# Senate candidate lies about service in Vietnam. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [May 18, 2010, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senate-candidate-lies-about-service-in-vietnam/539875 "2010-05-18T13:31:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![joebuck20](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/74df32/32.png) [@joebuck20](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joebuck20)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2010, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senate-candidate-lies-about-service-in-vietnam/539875/1 "2010-05-18T13:31:00Z")
Richard Blumenthal who is running for Chris Dodd’s seat in Connecticut apparently embellished his service record: [http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/18/nyregion/18blumenthal.html?hp=&pagewanted=all](http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/18/nyregion/18blumenthal.html?hp=&pagewanted=all) I hate to say it, but in a lot of ways this is worse than what Bush did. Yeah Bush got a coveted slot in the Air National Guard, but at least he never tried to give the impression that he was actually over in Vietnam. ---
**Author:** ![C3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/c3/32/3108_2.png) [@C3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C3)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2010, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senate-candidate-lies-about-service-in-vietnam/539875/2 "2010-05-18T13:37:10Z")
I saw this yesterday and I love the headline: “Candidate’s Words on Vietnam Service Differ From History” Uh, shouldn’t that be, “Candidate Lied”? ---
**Author:** ![Duke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e8c25b/32.png) [@Duke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2010, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senate-candidate-lies-about-service-in-vietnam/539875/3 "2010-05-18T13:41:47Z")
> [@joebuck20](#): > > I hate to say it, but in a lot of ways this is worse than what Bush did. Yeah Bush got a coveted slot in the Air National Guard, but at least he never tried to give the impression that he was actually over in Vietnam. This isn’t even on the map, frankly. GWB never lied about where he served. Blumenthal’s claims are disgusting. ---
**Author:** ![tagos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@tagos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tagos)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2010, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senate-candidate-lies-about-service-in-vietnam/539875/4 "2010-05-18T13:44:57Z")
> [@Duke](#): > > This isn’t even on the map, frankly. GWB never lied about where he served. Blumenthal’s claims are disgusting. Yea. Bush at least was an honest chicken-hawk. Blumenthal can just fold his career up until it’s all corners and then stick it where the sun don’t shine. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2010, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senate-candidate-lies-about-service-in-vietnam/539875/5 "2010-05-18T13:49:39Z")
I don’t have any heartburn about his saying he’s a Vietnam-era veteran. He is. He cannot say he’s a Vietnam War veteran. That’s a lie. ---
**Author:** ![Camus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ba8739/32.png) [@Camus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Camus)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2010, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senate-candidate-lies-about-service-in-vietnam/539875/6 "2010-05-18T13:51:06Z")
> [@Duke](#): > > This isn’t even on the map, frankly. GWB never lied about where he served. Blumenthal’s claims are disgusting. And bizarre. Harvard undergrad, Yale law school, a fellowship at Cambridge, clerking for the Supreme Court, and an aide in the Nixon White House. All in addition to his former and current positions in the Connecticut state House, Senate, and AG’s office respectively. Did he really feel like he had to make up some imaginary war service to be considered qualified for higher office? ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2010, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senate-candidate-lies-about-service-in-vietnam/539875/7 "2010-05-18T13:53:03Z")
Yeah, this guy is scrod. I was watching a piece on this on MSNBC this morning and apparently (and I could be wrong here) but he didn’t originate the lie; he just never corrected anyone when they identified him as a Viet Nam vet. Then after the fact, once the non-denials got out of hand, he latched onto it like a barnacle and couldn’t let go – ultimately repeating the lie bald-facedly. Now he’s up to his spasming sphincter in it and there’s no going back. He also apparently lied about being on the Harvard swim team. ---
**Author:** ![Lightnin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightnin/32/180_2.png) [@Lightnin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightnin)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2010, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senate-candidate-lies-about-service-in-vietnam/539875/8 "2010-05-18T13:53:40Z")
Yeah, that’s pretty damned scummy. He must have known that in this age, lies like this can’t stay unresearched. And dammit, now we get to listen to the Right-wing crow about how this “proves” that \*all \*Democrats are liars. ---
**Author:** ![Duke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e8c25b/32.png) [@Duke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2010, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senate-candidate-lies-about-service-in-vietnam/539875/9 "2010-05-18T13:55:42Z")
> [@Camus](#): > > And bizarre. Harvard undergrad, Yale law school, a **fellowship at Cambridge** , There you go. Stupid Tab. 😛 Yes, that is weird. I just don’t get it when people embellish their resumes in such an easily-disprovable way. To paraphrase Aziz Ansari, “You’re running for motherfuckin’ United States Senate, you don’t think we’re going to check that shit?” ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2010, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senate-candidate-lies-about-service-in-vietnam/539875/10 "2010-05-18T13:55:45Z")
