The vast majority of the Connecticut media is proving to be an embarrassment to the journalism profession as they either ignore or twist the facts in Attorney General Richard Blumenthal’s Vietnamgate.
As of 2 p.m. Wednesday neither the Hartford Courant, AP, nor the CtMirror.org – the three prime political outlets in the state – have mentioned the fact that a trial attorney working for Blumenthal claims that Blumenthal has been lying about going to Vietnam for at least 18 years.
That is despite the fact that Assistant Attorney General Richard Hine mailed his accusations to The Courant more than a week ago and I published an interview with him on Monday. But then The Courant has not distinguished itself in its coverage of this story, unlike it did covering Republican Gov. John Rowland. This is an interview with the Courant’s political reporter Chris Keating on PBS.
Channel 8 TV’s political reporter Mark Davis did cover the story Tuesday, but implied at the end of his segment “that it was an operative for” Blumenthal’s Democratic opponent Linda McMahon who tipped them off to the story. Maybe Davis did not mean anything by that comment or maybe he doesn’t know that its the job of a political campaign to tip reporters off about stories helpful to them, either way its bush league. Tom Monahan, Channel 30 political reporter, did a straight piece without any spin or attempt to place the blame on a messenger.
To set the record straight, Hine told me that he sent his letter to the Courant, New Haven Register, New Britain Herald, and New York Times, which broke the original story of Blumenthal lying about serving in Vietnam as a Marine, when in fact he did his best to stay out of Vietnam.
After none of the traditional media wrote about his claims (he identified himself as a Reserve Marine Major only and not as a Blumenthal employee) he turned to blogger Don Pesci who published his letter on Sunday. Pesci told me about the story, knowing I cover the Attorney General’s office and am not afraid to call them as I see them.
On Monday I interviewed Hine and discovered in that telephone conversation that Hine is and has been a trial attorney for the Attorney General’s office for about 24 years. I published that interview Monday morning. As is the practice in many campaigns, McMahon’s people saw my column and sent out emails to the other media notifying them.
A fellow journalist asked me yesterday why I thought the Connecticut media was giving Blumenthal an easy ride. While I don’t have all the answers, I have some ideas:
First of all Dick Blumenthal spent hours a day returning every phone call that any reporter made to him about any and all topics. His “spokesmen” are not permitted to talk on the record with any reporter. Thereby Dick ingratiated himself with a lot of reporters who feel a bond with him.
Many reporters in Connecticut are liberal Democrats who can’t stand the idea that a woman from the entertainment industry could become the state’s Senator.
And keep in mind, when the famous investigating reporter Jack Anderson broke the Senator Tom Dodd scandal in the late 1960s, the Connecticut media, including The Courant, didn’t jump all over that story either.
But Courant Columnist Rick Green finally woke up that there might be an issue and wrote a blog that was posted Wednesday night, where he erroneously said that Blumenthal had already apologized for his misstatements. He also made it clear that he has an excellent smell detector – probably from being VERY CLOSE to the Courant honchos – and has doubts about Hine’s story. I left the following comment on his blog and we can see if Rick permits it to be published:
It would be good if you got at least some of your facts right Rick (never mind your sinus condition). Please tell us where and when Blumenthal apologized for misstating he served in Vietnam. He only apologized for misspeaking. Now I know that English is your mother tongue and its my second language, but I seem to recall that there is quite a bit of difference between the words misspeak – which means innocently – and misstate – which means on purpose.
George Gombossy, a former fan of yours.
So it didn’t help that it was the New York Times’ Washington Reporter Raymond Hernandez who broke the Blumenthal Vietnamgate last month. The Connecticut media has spent more time vilifying the New York Times for not running a whole video (just the part where Blumenthal was caught lying) than actually reporting on the facts and how Blumenthal still insists that he only misspoke, not misstated his military “career.”
There have been some journalists who have covered the latest aspect of the issue in Connecticut:
RADIO VICE ONLINE
Jim Vicevich
http://radioviceonline.com/blumenthal-staffer-says-the-ag-repeatedly-told-the-vietnam-lie/
DAILY RUCTIONS BLOG
By Kevin Rennie
June 7, 2010
http://www.dailyructions.com/another-tale-from-vietnam/
MANCHESTER JOURNAL INQUIRER
By Don Michak
June 8, 2010
NEW HAVEN REGISTER
By Ed Stannard
Wednesday, June 09, 2010
http://www.nhregister.com/articles/2010/06/09/news/aa1_ctblumhine060910.txt
NEW BRITAIN HERALD
By James Craven
Tuesday, June 8, 2010 6:48 PM EDT
http://www.bristolpress.com/articles/2010/06/08/news/doc4c0ec88063cff003430678.txt
By Brian Lockhart
June 7, 2010 at 7:09 pm
Shameful, but not at all surprising. Keep at it, George.
The stink of this VIET-RAMBLUMEY-GATE business has gone to far.—SHINE THE
LIGHT OVER HERE and TAKE THE PICTURES OF ME, ME, ME, ME, ME, BLUMEY.
The drive media is a joke. I was in Virginia this pass week and CT is viewed as a
LAUGHING STOCK for its’ candidates and its’ press. The Biden picture and joke of
not pulling a Blumenthal is akin to a Lowinsky. This is just the tip of the PATHOLOGY
that this fella is dealing with in his personal thoughts. HE IS A VERY SICK PERSON.
I will not give him acclaim of ‘ man.’ I have dealt with people for over 37years in
grading and diagnsotics-this person see many things besides SELF in the mirror.
PETITION CANDIDATE–EDWARD JACHIMOWSKI-for SENATE-indep. conservative