Blumenthal lead drops to … three
posted at 9:30 am on May 19, 2010 by Ed Morrissey
And that’s against Linda McMahon, who initially took credit for exposing Richard Blumenthal’s serial fabrications about his service during the Vietnam era. Rasmussen polled 500 likely voters in Connecticut the day after the New York Times dropped its bombshell report, and found Blumenthal’s formerly massive leads in the Senate race evaporating rapidly:
Following a New York Timesreport that he exaggerated his military record, Democratic Senate hopeful Richard Blumenthal has lost ground in match-ups against all his potential Republican challengers in Connecticut.
The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of Likely Voters in Connecticut finds Blumenthal with just a three-point advantage over Linda McMahon, 48% to 45%. Two weeks ago, he led the former CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment by 13 percentage points. The New York Times story broke late Monday; the survey was taken Tuesday evening.
When matched against former GOP Congressman Rob Simmons, Blumenthal leads by 11 – 50% to 39%. Two weeks ago, the longtime state attorney general held a 23-point lead over Simmons.
Blumenthal now leads Peter Schiff, a high-profile Wall Street investment banker, 53% to 37%. In the previous survey, he posted a 54% to 29% lead over Schiff.
The good news for Blumenthal is that he has any leads at all. Normally, a revelation of this magnitude would destroy a career within hours. So far, his attempts to spin his lies into some sort of unfair media attack may have stanched the bleeding … for now. However, a majority (53%) said that this will be at least a somewhat important issue for them when it comes to the general election, and that means any further evidence of Blumenthal’s arrogation of undeserved credit will sink him even further.
Otherwise, likely voters are surprisingly forgiving. Only 26% felt Blumenthal should withdraw. Only the youngest voters had a majority for withdrawal (51/43), and only 51% of Republicans agreeing. Some of the 34% who disagreed may have been thinking strategically in that a wounded Blumenthal may be an easier target than a fresh Democrat, but that looks more like an acquiescence among a large number of Connecticut Republicans. The most surprising demographic on that question was among black voters, where a 46% plurality thought Blumenthal should quit, against only 33% who thought he should not, almost the same as Republicans and very much different from the 9/75 seen with Democrats.
There are other interesting results from Rasmussen’s internals, and these don’t look as good for Blumenthal as the toplines do, considering the news from this week. Ninety percent of likely voters have closely watched the news of Arizona’s new immigration-enforcement law, and a plurality wants a law like that in their state, 48/35. Sixty-three percent want law-enforcement officers – in Connecticut — to check immigration status during lawful contact. A 53% majority favors repeal of ObamaCare, with 44% opposing it. Neither of these go very well with the current Democratic narratives, and those in combination with Blumenthal’s fabulism may turn into a toxic blend come November.
Blowback
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I guess he Hoped they wouldn’t Change their minds.
mwdiver on May 19, 2010 at 9:35 AM
Flopping Aces is claiming that one of the veterans on stage with the liar is another liar who has a history of ‘enhancing’ his Vietnam service record…
And what about holding the event at a VFW club? This guy isn’t eligible to be a member of the VFW!
dish on May 19, 2010 at 9:36 AM
This is interesting also.
http://gatewaypundit.firstthings.com/2010/05/breaking-blementhals-soldier-supporter-on-stage-today-is-a-phony-too/
Cindy Munford on May 19, 2010 at 9:36 AM
sorry, forgot the linky:
http://www.floppingaces.net/2010/05/18/blumenthal-lies-about-vietnam-service-says-he-misspoke-but-surrounds-himself-with-other-liars/
dish on May 19, 2010 at 9:37 AM
Cindy Munford on May 19, 2010 at 9:36 AM
Jinx! :)
dish on May 19, 2010 at 9:38 AM
It’s a Dem primary. Typically, the Dems nominate lying socialists. It shouldn’t surprise anyone if Dick gets the nomination. God help us if he gets elected.
Akzed on May 19, 2010 at 9:38 AM
That has been taken care of. The VFW State Commander is all over it. Everyone in the state with the VFW got an email late yesterday afternoon.
That one guy with the fake medals is gonna bring Blumenthal down even further. He is a snake in the grass from what I read.
