Conservative Blogger
Saturday, September 8, 2018
Richard Blumenthal’s Words on Vietnam Service Differ From History (He Lied)
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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( he won),
never served in Vietnam. He obtained at least five military deferments
from 1965 to 1970 and took repeated steps that enabled him to avoid
going to war, according to records.
The deferments allowed Mr. Blumenthal to complete his studies at Harvard; pursue a graduate fellowship in England; serve as a special assistant to The Washington Post’s publisher, Katharine Graham; and ultimately take a job in the Nixon White House.
In
1970, with his last deferment in jeopardy, he landed a coveted spot in
the Marine Reserve, which virtually guaranteed that he would not be sent
to Vietnam. He joined a unit in Washington
that conducted drills and other exercises and focused on local
projects, like fixing a campground and organizing a Toys for Tots drive.
Many
politicians have faced questions over their decisions during the
Vietnam War, and Mr. Blumenthal, who is seeking the seat being vacated
by Senator Christopher J. Dodd, is not alone in staying out of the war.
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.
In
an interview on Monday, the attorney general said that he had misspoken
about his service during the Norwalk event and might have misspoken on
other occasions. “My intention has always been to be completely clear
and accurate and straightforward, out of respect to the veterans who
served in Vietnam,” he said.
But
an examination of his remarks at the ceremonies shows that he does not
volunteer that his service never took him overseas. And he describes the
hostile reaction directed at veterans coming back from Vietnam,
intimating that he was among them.
In
2003, he addressed a rally in Bridgeport, where about 100 military
families gathered to express support for American troops overseas. “When
we returned, we saw nothing like this,” Mr. Blumenthal said. “Let us do
better by this generation of men and women.”
At
a 2008 ceremony in front of the Veterans War Memorial Building in
Shelton, he praised the audience for paying tribute to troops fighting
abroad, noting that America had not always done so.
“I served during the Vietnam era,” he said. “I remember the taunts, the insults, sometimes even physical abuse.”
Mr.
Blumenthal, 64, is known as a brilliant lawyer who likes to argue cases
in court and uses language with power and precision. He is also savvy
about the news media and attentive to how he is portrayed in the press.
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.
The
New Haven Register on July 20, 2006, described him as “a veteran of the
Vietnam War,” and on April 6, 2007, said that the attorney general had
“served in the Marines
in Vietnam.” On May 26, 2009, The Connecticut Post, a Bridgeport
newspaper that is the state’s third-largest daily, described Mr.
Blumenthal as “a Vietnam veteran.” The Shelton Weekly reported on May
23, 2008, that Mr. Blumenthal “was met with applause when he spoke about
his experience as a Marine sergeant in Vietnam.”
And
the idea that he served in Vietnam has become such an accepted part of
his public biography that when a national outlet, Slate magazine,
produced a profile of Mr. Blumenthal in 2000, it said he had “enlisted in the Marines rather than duck the Vietnam draft.”
It does not appear that Mr. Blumenthal ever sought to correct those mistakes.
In
the interview, he said he was not certain whether he had seen the
stories or whether any steps had been taken to point out the
inaccuracies.
“I
don’t know if we tried to do so or not,” he said. He added that he
“can’t possibly know what is reported in all” the articles that are
written about him, given the large number of appearances he makes at
military-style events.
He
said he had tried to stick to a consistent way of describing his
military experience: that he served as a member of the United State
Marine Corps Reserve during the Vietnam era.
Asked
about the Bridgeport rally, when he told the crowd, “When we returned,
we saw nothing like this,” Mr. Blumenthal said he did not recall the
event.
An
aide pointed out that in a different appearance this year, Mr.
Blumenthal was forthright about not having gone to war. In a Senate
debate in March, he responded to a question about Iran
and the use of military force by saying, “Although I did not serve in
Vietnam, I have seen firsthand the effects of military action, and no
one wants it to be the first resort, nor do we want to mortgage the country’s future with a deficit that is ballooning out of control.”
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.
Mr.
Blumenthal has made veterans’ issues a centerpiece of his public life
and his Senate campaign, but even those who have worked closely with him
have gotten the misimpression that he served in 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.”
Ms.
