BLOG

False in one thing, false in everything

In the Kavanaugh hearings the other day, Senator Blumenthal, a Democrat from Connecticut, brought up the legal principle that if a witness lies in one matter, the jury does not have to believe anything they say.

https://twitter.com/SenBlumenthal/status/1045430208810168322

He was implying that Brett Kavanaugh was lying by denying the 36-year old charges brought by Dr. Christine Blasey Ford.

The problem is that there is no evidence that Kavanaugh was lying, but it was well established that Ford herself lied many times. She claimed that she had a fear of flying, trying to get out of testifying in Washington. But the hearings showed that she flew around the country and the world regularly—many times a year—including flying to vacation spots. She also changed her testimony a number of times, and yet Blumenthal had no problem telling her that he believed her story.

Therefore, by Blumenthal’s own standard of measure, he and the entire senate committee should disregard anything in Dr. Ford’s testimony. On the other hand, there was nothing in Judge Kavanaugh’s testimony that indicated that he was lying.

The hypocrisy found in both of the major political parties is evident, but the Democratic Party is now onstage, showing its seedy side in the Kavanaugh hearings.

A few years ago, when Blumenthal was running for election to the senate, it was discovered that he had been lying for years about his Vietnam war record. This fake “war hero” had gone to great lengths to obtain “at least five military deferments from 1965 to 1970” in order to avoid being sent to Vietnam. The New York Times wrote:

https://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/18/nyregion/18blumenthal.html

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.

So after Senator Blumenthal questioned Kavanaugh’s credibility, Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas questioned Blumenthal’s credibility.

https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/408857-rep-sen-blumenthal-lied-for-years-should-reconsider-questioning-kavanaughs

Senator Tom Cotton (R-Ark) ripped into Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) on Thursday for lying about his military service and then questioning Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh's credibility.

"@SenBlumenthal lied for years about serving in Vietnam, which is all you need to know about his courage & honesty," Cotton, who is not on the Senate Judiciary Committee, tweeted during the questioning. "Maybe he should reconsider before questioning Judge Kavanaugh’s credibility."

It is amazing that Blumenthal won his own election, that so many people in his state did not seem to care whether he was a long-time liar or not. Of course, it may be that the election was rigged. We know that the elections have been rigged ever since they stopped using paper ballots in favor of a computerized process that is so easily hacked. But if he won “fair and square,” he is a shining example of the truth that in politics we get what we deserve.