyebrows. The story, by reporter Raymond Hernandez: In the past, when Blumenthal would talk about honoring veterans, he spoke of "the days I served in Vietnam."
There was "one problem," Hernandez writes. He "never served in Vietnam"
Google Adds Irony To Richard Blumenthal Tale
by Frank James - NPR's The Two-Way Blog
One unintentionally entertaining feature of the Internet has long been the way Google's Ad Sense technology serves up ads its algorithms determine are relevant to nearby content but which can be unintentionally funny, embarrassing or ironic.
Like last night, when I was on the New York Times site reading the piece on how Connecticut attorney general and U.S. Senate candidate Richard Blumenthal has spoken of his military experience in a way that left the impression that he had served in Vietnam though he didn't.
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We have learned something important since the days that I served in Vietnam.
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