# 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:** 9
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2010, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senate-candidate-lies-about-service-in-vietnam/539875/161 "2010-05-19T17:16:50Z")
> [@robby](#): > > Jesus Christ. I can’t believe this shit. What the hell was he thinking?! > > He could have said that he “served **during** Vietnam.” He could have said that he was a “Vietnam-era veteran.” But what was he thinking saying that he actually “served **in** Vietnam”? > > My wife actually woke me up as she was leaving for work this morning to tell me this, adding that no veteran would ever vote for him now. > > The worst part is that I actually think the guy would do a great job in the Senate. Up till now, his reputation in Connecticut has been rock-solid. He’s been Attorney General for nearly 20 years, and hasn’t been seriously opposed in years. He could have won election for any office he wanted, including Governor. > > He’s an extremely talented, hard-working, intelligent guy. He’s not your typical glad-handing politician; instead he’s more of a nose-to-the-grindstone, no-nonsense, workaholic. (Personal note: I actually bump into him about once a month and exchange pleasantries.) > > Now he has to go and do something like this. It’s reminiscent of Eliot Spitzer, another extremely talented former Attorney General (and later Governor) who threw his career away for something even more ridiculous. > > I’m very disappointed, and I think that it’s a damned shame. If this torpedoes his candidacy, it will be a loss for Connecticut and the U.S. Senate. > [@spark240](#): > > I guess I’m old-fashioned, or something. I believe in choosing candidates on policy _from among_ the candidates with some discernible shred of character. > > I can forgive the Democratic Party, and their candidates in other jurisdictions, Blumenthal’s lies. I don’t know that I can forgive them their party’s partisans’ indifference to the lies. If you read my whole post, other than the snippet you quoted, I think you’ll see that I am not at all indifferent to Blumenthal’s “misstatements.” However, as a resident of Connecticut who has voted for him before, I have had more to judge him by than this sole issue. The major reason this news is so shocking in the state of Connecticut is because of Blumenthal’s squeaky-clean reputation up to this point. He has had a long political career. He served as a U.S. Attorney back in the 1970s, served in the Connecticut House of Representatives and the Connecticut State Senate in the 1980s, and has been the Connecticut AG since 1991. I will note that in many speeches, Blumenthal has explicitly stated that he did NOT serve in Vietnam–so it’s not like he has been consistently lying about his supposed service for years. All this being said, the jury is still out in my own mind. His misstatements have certainly brought him down several notches in my estimation, and I have not yet decided if I will continue to support him. I will probably make my decision based on how he handles the issue in the days and weeks to come. ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2010, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senate-candidate-lies-about-service-in-vietnam/539875/162 "2010-05-19T17:18:33Z")
> [@Diogenes the Cynic](#): > > To his credit. It wouldn’t be sincere, and it’s not like right wingers would ever accept an apology anyway (the truth is that they’re delighted about this, not offended), so fuck them. I would think the people he owes an apology to would be the citizens he deceived in making those statements. It never occurred to me that he should apologize to “right wingers”. But to get back to the rest of your post, I think that when you consider that after having received five deferments and then signing up with a reserve unit, he was pretty clearly doing everything he could to avoid being sent to Vietnam. For him to then come along later and make false claims and deliberate implications to the effect that he had served there is especially egregious, IMO. YMOV. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2010, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senate-candidate-lies-about-service-in-vietnam/539875/163 "2010-05-19T17:25:50Z")
There’s nothing wrong with draft-dodging. If I’d been old enough, I would have dodged the draft too. Even so, how do you explain all the times he said that he did NOT serve in Vietnam? How can you call him deceptive in that case? ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2010, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senate-candidate-lies-about-service-in-vietnam/539875/164 "2010-05-19T17:44:34Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > There’s nothing wrong with draft-dodging. If I’d been old enough, I would have dodged the draft too. Would you have then come along decades later and pretended to be a Vietnam vet, when in reality you were doing everything you could to avoid having become that very thing? The problem isn’t that he dodged the draft by joining the reserves; the problem is that he has (on occasion, it seems) tried to portray himself as the opposite of what he really was. He dodged the draft in order to avoid Vietnam, and then pretended to have served there on certain occasions when he felt it would be politically beneficial. > [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > Even so, how do you explain all the times he said that he did NOT serve in Vietnam? I dunno. Perhaps he felt the gatherings were small and/or inconsequential enough when he made false claims that no one would find out and then was more truthful when under a larger spotlight. After all, Hillary didn’t claim Bosnian sniper fire in every speech she gave either. > [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > How can you call him deceptive in that case? I haven’t. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2010, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senate-candidate-lies-about-service-in-vietnam/539875/165 "2010-05-19T17:48:27Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > There’s nothing wrong with draft-dodging. If I’d been old enough, I would have dodged the draft too. It becomes an issue in combination with other behavior (e.g. dodging the draft while being in favor of sending somebody else to fight; dodging the draft and then denying having done so). ---
