Tim Kaine: Richard Blumenthal 'Wrong' To Mislead On Vietnam (VIDEO)

Democratic National Committee Chairman Tim Kaine said on Sunday that while Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal was "wrong" to suggest he fought in the Vietnam War (he didn't) the exaggerations wouldn't end up costing him with voters.

Doing a round of Sunday news shows, Kaine forcefully affirmed that he thought Blumenthal had erred in leaving the impression he had actually seen combat during the Vietnam era.

"Those statements were wrong. Period," Kaine told ABC's "This Week." "They were wrong and it was very important for him to acknowledge that and clear that up."

But when pressed if voters would recoil at supporting Blumenthal for Senate -- now that a trust gap, however wide, had emerged -- Kaine expressed minimal concern. Blumenthal, he stressed, was known as a champion of veteran's issues in the state. Even more important, the DNC leader said, were the times when he properly stated his Vietnam history.

"Because he stated so many times the accurate version, I think in the middle of a speech [Blumenthal] got carried away or went away from the text and clearly overstated, exaggerated and it was important he correct that," Kaine told "Fox News Sunday." "But as people who covered him for years pointed out, numerous instances of him completely accurately describing his military service, which was service that he should be proud of. So, this is something I agree with [RNC] Chairman [Michael Steele] The Connecticut voters will wrestle with it, but they just happen to know this guy very, very well.

Asked on ABC whether Connecticut Democrats had a contingency plan in case it became untenable for Blumenthal to run for office, Kaine replied: "I'm not aware of any contingency plan up there... they're going ahead."

Watch Kaine's interview on ABC:

Comments

[duxguts]

10:51 PM on 05/24/2010

Please don't use the word "mislead". The politically correct way to describe lying is to use the word "misspeak". Thank you very much.

[kpresidente]

08:55 PM on 05/24/2010

Of course it was wrong. The guy's a lying creep.

[DickyTrik]

07:25 PM on 05/24/2010

the man serving as Connecticut's highest ranking defender of law (for years), also deserves to be defended.
while, no, he did not actually serve in 'nam, it should be noted that at no time during his tour there was New Haven overrun by Charlie

[esalter]

03:33 PM on 05/24/2010

Does it matter when it's an unjust war and we loose it anyways or are we re-writing the history on this also.

[CTtransplant]

06:43 PM on 05/24/2010

It doesn't matter at all. Even to decorated Vietnam Vets like my husband. It's a very petty point, in my opinion, meant to diminish the reputation of a man who has consistently looked out for the people of CT.

[Salty 2]

06:46 PM on 05/24/2010

It would be a differant story if he was a Rep.

[WhatACountry]

10:39 AM on 05/24/2010

The man lied. Admit what you did and move on, PLEASE!

[wilson0004]

10:04 AM on 05/24/2010

Richard Blumenthat is a real piece of work, and a lying sack of sh&% as well. He has convinced some pretty stupid people, veterans included. They if anybody should be ashamed of this jerk. He is no longer to be considered truthful or reliable. As far as the Vets are concerned, he has no value to them. If they trust him, they the Vet’s, are just as stupid and unreliable as he is. In plain simple English, he is nothing better the north end of a southbound mule. By the way, no disrespect intended to the mule. I would probably like the mule better.

[leftheaded]

07:56 AM on 05/24/2010

Not sure why anyone would claim being part of a misguided American war of agression as a badge of honor. WWII? I'll grant you that one. But none of the others in the last hundred years.

[Steve1976]

08:33 AM on 05/24/2010

Bravely spoken by someone who obviously never served in the armed forces of the United States.

[audadvnc]

11:09 AM on 05/24/2010

I did. And most of the wars America's been in for the past 70 years have been colonial wars of agression. Happy now?

[WhatACountry]

10:38 AM on 05/24/2010

Does that mean that the men and women who served in this "misguided" war should not get the respect and honor they deserve?

[audadvnc]

11:10 AM on 05/24/2010

A draftee would be there because he had to. Nowadays, men join the army so they can kill somebody and get away with it.

[mady]

07:06 AM on 05/24/2010

I'm getting tired of this story. Didn't Dan Rather lose his job trying to verify Bush's actual reserve record with what he claimed he did? It seems like there is a double standard when the misspeaker is a Republican.

[banker67]

07:24 AM on 05/24/2010

Except Rather was sandbagged, set up by Rove. Bush did go AWOL, but by setting up Rather with an interviewee who intended to later deny what he said, they tricked Rather. Because this one guy lied to Rather, the media discredited the entire story -- as Rove planned.
The story is almost certainly true. Ask any veteran when he was discharged. Only Bush isn't sure because he just left, knowing his rich and powerful oil family would cover it all up.
Meanwhile, why would anyone be proud to have served in Vietnam? The whole thing was a pointless, horrific slaughter based on an incident then-Secretary of Defense McNamara didn't believe was real. And how's Vietnam doing now? They're a socialist country with an increasing reputation as a reliable international trading partner.
Guess Johnson, Dulles, McNamara, Kissinger, Nixon and all the joint chiefs were slightly wrong about that domino theory, eh? And how many Americans remember that China attacked Vietnam after the Americans were defeated and driven out? Yes, Commie China tried to invade Commie Vietnam and the Chinese got torn to shreds. All the death, destruction and wasted money just to keep American politicians in office. Ain't we a little tired of THAT scenario?

[audadvnc]

11:12 AM on 05/24/2010

It seems that anyone who spoke out against Bush lost his job. Phil Donahue was at the top of the media major leagues. One day he came out against Bush's Iraq war, the next day his series was cancelled. "It seems" you may be onto something...

[gifu]

05:44 AM on 05/24/2010

The lesser of two freaky, self-absorbed evils/egos. Democracy sure does suck, at times......

