Richard Blumenthal may have breathed life back into his political career yesterday, with a press conference in which he vigorously defended his record:
But I want to say one thing to the American people. I want you to listen to me. I’m going to say this again: I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Miss Lewinsky. I never told anybody to lie, not a single time; never. These allegations are false. And I need to go back to work for the American people. Thank you
Sorry, hit the wrong button. Here it is:
One other thing I probably should tell you because if we don’t they’ll probably be saying this about me too, we did get something-a gift-after the election…. You know what it was. It was a little cocker spaniel dog in a crate that he’d sent all the way from Texas. Black and white spotted…. I just want to say this right now, that regardless of what they say about it, we’re gonna keep it…. Let me say this: I don’t believe that I ought to quit because I’m not a quitter.
Whoops, fat finger again. Okay, now I finally really have it:
On a few occasions, I have misspoken about my service, and I regret that. But I will not allow anyone to take a few missplaced words and impugn my record of service to my country. I served in the United States Marine Corps Reserves, and I am proud of it.
Good luck with that. Wait, I think it’s actually working:
I think it is clear now what happened: Blumenthal allowed other people’s faulty ideas about his service to persist, until the legend got to the point where he himself stepped over the line. Even though he has stated point blank that he never served in Viet Nam, he was more than happy to lie by omission and to allow people to have mistaken ideas about his service.
Because left-wing epistemic closure is a stubborn thing:
No direct, intentional lies, wherein a lie is defined as a misstatement conveyed with the intention to mislead.
I guess it depends upon what the meaning of “in” is. Or maybe, whether the video was doctored by the vast rignt-wing conspiracy to insert the word “in” when he actually said “during.”
Not that the truth matters anyway:
Whatever the truth, he insisted with a great deal of conviction that his lapses weren’t intentional. And the evidence so far suggests that in other settings, he didn’t intend to mislead. Perhaps most important, no Dems are cutting and running right now. They seem to have closed ranks behind him.
Blumenthal doesn’t need to fool all the people all the time, just 50% plus 1.
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Related Post:
Say Bye-Bye To Conn. Senate Candidate Blumenthal (D)
They Have Nothing To Fear, But Fear Itself
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Comments
Great post.
Yes, it is one of the finer among many. But back to Blumenthal, he has functioned like Toyota Corp. Regardless of their knowledge that there were serious acceleration defects in their autos, the allowed people to continue to drive potentially lethal autos.
To lie in any way when you are a public servant is to allow the electorate to be headed down a potentially disastrous path because of your leadership under a lie.
Blumenthal, you're a car we don't need on the road. Pull over and park.
"Look although I lied sometimes, I also told the truth at other times and that is what counts. I DID tell the truth. You just weren't listening."
The "partly-pregnant, sometimes honest" defense.
"You can't hide your lyin' eyes
And your smile is a thin disguise
I thought by now you'd realize
There ain't no way to hide your lyin eyes"
Blumenthal is a liar. barack hussein obama is a liar. Where once being caught in a blatant lie was a source of shame, now it's just 'ah shucks' and –let's move on.
Love it, SAMHENRY……..but isn't "cash for clunkers" defunct?
If you are from the draft/Vietnam era you would know that getting a reserve spot like he had required pull and influence. A spot like that was reserved for the upper echelon of our society so that they did not have to fight. It really is the same thing that Rather said Bush did. Bush really did pull strings to get his spot, just Rather made up the paper trail. Someone needs to go after this guy like they did Bush.
Excellent!
And, in keeping with what seems to be the well-deserved theme of the day — ridicule — I just updated my photo-op post with a simple, concise and thoroughly devastating comment borrowed from a Hot Air thread.
The comment was posted there by one Diogenes.
It pretty much says it all!
"What’s the difference between Blumenthal and Jane Fonda? —- Fonda has actually been to Vietnam."
People used to be considered foolish for attempting to take on the press . . . you didn't "mess with anyone who bought ink by the barrel!"
Does this guy Blumenthal actually think he's going to somehow hoodwink the entire blogosphere with his risible defense? Boy, he is a real glutton for punishment!
I believe what Laura Ingram said on the radio today is an accurate description. She said he's been attorney general of Conn. for 20 years. He's been "mis-quoted" for all that time, and he didn't know it? Lame. Inexcusably weak and lame.
Liar. Liar. Pants on fire! Only the Dems can get away with this type of blatant lying, and then get a pass for "misplacing" his words. Misplaced?! As though his statements are merely keys or glasses he set down somewhere and can't find them – darn it! Like what he says he is not accountable for, as though he's only said it one time?! An attorney general, of all people, should accept the facts: he said it, has said it before, and he is guilty of lying to the public. Period.
david7134 | I'd have to disagree with you insofar as you said… "It really is the same thing that Rather said Bush did. Bush really did pull strings to get his spot, just Rather made up the paper trail."
There is no equivalence here at all. You just seem to be attempting to shift the topic in order to squeeze in a cheap shot at Bush.
In the first place, lying about someone by presenting false "evidence" in a hitherto influential forum, is what Dan Rather did! He was literally attempting to take down a sitting President, and to cause his reelection bid to be destroyed by presenting information which he knew or should have known was false.
What Blumenthal did was to intentionally lie about his own record by falsely claiming that he served in a combat war zone. He did so in order to burnish his credentials among those to whom his claims would matter – veterans and veteran families!
Now they know the truth about him. And the truth is that Blumenthal was a public liar in that regard.
Moreover, as the Attorney General of Connecticut, he is a guardian of the truth in the sense that he is the prosecutor of those who commit perjury, false swearing, and other such offenses against justice. As such, he has made a mockery of that portion of his official duty, by demonstrating his own willingness to lie about a key portion of his past in order to bolster his electability quotient.
For that, he richly deserves what ridicule he is now reaping.
Great post! Keep the heat up on this guy! Now that one of his buddies has been caught lying about his service too. Blumenthal won't be going away unless the heat is kept up on him to the point where the DNC has to do something. I'm sure there's more lies in this den of snakes.
Excellent point, Janelle. Cash for clunkers is of course dead. But making a point that may get lethal Blumenthal ousted – priceless!
"Perhaps most important, no Dems are cutting and running right now. They seem to have closed ranks behind him."
Color me stunned. I've never seen Dems close ranks before liars or crooks before.