NONSENSE IN THE NUTMEG STATE
Obama And Blumenthal Both Distort The Facts – But Connecticut’s Voters Are Catching On
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“President Obama Will Travel To Connecticut’s Gold Coast To Stump And Raise Money Thursday For Attorney General Richard Blumenthal.” (Christopher Rowland, “Obama To Stump For Attorney General Richard Blumenthal For US Senate Seat In Connecticut,” The Boston Globe, 9/14/10)
BLUMENTHAL HAS A RECORD OF CONVENIENTLY FORGETTING THE FACTS
For Many Years, Richard Blumenthal Claimed That He Served In Vietnam, But The New York Times Reported That Blumenthal NEVER Served In Vietnam. “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 goin g to war, according to records.” (Raymond Hernandez, “Candidate’s Words On Vietnam Service Differ From History,” The New York Times, 5/7/10)
Blumenthal Took “Many” Steps “To Avoid Vietnam,” But Lies Or Speaks Misleadingly About His Actual Service. “But what 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.” (Raymond Hernandez, “Candidate’s Words On Vietnam Service Differ From History,” The New York Times, 5/7/10)
And Never “Sought To Correct” Newspapers Saying He Served In Vietnam. “But the way he speaks about his military service has led to confusion and frequent mischaracterizations of his biography in his home state newspapers. In at least eight newspaper articles published in Connecticut from 2003 to 2009, he is described as having served in Vietnam… It does not appear that Mr. Blumenthal ever sought to correct those mistakes.” (Raymond Hernandez, “Candidate’s Words On Vietnam Service Differ From History,” The New York Times, 5/7/10)
Rather Than Admit To His Lies, Blumenthal Pushed Back Against Those Who Exposed Them. “Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal… could have been forgiven for misstating his record of military service. Instead, he dug himself deeper into his hole, in two ways, in responding to a devastating account in the New York Times. The first, bad enough, was Mr. Blumenthal’s incredible assertion that his mischaracterization of his Vietnam-era service was ‘a few misplaced words’ and ‘totally unintentional.’ The second, even worse, was Mr. Blumenthal’s best-defense-is-a-good-offense tactic of insisting that his avoidance of the draft and ultimate service in the Marine Corps Reserve — after receiving a low draft number — was a patriotic and praiseworthy act. ‘I will not allow anyone . . . to impugn my record of service,’ Mr. Blumethal blustered at his news conference, strate gically surrounded by veterans at a VFW hall.” (Editorial, “Mr. Blumenthal’s Omission,” The Washington Post, 5/20/10)
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“Mr. Blumenthal Could Be Forgiven For Not Wanting To Go To Vietnam And Taking Steps To Avoid Service There. What’s Not Forgivable Is His Audacious Claim That He Deserves Praise, Not Criticism, At This Moment Of Exposure.” (Editorial, “Mr. Blumenthal’s Omission,” The Washington Post, 5/20/10)
Blumenthal Said He’s “Never Taken PAC Money.” “Richard Blumenthal’s words are haunting him again. Already forced to apologize for saying he had served ‘in’ Vietnam in the Marine Reserve rather than stateside, the state attorney general’s campaign for U.S. Senate is now being challenged to explain his assertion that he had ‘never taken PAC money’ and has ‘rejected all special interest money.'” (Susan Haigh, “GOP Candidate In Conn. Hammers Democrat On Honesty,” The Associated Press, 8/21/10)
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Blumenthal: “I’ve never taken PAC money, and I have rejected all special interest money because I have stood strong and taken legal action against many of those special interests.” (Susan Haigh, “GOP Candidate In Conn. Hammers Democrat On Honesty,” The Associated Press, 8/21/10)
But Blumenthal Has Taken Over $480,000 In PAC Donations This Cycle. (Center For Responsive Politics, opensecrets.org, Accessed 9/14/10)
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And Blumenthal Has Even Taken Contributions From Groups He Deals With As Attorney General. “Among the PAC contributions to his Senate race, there are groups Blumenthal’s office has dealt with as recently as 2009 and 2010. For example, federal records show his campaign received $10,000 from the PAC organized by the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers. As recently as Thursday, Blumenthal was urging jet engine maker Pratt & Whitney to reconsider its plans to lay off 129 union workers at its Cheshire plant.” (Susan Haigh, “GOP Candidate In Conn. Hammers Democrat On Honesty,” The Associated Press, 8/21/10)
MEANWHILE, OBAMA’S ROSY ECONOMIC RHETORIC DOES NOT MATCH CONNECTICUT’S REALITY
Connecticut Has Lost 35,500 Jobs Since Obama’s Stimulus Was Passed. (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, www.bls.gov, Accessed 8/20/10)
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And The Unemployment Rate Has Risen From 7.4 To 8.9 Percent. (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, www.bls.gov, Accessed 8/20/10)
The “Sluggish Recovery” And Heavy Middle Class Job Losses Has Led To Connecticut Dealing With “More Long-Term Unemployment Than Elsewhere.” “As Labor Day arrives in a sluggish recovery, a new report shows that the heaviest job losses have been in the middle of the pay scale and that Connecticut has seen more long-term unemployment than elsewhere.” (Marla Lee, “Hurting For Work: Recession Hits Middle Class Hard In Connecticut,” The Hartford Courant, 9/5/10)
Connecticut’s Long Term Unemployment Rate Last Year Was The 4th Highest In The Nation. “Connecticut had the fourth-highest percentage of long-term unemployed people in the country in 2009: 36.7 percent. The national average was 32 percent.” (Marla Lee, “Hurting For Work: Recession Hits Middle Class Hard In Connecticut,” The Hartford Courant, 9/5/10)
91 Percent Of Connecticut Voters Are “Very” Or “Somewhat” Worried About The Direction Of The Nation’s Economy. (Quinnipiac Polling, 825 LV, MoE 3.3%, 9/8-12/10)
LEAVING OBAMA AND BLUMENTHAL OUT OF TOUCH WITH CONNECTICUT’S VOTERS
GOP Nominee Linda McMahon Has Been “Steadily Chipping Away” At Blumenthal’s Lead. “McMahon has been steadily chipping away at Blumenthal’s popularity for months. In the March 17 Q poll, he trounced her by a 2-1 margin; in May, immediately after the controversy over his Vietnam war misstatements, Blumenthal still led by 27 percentage points. By August, McMahon was within 10 and now she has cut his lead to 6.” (Daniela Altimari, “Q Poll: McMahon Moves Within 6 Percentage Points Of Blumenthal,” The Hartford Courant’s Capitol Watch Blog, 9/14/10)
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The Connecticut Senate Race “Is Surprisingly Close.” “‘This is now a 6 point race among likely voters. With seven weeks to go and lots of money to be spent, anything can happen,’ said Quinnipiac University Poll Director Douglas Schwartz, PhD. ‘For Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, an elected official with a 70 percent approval rating, this race is surprisingly close.'” (Quinnipiac Polling, 825 LV, MoE 3.3%, 9/8-12/10)
And Obama Is Dragging Blumenthal Down. “President Barack Obama appears to be a drag on Blumenthal, even in Connecticut, where the President’s job approval rating is a negative 45 – 52 percent.” (Quinnipiac Polling, 825 LV, MoE 3.3%, 9/8-12/10)
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