Johnnyreb on May 19, 2010 at 9:38 AM
Talking about dropping, this bho is now -19 on Rasmussen.
L
letget on May 19, 2010 at 9:38 AM
The polling among CT republicans show why CT republicans keep losing. If this is not an issue to demand resignation then there are precious few to do so on. The dem Blumenthal is a lying dirtbag and is still lying about his lies. What else is in his closet? Why should voters trust a man who’d say anything for power?
eaglewingz08 on May 19, 2010 at 9:39 AM
WTF?
Weren’t Donks aghast at G. W. Bush’s military record? Why isn’t this a show-stopper for this Dick?
hawkdriver on May 19, 2010 at 9:39 AM
…drops to three one day after the lie is revealed. Half of the potential voters probably haven’t even heard of it yet.
Vashta.Nerada on May 19, 2010 at 9:40 AM
IMO, the differences between McMahon, Simmons, and Blumenthal aren’t that great. It just depends on which way the wind is blowing that day.
Notorious GOP on May 19, 2010 at 9:41 AM
OOOH Yeah!! Dig it!
Caper29 on May 19, 2010 at 9:42 AM
LOL!!
Cindy Munford on May 19, 2010 at 9:43 AM
That was rhetorical right? Are you back home (base)?
Cindy Munford on May 19, 2010 at 9:44 AM
Yep. VFW leader rips Blumenthal
Pablo on May 19, 2010 at 9:45 AM
Maybe Blumenthal should stay in the race. After all as Ric Flair would say, “to be the man, you gotta beat the man.”
Doughboy on May 19, 2010 at 9:45 AM
Time to rally around Linda this summer. All the Scott Brown folks in Massachusettes need to cross the border to Connecticut and get rolling for Linda.
RobCon on May 19, 2010 at 9:46 AM
FWIW, all of those links above are second hand. As I pointed out in the Headlines thread, I think Free Republic was the first to run this story.
Also, didn’t Jim Geraghty mention another “shoe” would drop? Did I miss the shoe?
LastRick on May 19, 2010 at 9:46 AM
Yep and yep. Just catching up.
hawkdriver on May 19, 2010 at 9:46 AM
I’m torn. He should resign over this, but strategically this is the best chance the Republicans have to pick up the seat.
And for anyone in the state, why isn’t Schiff polling better?
BadgerHawk on May 19, 2010 at 9:47 AM
It’s snowing today Cindy so it looks like I’ll be able to take it easy. Woo Hoo!
thomasaur on May 19, 2010 at 9:48 AM
I thought about trying to meet you out on I95 as you went by but trying to get anything done is like herding cats. Looking forward to celebrating your retirement on HA. One day there will be a HA convention.
Cindy Munford on May 19, 2010 at 9:50 AM
I wonder why that is!
canopfor on May 19, 2010 at 9:51 AM
Snowing? Has no one mentioned that it is May? I am sure that’s a two edged sword, a day of rest but a day of nothing done. I hope you don’t lose any progress you have made.
Cindy Munford on May 19, 2010 at 9:51 AM
I think you’d be surprised. After the initial story broke, a heavily commented diary quickly went up on Daily Kos and it certainly had its share of commenters that thought the lie was egregious enough for Blumenthal to drop out. I think it was Ed pointing out in the media post, lying about service is a line even too far for those on the left. HOWEVER, as was pointed out on Daily Kos, who would the Dems run in Blumenthal’s place? Lamont’s a non-starter and to pull a candidate from another race (say, a House election) is to endanger THAT race as well.
LastRick on May 19, 2010 at 9:51 AM
You answered your own thought it was Bush. This guy is a dim.
chemman on May 19, 2010 at 9:52 AM
He is literally an unknown entity here, and most likely will remain so thanks to the LLL media in the state.
Johnnyreb on May 19, 2010 at 9:55 AM
I’m ahead of the game so no progress will be lost. We live @ 8880 feet so snow in May is kind of like rain just a little colder. We’re considering a move back to Arizona. *_-
thomasaur on May 19, 2010 at 9:56 AM
Dick?
hawkdriver on May 19, 2010 at 9:39 AM
hawkdriver: Good Morning HawkDriver heres your official
welcome back to the U.S.S.Hot Air,I’ll pipe
you aboard!!:)
And,now,we dance!!:)
================================================
AC DC Thunderstruck
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-f1cwycSWq0
canopfor on May 19, 2010 at 9:57 AM
Back from your resort vacation already? Army pukes have it easy.