Risley later telephoned the reporter to say she had checked into Mr.
Blumenthal’s military background and learned that he had not, in fact,
served in Vietnam.
The Vietnam chapter in Mr. Blumenthal’s biography has received little attention despite his nearly three decades in Connecticut politics.
But
now, after repeatedly shunning opportunities for higher office, Mr.
Blumenthal is the man Democrats nationally are depending on to retain
the seat they controlled for 30 years under Mr. Dodd, and he is likely
to face more intense scrutiny.
After obtaining Mr. Blumenthal’s Selective Service records through a Freedom of Information Act request, The New York Times asked David Curry, a professor at the University of Missouri-St. Louis and an expert on the Vietnam draft, to examine them.
Mr.
Curry said the records showed that Mr. Blumenthal had received at least
five deferments. Mr. Blumenthal did not dispute that but said he did
not know how many deferments he had received.
Mr. Blumenthal grew up in New York City, the son of a successful businessman who ran an import-export company.
As a young man, he attended Riverdale Country School in the Bronx and showed great promise, along with an ability to ingratiate himself with powerful people.
In 1963, he entered Harvard College, where he met Daniel Patrick Moynihan, who served on the faculty there and guided Mr. Blumenthal’s senior thesis on the failure of government poverty programs.
He received two student deferments during his undergraduate years there, the records show.
After
graduating from Harvard in 1967, military records show, Mr. Blumenthal
obtained another educational deferment and headed to Britain, where he filed stories for The Washington Post and attended Trinity College, Cambridge, on a graduate fellowship.
But in early 1968, President Lyndon B. Johnson,
under pressure over criticism that wealthier young men were avoiding
the draft through graduate school, abolished nearly all graduate
deferments and sharply increased the number of troops sent to Southeast
Asia.
That
summer, Mr. Blumenthal’s draft classification changed from 2-S, an
educational deferment, to 2-A, an occupational deferment — a rare
exemption from military service for men who contended that it was in the
“national health, safety and interest” for them to remain in their
civilian jobs. At the time, he was working as a special assistant to Ms.
Graham, whose son Donald he had befriended at Harvard. Half a year
later, after the election of President Richard M. Nixon,
Mr. Blumenthal went to work in the White House as a senior staff
assistant to Mr. Moynihan, who was Nixon’s urban affairs adviser.
But
at the end of that year, he became eligible for induction after he drew
a low number in a draft lottery held on Dec. 1, 1969. His number was
152, and people with numbers as high as 195 could be drafted, according
to the Selective Service.
Two
months after the lottery, in February 1970, Mr. Blumenthal obtained a
second occupational deferment, according to the records. The status of
people with occupational deferments, however, was growing shakier, with
the war raging and the Nixon administration increasingly uncomfortable
with them.
In
April 1970, Mr. Blumenthal secured a spot in the Marine Corps Reserve,
which was regarded as a safe harbor for those who did not want to go to
war.
“The Reserves were not being activated for Vietnam and were seen as a shelter for young privileged men,” Mr. Curry said.
But
Mr. Blumenthal’s campaign manager, Mindy Myers, said Monday that any
suggestion that he was ducking the war was unfounded, saying he was
engaged in important work. When he worked for Ms. Graham, for example,
he helped teach children in a public school in the Anacostia section of
Washington, for a project she had started there.
“It’s
flat wrong to imply that Richard Blumenthal’s decisions to take a Fiske
Fellowship, teach inner-city schoolchildren and work in the White House
for Daniel Patrick Moynihan were decisions to avoid service when in
fact, while still eligible for a deferment, he chose to enlist in the
Marine Corps Reserves and completed six months of service at Parris
Island, S.C., and then six years of service in the Reserves.”
Mr.
Blumenthal landed in the Fourth Civil Affairs Group in Washington,
whose members included the well-connected in Washington. At the time,
the unit was not associated with the kind of hardship of traditional
fighting units, according to Marine reports from the period and
interviews with about a half-dozen men who served in the unit during the
Vietnam years.
In
the 1970s, the unit’s members were dispatched to undertake projects
like refurbishing tent decks and showers at a campground for
underprivileged Washington children, as well as collecting and
distributing toys and games as part of regular Toys for Tots drives.