[Slapmewhenitsover]

04:17 PM on 05/27/2010

Nice structure here. Thanks again.

[lj50307]

04:42 AM on 05/24/2010

He did not mislead he LIED

[Nonamnesiac]

02:49 AM on 05/24/2010

Like Obama, Blumenthal is truly fortunate the Republicans have become dominated by stupid, useless, know-nothings propped up by the Frank Luntz's of the world. The people of CT have a choice between a highly competent, lying self-promoter (Blumenthal) or the queen of the steroid-dominated WWF -- an active promoter and leader of the WWF when steroids dominated. If the Republicans ran almost anyone intelligent, honorable and decent, instead of this backwards, anti-humane, anti-working families woman, they could easily have taken this seat. Given the choice, the people of CT have no choice and will elect Richard Blumenthal, who may visit Vietnam as Senator so he could truthfully say he's been there.

And the funny thing, outside of the stupid, corrupt right-wing nuts, no one would have faulted Blumenthal if he didn't fight in Vietnam anyway.

[V-rod]

02:06 AM on 05/24/2010

Most who have the patience to be lifelong politicians are natural liars.

[Margot Sheehan]

12:30 AM on 05/24/2010

Anyone who served between 1964 and 1975 is considered a 'Viet-Nam Era Veteran' for VA purposes. So Blumey already has one foot in the door. Like most people, he didn't want to be cannon-fodder or be abused by halfwit cracker DI's, so he took his five deferments but eventually bit the bullet (which he still might have evaded) and went to Parris Island. This means the guy had more service than most of his generation. If the veterans' groups like him, that's good enough for me. Nowadays, with your Princeton-grad General Petraeus, and high-gloss pictures like 'The Hurt Locker' and 'The Green Zone,' it's easy to lose sight of how the Vietnam fiasco really seemed at the time.

[Freddy3704]

12:35 AM on 05/24/2010

Interesting logic...he was "Viet-Nam era" and because there are movies about Viet-nam and General Petraeus didn't serve, then his lie is OK?

[Margot Sheehan]

12:38 AM on 05/24/2010

Yup.

[UpFromLiberalism]

04:08 AM on 05/24/2010

he's a democrat degenerate liar

but

he's our democrat degenerate liar

[Archmichael]

12:12 AM on 05/24/2010

I served in the infantry in Vietnam, '69-'70. That doesn't make me special, but if someone should be offended, I'd certainly be a candidate. No?

My thought is this: it was stoooopid of Blumenthal to say what he did, even though he previously said - correctly - he served during "The Viet Nam Era". He's a bright guy. He oughta be able to keep "in" and "during" straight.

I just don't feel globally offended. For cross-reference, see a piece by Henry Allen (in today's Denver Post. You can google it, I'm sure. It's entitled "Why they lie about Vietnam").

"The case can be made that these men ... often acted legally and even honorably in using their social status and intelligence to stay out of Vietnam. ... Vietnam veterans who don't care whether somebody served have had to sit through plaintive confessions. ... What demon haunts him and others like him? What inconsolable regret provoked these desperate lies?"

I don't know what inconsolable regret, or something else completely, moved the guy to say what he did. What I do (believe I) know, is that we as a society are still so caught up in that 40-year-old experience, that it shapes how we see and project ourselves today. It's not just Blumenthal --- it's America. Our national inferiority complex.

Can we please get over it now? Or at least some time soon? Honest dialogue would be helpful, rather than trying always to affix Blame. As if that makes things better.............

[greeneyes51654m]

12:17 AM on 05/24/2010

SO then, what your saying is that it wouldn't matter to you if it was a Democrat or a Republican who had said the same thing, right? Just curious.

[CTtransplant]

12:22 PM on 05/24/2010

Exactly! Admit it, be done with it, move on!

[Mafdet]

12:25 AM on 05/24/2010

You seem to think that people are concerned about this lie because of the affront that it is to people who did serve combat duty in Viet Nam. For a lot of us, that is not the issue here. I wish everyone had been able to secure deferments during the Viet Nam war. As much as anything, the war was infamous because the burden of it was born by the poor and the powerless of this country who couldn't go to college to evade the war.

I don't think that Blumenthal is exaggerating his service because he thinks it is important to the voters. Voters, even those with a personal stake in Viet Nam like you, don't care. I think Blumenthal is exaggerating his role in Viet Nam to bolster his current positions vis a vis Iraq and Afghanistan. And, God forbid, future decisions about Iran. My concern about Blumenthal is that although he could not bring himself to kill or be killed in a war for profit, he will not hesitate to consign others to that task.

THAT IS A BIG PROBLEM.

[tjconkster]

11:59 PM on 05/23/2010

O.K. I'm not a vet but I had to register for the draft during Viet Nam but the war was over when I graduated in 1976...I went into Law Enforcement and raised a family. But I had friends, friends of friends and family that served and died there....I never claimed to have served and never will its disrespectful to those did. So many in my generation claim they were there, I guess to compensate for something..The Hulu link is an interseting story by Brian Ross...Its worth checking out..Just so you know, I am a Liberal leaning Progressive..but this kind of shite really grinds my gears...

Kris Kristofferson - Why Me (Lord) - The Highwaymen - live at Nassau Coliseum 1990
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_LkezUKS40&feature=related

Richard Blumenthal's Misspoken Vietnam Remarks; Sebastian Junger's New Book 'War'
http://www.hulu.com/watch/151328/abc-brian-ross-investigates-fri-may-21-2010?c=News-and-Information#s-p1-so-i0

[UpFromLiberalism]

04:11 AM on 05/24/2010

he's a democrat degenerate liar

but

he's our democrat degenerate liar