More Blumenthal Controversies; UPDATE: AP Shills for Blumenthal
[Guest post by DRJ]
It’s hard to believe but GatewayPundit says things are getting even worse for Connecticut Democratic Senate Candidate Richard Blumenthal:
“Oh my.
Democratic Senatorial Candidate Richard Blumenthal held a presser today after it was discovered that he lied about serving in Vietnam. (He also lied about being captain of the Harvard Swim Team.) So, Blumenthal went before the press along with some former military men and supporters. It was a great show. Maybe tomorrow the swim team will join him on stage?
Unfortunately, one of the democratic supporters on stage with him lied about his military service, too.
Free Republic reported–
Blumenthal’s military buddy on stage is William Joseph Trumpower, aka Elliott Storm, a POW HALL OF SHAME.”
I saw the reports and footage about the Vietnam controversy, but I’m not familiar with the Harvard swim team or Elliott Storm claims. Are they correct? If so, how forgiving will Connecticut voters be?
— DRJ
UPDATE BY PATTERICO: Read between the lines and see if you can discern how the AP feels about Blumenthal:
“On a few occasions, I have misspoken about my service and I regret that. And I take full responsibility,” said Blumenthal, a trim, square-jawed figure with the bearing of a military man. “But I will not allow anyone to take a few misplaced words and impugn my record of service to our country.”
. . . .
The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee said it was not surprised that McMahon’s campaign “cherry-picked” the quotes, “considering all of the debauchery” at the WWE under her watch. And Connecticut Democratic chairwoman Nancy DiNardo called the accusations “the lowest kind of political smear.”
Blumenthal is widely known for his dedication to veterans issues, attending numerous funerals and military sendoffs. He has spoken at hundreds of events, many times about the mistreatment veterans received after returning from Vietnam. Blumenthal is also known as a straight-arrow and a man of integrity.
So, you know, stop picking on him.
Thanks to jimboster.
One of Blumenthal’s “veteran” supporters is another military impostor. The story is here.
More here. Birds of a feather…
Mike K (82f374) — 5/18/2010 @ 8:36 pmIf past political stories are any indication, this usually means that a scandalous affair is about to come to light. Just sayin’
Stashiu3 (44da70) — 5/18/2010 @ 8:39 pmJudging from the story, I’d guess the scandalous affair is with the AP reporter.
Brother Bradley J. Fikes, C.O.R. (9eb641) — 5/18/2010 @ 9:41 pm“…discern how the AP feels about Blumenthal:”
Looks like a typical pro-Democrat editorial disguised to look like a news story.
Frankly, if the story was about a veteran named George Bush, I don’t think he’d get the same kind of treatment from AP.
Dave Surls (ee63da) — 5/18/2010 @ 9:48 pmAnd Blumenthal can count on Poynter Institute hack Al Tompkins to minimize how he “misstated” his military service, by comparing it to exaggerations made by World War II soldiers who actually did see combat.
Many years ago, on one of the anniversaries of the D-Day landing, a reporter I was working with interviewed a number of veterans who each said they were part of the beach landing invasion force. As we checked their military records, we found some were there at landing day, but many were not. They were on boats but never landed, or they may have landed on D-Day plus three.
They were all honorable and brave veterans, but they didn’t do what they said they did. In some cases, we became convinced that they had told the tale so many times they now believed the stories themselves. Should that be a crime? After all, these old guys served their country.
If exaggerating courageous acts while working in dangerous circumstances becomes a crime, plenty of journalists could be headed for the clink. I might need a lawyer myself.
Brother Bradley J. Fikes, C.O.R. (9eb641) — 5/18/2010 @ 9:49 pmDRJ, the Harvard swim team captaincy was brought up in the New York Times article about Blumenthal’s Vietnam claims. Apparently it was from an old magazine profile of him (can’t recall which magazine) that ran a few years back. Blumenthal supposedly fully cooperated with the magazine piece. It mentioned that he had captained the swim team at Harvard, but as it turns out Blumenthal wasn’t even on the swim team in college. Blumenthal’s response was that he had no idea how they ever thought he had captained the team, and he was just as surprised as anyone else when the published article included that tidbit.
