The Shameless Richard Blumenthal
Guy Benson
During yesterday's confirmation hearing for Defense Secretary-designate Pete Hegseth, Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) sprung something of a pop quiz on President-elect Trump's nominee. The Senator asked if Hegseth knew how many Americans currently serve in the Army, Navy and Marine Corps. Hegseth nailed two of the three, and was in the ballpark of the third. Having failed to induce the nominee into flunking his test, Blumenthal went on to assert that Hegseth lacks the necessary experience to lead an institution as vast as the Department of Defense -- diminishing his credentials as "communication skills" worthy of a spokesperson role, rather than a cabinet secretary:
https://twitter.com/EricLDaugh/status/1879202312477909279Whatever you think of this line of questioning (I wonder how many members of that committee could have answered accurately), and regardless of your thoughts on Hegseth's nomination (I strongly recommend watching his opening statement to understand why so many rank-and-file warriors are vociferously supporting his confirmation), let's take a moment to talk about this particular inquisitor. It feels like something of a sick joke that Blumenthal sits on the Senate Armed Services Committee at all. He's certainly in no position to lecture anyone else on military matters or to sit in judgment of decorated war fighters. Why? Because unlike Hegseth and many others, Blumenthal was never a war fighter himself. That's not unusual, of course; most Americans are civilians. But most Americans did not lie about it for their entire adult lives and political careers until they got caught. The New York Times busted Blumenthal years ago:
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 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...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.more
https://townhall.com/tipsheet/guybenson/2025/01/15/the-shameless-richard-blumenthal-n2650545