Robert
Cole, a retired lieutenant colonel who did active duty overseas in the
1950s and later joined the unit as a reservist, recalled the young men
who joined the unit in the late 1960s and early 1970s. “These kids we
were getting in — a lot of them were worried about the draft,” he said.
After entering Yale Law School in the fall of 1970, Mr. Blumenthal transferred to a Marine Reserve unit in New Haven,
Company C of the Sixth Motor Transport Battalion, Fourth Marine
Division, which conducted occasional military drills, as well as
participating in Christmas toy drives for children and recycling
programs in neighboring communities, according to the unit’s command
reports from the time.
In 1974, Mr. Blumenthal took a position as a law clerk for Justice Harry C. Blackmun of the United States Supreme Court and transferred back to a Washington unit, where he completed his service.
Sen. Kamala Harris Given LAPD Protection, Even When She Wasn't in LA
Los Angeles taxpayers paid for airline tickets, hotel stays, car rentals, and meals.
What to Know
LAPD officers were dispatched to California cities outside of Los Angeles at least a dozen times to provide security for U.S. Sen. Harris
LA taxpayers paid for airline tickets, hotel stays, car rentals, and meals, according to detailed expense reports
The unusual arrangement was shut down by new LAPD Chief Michel Moore in July
Armed, plain-clothes LAPD officers were dispatched to
California cities outside of Los Angeles at least a dozen times to
provide security for U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris at public events, media
appearances, and a party.
LA taxpayers paid for
airline tickets, hotel stays, car rentals, and meals, according to
detailed expense reports obtained by NBC News. The total cost of the
trips, not including the officers' overtime, topped $28,000.
The
LAPD routinely provides security for dignitaries and officials visiting
LA, but a senior retired department official said the courtesy extended
to Sen. Harris for her travels to other cities was unprecedented.
Mayor
Eric Garcetti's office said the Mayor was, "unaware," of this unusual
arrangement until July, when it was shut down by new LAPD Chief Michel
Moore.
"It was not until Chief Moore was sworn in,
conducted a new assessment of the threat, determined that this
arrangement was no longer needed, and informed Mayor Garcetti, that the
mayor became aware of the state-wide detail," Garcetti spokesman Alex
Comisar wrote in an email Wednesday.
Garcetti said former LAPD Chief Charlie Beck was solely responsible for the program.
"Chief
of Police Charlie Beck assigned a security detail for US Senator Kamala
Harris shortly before she was sworn into office in 2017, based on a
threat assessment he believed to be credible," said LAPD spokesman Josh
Rubenstein. "Funding for the detail was provided by the Department
budget."
Beck's signature appears on many of the
LAPD documents authorizing the trips, including one that occured just 10
days after Harris was sworn-in to the Senate, in which two officers
flew to Oakland to go with Harris to a, "retirement event," for a
California Department of Justice official.
NBC4 asked LAPD to contact Beck for comment. No response had been received at the time of publication.
Between
January 2017 and July 2018 the records show LAPD officers flew to San
Francisco at least seven times, including a trip in April 2017, when
Harris gave TV interviews, a trip in March 2018 for a speech at a YMCA
event, and a visit in June 2018, to escort Harris to the San Francisco
Pride parade, where LAPD officers were visible in video and pictures
captured along the parade route.
Officers also
traveled to Sacramento, Fresno, and San Diego for Harris. The use of the
officers and the purpose of the trips were confirmed by Harris' office.
"Since
she became a protectee more than a decade ago, Senator Harris has
always deferred to public safety experts on procedures, protocols and
determinations," said Harris' communications director Lily Adams. "Our
office did not request or question LAPD's decision to provide protection
and we are grateful for the ongoing work of officers in Los Angeles and
across the state who risk their lives to keep all Californians safe,"
she said.
The decision to end the out-of-town
security program for Harris was made around the time the Los Angeles
Times filed a lawsuit that demanded Mayor Eric Garcetti turn over
records detailing the taxpayer expense of his own security detail during
his extensive out-of-state travels, after both City Hall and the LAPD
refused to release the documents through a routine California Public
Records Act request.
