Linda McMahon may actually win...

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McMahon Strikes. Turns Blumenthal into Bruce Caputo

Attorney General Richard Blumenthal’s campaign for the United States Senate has been holed below the waterline by a devastating New York Times expose of Blumenthal’s false claims to have served in Vietnam. The piece, fed to the paper by the Linda McMahon Seante campaign, is accompanied by a chilling 2008 video of Blumenthal blithely making the false claim. The “brilliant” Blumenthal provides a stunningly inadequate response, with the universal weasel word “misspoken” appearing in the piece. It’s followed by a non-sequitur quote: “’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.”

Richard Blumenthal Calls NYT Report 'Outrageous Distortion'

HARTFORD, Conn. — Connecticut Attorney General and U.S. Senate candidate Richard Blumenthal is defending himself against a report he misstated his military service in Vietnam. Blumenthal's campaign called a New York Times report which includes video of him at a 2008 event saying he had served "in Vietnam" an "outrageous distortion" on his record. Blumenthal says he's always tried to make it clear his Marine Reserve service never took him overseas. The Times reported he got five deferments to avoid going to war between 1965 and 1970. Blumenthal told the Times he had misspoken at the 2008 event in Norfolk in which he said he served in Vietnam. In a televised March debate, Blumenthal stated clearly he had not served in Vietnam. Blumenthal's campaign said he planned an event Tuesday with veterans showing their support for him.

Candidate’s Words on Vietnam Service Differ From History

“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 going to war, according to records.

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