> [@Camus](#): > > Did he really feel like he had to make up some imaginary war service to be considered qualified for higher office? Well, maybe he thought he had to try a big lie, one that anyone could see was a lie, and then see if he could get people to either believe the big lie, rabidly defend him if he was “their guy”, ignore the lie, or just not care that he lied because he is still “doing good”. I mean, isnt that how all the “real politicans” operate these days? He just wanted to see if he could actually run with the big dogs. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2010, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senate-candidate-lies-about-service-in-vietnam/539875/11 "2010-05-18T14:00:05Z")
Ah ha! This proves all Democrats are liars! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![DChord568](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@DChord568](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DChord568)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2010, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senate-candidate-lies-about-service-in-vietnam/539875/12 "2010-05-18T14:01:46Z")
> [@Jack\_Batty](#): > > Yeah, this guy is scrod. > > I was watching a piece on this on MSNBC this morning and apparently (and I could be wrong here) but he didn’t originate the lie; he just never corrected anyone when they identified him as a Viet Nam vet. Then after the fact, once the non-denials got out of hand, he latched onto it like a barnacle and couldn’t let go – ultimately repeating the lie bald-facedly. Now he’s up to his spasming sphincter in it and there’s no going back. > > **He also apparently lied** about being on the Harvard swim team. Not according to the linked article: > [@](#): > > 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. ---
**Author:** ![descamisado](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@descamisado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/descamisado)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2010, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senate-candidate-lies-about-service-in-vietnam/539875/13 "2010-05-18T14:01:47Z")
deleted. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Fun\_Ball](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_fun_ball/32/17664_2.png) [@Happy\_Fun\_Ball](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Fun_Ball)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2010, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senate-candidate-lies-about-service-in-vietnam/539875/14 "2010-05-18T14:05:22Z")
> [@joebuck20](#): > > Senate candidate lies about service in Vietnam. Why is Kerry in the news again? I didn’t think he had to run for reelection until 2014. I keed. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2010, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senate-candidate-lies-about-service-in-vietnam/539875/15 "2010-05-18T14:13:34Z")
> [@Jack\_Batty](#): > > I was watching a piece on this on MSNBC this morning and apparently (and I could be wrong here) but he didn’t originate the lie; he just never corrected anyone when they identified him as a Viet Nam vet. Then after the fact, once the non-denials got out of hand, he latched onto it like a barnacle and couldn’t let go – ultimately repeating the lie bald-facedly. I haven’t seen what MSNBC is reporting. If they found evidence for that it might be true, but the Times story makes it sound like he spent years carefully implying he’d served in Vietnam by saying using the truth about his service to create a false impression. And more recently he screwed it up by stating flat-out that he was in Vietnam.x > [@DChord568](#): > > Not according to the linked article: You can’t really take his word for it at this point. ---
**Author:** ![MOIDALIZE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e274bd/32.png) [@MOIDALIZE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MOIDALIZE)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2010, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senate-candidate-lies-about-service-in-vietnam/539875/16 "2010-05-18T14:21:41Z")
We tolerate so much bullshit from our politicians, it’s nice to see that there’s at least one lie in America that isn’t forgiven. ---
**Author:** ![descamisado](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@descamisado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/descamisado)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2010, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senate-candidate-lies-about-service-in-vietnam/539875/17 "2010-05-18T14:23:37Z")
You can’t _prove_ Blumenthal was born in Kenya! ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2010, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senate-candidate-lies-about-service-in-vietnam/539875/18 "2010-05-18T14:30:53Z")
From the Times article: \*"In an interview, Jean Risley, the chairwoman of the Connecticut Vietnam Veterans Memorial Inc., recalled listening to an emotional Mr. Blumenthal offering remarks at the dedication of the memorial. She remembered him describing the indignities that he and other veterans faced when they returned from Vietnam. “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.”\* Well, the quote doesn’t have him specifically saying “When we came back **from Vietnam** ”. Maybe he meant he and fellow reserve officers were spat on when they came back from the Toys for Tots drive in Washington (sometimes the kiddies can be really mean if you give them some piece of Hasbro junk). ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2010, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senate-candidate-lies-about-service-in-vietnam/539875/19 "2010-05-18T14:32:27Z")
Five deferments. Apparently he, like Dick Cheney, had better things to do than serve his country. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2010, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senate-candidate-lies-about-service-in-vietnam/539875/20 "2010-05-18T14:39:16Z")
> [@Jack\_Batty](#): > > He also apparently lied about being on the Harvard swim team. > [@DChord568](#): > > Not according to the linked article: Apparently so astonished that he was unable to pick up a phone and tell Slate and the Hartford Courant he wasn’t actually on the swim team at Harvard. Don’t bother defending him. It just makes _you_ look bad. This isn’t quite as embarrassing as the outing self-hating-gay right-wingers, but it’s pretty bad. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senate-candidate-lies-about-service-in-vietnam/539875.md?page=2)