"Unfortunately we are not able
to give out this information, as it could potentially undermine the
Mayor's safety and security," LAPD spokesman Rubenstein wrote in an
email to the Los Angeles Times that was cited in the newspaper's
lawsuit.
The Times' lawsuit claims there is no portion of the Records Act that exempts these expense records from public disclosure.
An
attorney for the Times pointed out in a court filing that the U.S.
Secret Service has provided information about the cost of travelling
security details for both Presidents Trump and Obama, and the cities of
Chicago, Baltimore, and Seattle have all produced similar mayoral
expense records for public review.
Cruz challenger Beto O'Rourke dinged for saying 'nothing more American' than kneeling during anthem
Beto O’Rourke, the Democrat challenging GOP Sen. Ted Cruz in the midterm elections, is being slammed by Republicans for saying there is “nothing more American” than kneeling during the national anthem.
“Comments like his are a slap in the face to every man and woman who has ever served our nation and put their lives on the line to defend American values,” Republican Party of Texas Chairman James Dickey said Thursday.
O’Rourke, a Democratic congressman, was asked at a recent campaign event about NFL players who kneel during the anthem. O’Rourke replied, “I can think of nothing more American than to peacefully stand up, or take a knee for your rights anytime, anywhere, any place.”
While Republicans decried the remark, liberals are celebrating it.
“His answer was perfect,” said the liberal news site NowThis, which posted video of the exchange.
Actor Kevin Bacon tweeted his thanks to O’Rourke. And basketball star LeBron James saluted O’Rourke for his “candid thoughtful words!”
Cruz, the conservative senator elected in 2012, has hit back on the campaign trail.
“When Beto O’Rourke says he can’t think of anything more American, well I got to admit, I can,” Cruz said during a recent stop in Corpus Christi, referencing American soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines who salute the flag.
He is also drawing attention to the praise O'Rourke has gotten from Hollywood celebs.
“Most Texans stand for the flag, but Hollywood liberals are so excited that Beto is siding with NFL players protesting the national anthem that Kevin Bacon just retweeted it,” Cruz said.
It comes as O’Rourke – who has benefited from favorable national media attention, sympathetic magazine profiles and comparisons to the Kennedys – is gaining ground on Cruz in polls.
A NBC News/Marist Poll released this week shows Cruz ahead of O’Rourke by just 4 points, with 49 percent support to O'Rourke's 45 percent.
Cruz challenger Beto O'Rourke's campaign denies asking VFW to remove flags for campaign event
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| Beto O'Rourke is running for Ted Cruz's seat in the Senate. His campaign says it did not ask a VFW to take down flags ahead of a campaign event. (AP Photo/Richard W. Rodriguez, File) |
Members of Rep. Beto O'Rourke's Senate campaign
deny they ever asked for flags to be taken down for a campaign event at a
Veterans of Foreign Wars hall in Texas.
O'Rourke, who's trying to unseat
Republican Sen. Ted Cruz, has been crisscrossing the state holding town
halls. One of them was in August at a VFW post in Navasota, northwest of
Houston.
The commander of the post, Carl Dry, said he rents out
the hall for lots of different events. But Dry said before the O'Rourke
town hall, a young woman with the campaign asked take take down venue
flags.Dry explained there are two large flags hanging on the wall in the main hall, one for the United States and one for the state of Texas. There are also two standing flags on either side. Mr. Dry said after he told the young woman "no," a young man then came up and asked the same question. This time he replied, "Not just no, but hell no." He added, "I was a little hot they'd ask, especially at a VFW hall."
But Chris Evans, communications director with the O'Rourke campaign, said that simply didn't occur. Evans told Fox News: "Our campaign absolutely did not request that any flags be removed or taken down from the walls. It is incorrect to say that we did."
Evans added that the campaign has hosted dozens of town halls in VFW posts across the state, at which they "ensure that the flags are prominently and respectfully displayed."
The flag dust-up follows reports of O'Rourke's defending athletes who kneel during the national anthem in protest of racial injustice and police violence, an issue the Cruz campaign has highlighted in its campaign events and online.
As for Dry, he said being head of a VFW post, he won't weigh in on politics, but added "As far as I'm concerned, it's a non-issue."
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