It maybe isn’t as direct as a YouTube video of him saying that he “served in Vietnam,” but it adds to this notion that Blumenthal tends to embellish his resume. It will be interesting to see if the writer of the article that mentioned the swim team checks his or her notes and tells us how that information got in there.
JVW (08e86a) — 5/18/2010 @ 10:12 pmThanks, JVW. I should read more carefully. I did hear Blumenthal explain that he didn’t think it was fair to hold him responsible for what reporters write. Of course, if most or all of them wrote their stories based on his statements, it would be fair to hold him responsible.
DRJ (d43dcd) — 5/18/2010 @ 10:24 pmAmen to Patterico’s update. i am seriously wondering if the AP reporter is sleeping with him, that was so over-the-top glowing in its discussion.
and yeah, i checked. its a woman.
A.W. (e7d72e) — 5/19/2010 @ 5:30 amWhat’s with the comments ?
Mike K (82f374) — 5/19/2010 @ 5:45 amEven Jane Fonda spent more time in Vietnam than Dick Blumenthal!
DAG (8c3c3f) — 5/19/2010 @ 6:18 am> “But I will not allow anyone to take a few misplaced words and impugn my record of service to our country.”
Ummm… WHAT service?
Isn’t that the issue?
Or are we to now take the hard, hard, hard task of “working” in the halls of Congress to be “service to the country”?
Can I perform this kind of “service”?
I’m ready for the sacrifice, I swear!!!
Really.
Please?
IgotBupkis (79d71d) — 5/19/2010 @ 6:20 am> Judging from the story, I’d guess the scandalous affair is with the AP reporter.
Oral sex provided by the media is no longer a scandal. It’s in that “dog bites man” category.
P.S. anyone else considering what the horrendous spin would be if it had turned out that G-Dub had lied about his service?
Oh.
Wait.
They even tried to fake THAT one.
Never mind….
IgotBupkis (79d71d) — 5/19/2010 @ 6:24 amEven Jane Fonda spent more time in Vietnam than Dick Blumenthal!
That’s just awesome!
Dmac (21311c) — 5/19/2010 @ 7:07 amNothing surprises me anymore. A real cool blowoff for this feud would be for Blumenthal to give a “three minute warning”, and three minutes later pull off a rubber mask revealing he is Eric Bischoff. Admit it, this would set up a nice summer run and I would not be surprised to see Blumenthal in the heel’s corner at next year’s Wrestlemania.
TimesDisliker (b9ea2a) — 5/19/2010 @ 7:08 amTimesDisliker, Not even Bischoff would sink that low.
PCD (1d8b6d) — 5/19/2010 @ 8:07 am“trim, square-jawed figure with the bearing of a military man.”
Is he a weasel because he looks like one or does he look like a weasel because he is one?
Robert N. (6b2647) — 5/19/2010 @ 9:37 amI think that usually, form follows function.
Stashiu3 (44da70) — 5/19/2010 @ 9:41 amThe AP isn’t merely “in-the-tank” for this guy; they’re inside his swim trunks, doing the water mambo!
Icy Texan (deac71) — 5/20/2010 @ 2:21 am#15 PCD, Bischoff’s autobio lists some booking maxims we should all keep in mind, including:
1) Personal issues draw money.
2) An excellent heel believes he is right, shows @$$, and then lies about it later.
3) You can’t imply anything to morons.
That said, I think your point is correct.;-)
TimesDisliker (474346) — 5/20/2010 @ 8:47 am“…Real heroes never brag, and real Marines don’t lie.”
AD - RtR/OS! (bb1c62) — 5/23/2010 @ 1:12 pmkathleenparker@washpost.com