**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 19, 2010, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senate-candidate-lies-about-service-in-vietnam/539875/166 "2010-05-19T18:05:04Z")
In lighter news, another [righteous righty](http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/19/us/politics/19souder.html?ref=politics) has taken a transfer from the family values milk run to the shame train express. Probably already reported on this board, but fun to see. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2010, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senate-candidate-lies-about-service-in-vietnam/539875/167 "2010-05-19T18:18:35Z")
Seems that Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) [went a hell of a lot further than Blumenthal](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=563797) in pretending to be a Gulf War vet. Guess he’s unworthy of being a U.S. Senator. (I frankly can’t bring myself to give a flying fuck.) ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2010, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senate-candidate-lies-about-service-in-vietnam/539875/168 "2010-05-19T18:27:00Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > The man is a lying sack of shit, but even worse are all you left-wing liberal eggheads that are closing ranks and blindly supporting him just because he’s a demon-crat. Have you no shame? I have shame. I am ashamed that the Democratic Party’s candidate in the Connecticut senate race has been shown willing to embrace what I regard as stolen valor. I will not defend his actions. I will, however, still hope that he wins the election (not that I consider it likely, at this point). And I also hope for a Democrat to be elected governor of Connecticut, at which time I will support efforts to have Blumenthal resign. At this time, I cannot consider it acceptable for another Republican to enter the Senate. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2010, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senate-candidate-lies-about-service-in-vietnam/539875/169 "2010-05-19T19:29:31Z")
Blumenthal could still get Primaried, couldn’t he? Who’s he up against? Anybody? ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2010, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senate-candidate-lies-about-service-in-vietnam/539875/170 "2010-05-19T19:35:00Z")
> [@magellan01](#): > > He’s syin it was an obvious JOKE. One that could have been delivered by someone who never even served in the military at all. > > “Three golfers die and are at The Gates of Heaven talking to St. Gabriel. The first golfer says…” > > “A horse walks into a bar and asks for a martini…” > > Get it now. A _joke_. 😕 I understand jokes. But I haven’t heard of any where St. Gabriel is manning (archangeling?) the gates of Heaven in St. Peter’s stead. Or of any where one of the candidates for admittance to Paradise begins his petition by telling a joke. Anyway, I’m going to have to ask that you tell me the rest of this one; it sounds really intriguing. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2010, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senate-candidate-lies-about-service-in-vietnam/539875/171 "2010-05-19T19:45:11Z")
> [@magellan01](#): > > He’s syin it was an obvious JOKE. One that could have been delivered by someone who never even served in the military at all. > > “Three golfers die and are at The Gates of Heaven talking to St. Gabriel. The first golfer says…” > > “A horse walks into a bar and asks for a martini…” > > Get it now. A _joke_. Yeah, but I haven’t heard many jokes of the sort where the speaker starts off saying, “When **I** was a horse walking into a bar…” or “When **I** was one of three golfers who died and…” ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2010, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senate-candidate-lies-about-service-in-vietnam/539875/172 "2010-05-19T19:49:09Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > I’m not a Democrat and never have been. I’ve been a registered Independent since 1984 when I turned 18 and voted for Reagan. :eek: Do you mean to say that the existence of the second Reagan Administration is entirely YOUR fault? I say again: :eek: And :mad:, :(, and :smack: to boot. You’re dead to me, **Dio**. DEAD! ---
**Author:** ![Merijeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@Merijeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merijeek)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2010, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senate-candidate-lies-about-service-in-vietnam/539875/173 "2010-05-19T20:07:07Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > In lighter news, another [righteous righty](http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/19/us/politics/19souder.html?ref=politics) has taken a transfer from the family values milk run to the shame train express. Probably already reported on this board, but fun to see. Sure, but the woman he was banging is the one he made a “We totally love abstinence!” video with. That just makes it more entertaining. -Joe ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2010, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senate-candidate-lies-about-service-in-vietnam/539875/174 "2010-05-19T20:12:45Z")
> [@MaxTheVool](#): > > Cast your mind back to last presidential election, when you publicly stated that you were strongly considering voting for Obama because of the clean campaign he was running, but eventually changed your mind. :o (for the purposes of this post, that is intended to be an “exasperated sigh” smiley) I really wish people would make sure they’re up to speed before they throw this in **Bricker** ’s face. He _DID_ vote for Obama, at last recounting. And I find his recounting to be reliable. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2010, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senate-candidate-lies-about-service-in-vietnam/539875/175 "2010-05-19T20:14:24Z")
> [@](#): > > You’re dead to me, Dio. DEAD! Ronnie James Dio is dead to everybody. Collect your 33 points and move on. ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2010, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senate-candidate-lies-about-service-in-vietnam/539875/176 "2010-05-19T20:34:47Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > Blumenthal could still get Primaried, couldn’t he? Who’s he up against? Anybody? Here’s a good summary of how this could all play out: [http://mobile.salon.com/politics/war\_room/2010/05/18/blumenthal\_5\_things\_watch/index.html](http://mobile.salon.com/politics/war_room/2010/05/18/blumenthal_5_things_watch/index.html) Short version: Blumenthal has had approval ratings of around 80% for years now as Connecticut’s AG. He’s had a huge lead in the polls against his only Democratic challenger, Merrick Alpert. (He led by [81-6% in March](http://www.quinnipiac.edu/x1296.xml?ReleaseID=1433).) He’s also been the overwhelming favorite to win the race, with March polls having him leading his likely Republican opponents by over 30 percentage points. If this story blows over, he still will likely win the race. However, he’s now a lot more vulnerable than he was a few days ago. Also, this latest scandal also appears to be backfiring on Linda McMahon, the leading Republican challengers, who appears to be [looking a bit too gleeful at digging up incriminating video on Blumenthal](http://www.ctpost.com/news/article/McMahon-claims-then-ducks-responsibility-491839.php). The person who may benefit most from the scandal is the other Republican challenger, Rob Simmons, who actually is a war veteran. ETA: In a [poll taken today](http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN1926460120100519?type=marketsNews), Blumenthal’s lead over McMahon has shrunk to single digits, and he leads Simmons by only 11 points. ---
**Author:** ![MaxTheVool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MaxTheVool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaxTheVool)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2010, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senate-candidate-lies-about-service-in-vietnam/539875/177 "2010-05-19T21:57:38Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > :o (for the purposes of this post, that is intended to be an “exasperated sigh” smiley) I really wish people would make sure they’re up to speed before they throw this in **Bricker** ’s face. > > He _DID_ vote for Obama, at last recounting. And I find his recounting to be reliable. Really? How did I not know that? Well, shut my mouth. Nonetheless, my point stand. Because presumably he had plenty of good reasons to vote against Obama but was swayed in a tough decision. And I don’t think it would be fair to say “(whatever the issues are in which, for Bricker, Obama came out second best) don’t mean \*\*\*\* to Bricker”. Obviously this is a totally tangential semantic side argument at this point. I’m just irked by the insulting dismissiveness of the “don’t mean \*\*\*\*” phraseology. There are plenty of times when people have to make decisions where there are strong arguments or data points on both sides, and they have to pick one option over the other. Just because they pick one doesn’t mean the arguments for the other one “don’t mean \*\*\*\*” to them. ---
**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 19, 2010, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senate-candidate-lies-about-service-in-vietnam/539875/178 "2010-05-19T22:32:07Z")
The idea that a WWE executive is running for office as a Republican is pretty amusing, especially given the WWE’s ongoing battle with the Brent Bozell and the Parents’ Television Council, among other censorship lobbies. ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2010, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senate-candidate-lies-about-service-in-vietnam/539875/179 "2010-05-19T22:34:54Z")
Hmm, it seems the NYT didn’t do [a very good job researching or reporting on this story.](http://blogs.courant.com/colin_mcenroe_to_wit/2010/05/the-flaws-in-the-nyt-blumentha.html) ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2010, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senate-candidate-lies-about-service-in-vietnam/539875/180 "2010-05-25T16:00:49Z")
> [@robby](#): > > The person who may benefit most from the scandal is the other Republican challenger, Rob Simmons, who actually is a war veteran. > [@RTFirefly](#): > > I’m sure that Rob Simmons is a hell of a nice guy who, back in 1975, would have voted for reasonable Democratic legislation as a Republican Senator. But as a Republican Senator in 2011, he will rarely cross party lines, and will generally be one more vote to filibuster practically any Democratic legislation. Looks like Simmons [has called it quits](http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jMF5ANvJVvPYsDd7cnmkXkZglGRwD9FTSK880), so it’s Blumenthal v. former WWE exec Linda McMahon. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senate-candidate-lies-about-service-in-vietnam/539875.md?page=8) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senate-candidate-lies-about-service-in-vietnam/539875.md?page=10)