Bishop on May 19, 2010 at 9:57 AM
that press conference yesterday was a puke storm
i watched that slow motion train wreck with gleeee/disgust
blatantblue on May 19, 2010 at 10:00 AM
As for Bloomers, if the voters of that state elect him they should all be forcibly committed. What does a demorat turd have to do to get voters to turn on him?
Bishop on May 19, 2010 at 10:00 AM
Liberals are on The Precipice!!
canopfor on May 19, 2010 at 10:00 AM
Oh, they’ve all lied about their military career? Hadn’t heard that.
Midas on May 19, 2010 at 10:01 AM
That’s a nice drop in support for the liar. I’m guessing that as more people become aware, support will diminish even further.
More good news:
Can anyone tell me why The One has dropped 9 points on Rasmussen since the weekend? He’s now at a well deserved -19. Not complaining, but what did I miss?
IrishEi on May 19, 2010 at 10:02 AM
CT voters must like Bloomer’s combover. Did anyone else see him when his back was to the camera.
Geez. Get plugs or go with the “Mr. Clean” look.
BuckeyeSam on May 19, 2010 at 10:03 AM
All of that is true. There is no Dem candidate that can jump in now and pull it off. Blumenthal has to stay in the race. Everyone else has declared they are running for some other office already.
Johnnyreb on May 19, 2010 at 10:03 AM
As for Bloomers, if the voters of that state elect him they should all be forcibly committed. What does a demorat turd have to do to get voters to turn on him?
Bishop on May 19, 2010 at 10:00 AM
Bishop: I think your on to something,maybe its covered in
Hopeys HealthScare, Mental Faculty Certification!!
–:)
canopfor on May 19, 2010 at 10:04 AM
In my opinion notorious GOP is correct that all 3 are about the same. If Simmons or McMahon could win it would at least add another R for a majority / minority debate. I live in northern Fairfield county. We don’t get much CT news here, its all from NYC. Simmons has always seemed like RINO to and from what I’ve seen from McMahon, she is not very well spoken. I will say though that her marketing campaign via the USPS does a fine job. I get the feeling that Simmons is short on cash and name recognition and that’s why he is not as competitive as McMahon.
CTSherman on May 19, 2010 at 10:05 AM
Me thinks,Obama has had himself a ‘Teachable Moment’!!
canopfor on May 19, 2010 at 10:06 AM
I am sure they would be glad to see you in Arizona. You’re legal right? I am in Virginia right now, it is gray and chilly by Florida standards but good for getting things down outside.
Cindy Munford on May 19, 2010 at 10:06 AM
I’m with you. Every time I see Schiff interviewed, I wonder why he gets no traction. Especially as I watch that criminal Dodd fumble his way through financial reform–completely ignoring Fannie and Freddie–Schiff strikes as a perfect way for CT voters to flush Dodd out of the country’s system.
BuckeyeSam on May 19, 2010 at 10:07 AM
COME ON!
Give this guy a break .
I for one can see how easy it would to be to confuse Paris Island with Viet Nam .
I mean after all both have air and water …………
The real question should be why no one in the media had stumbled on this before .
Remember how the media hounded W over his stay in Montgomery ?
I can tell you first hand that reporters and operatives called any and every one that COULD have been at the 187th at Dannelly Field in Montgomery .
Put yourself in the place of a widow that receives a call from TIME and wants to know if she ever saw W walking around the airfield .
This guy had NUMEROUS deferments , obviously he was doing EVERYTHING he could to keep from going to VIETNAM .
Where is the investigation to see who used INFLUENCE to keep him out of the war
OOOOOOOOOOOPS I forgot he isnt conservative so that witch hunt will not be forthcoming.
Maybe it’s just poor judgement , he cant draw the line between the 4,00 inhabitants of Port Royal South Carolina and the huge Military jet he would have boarded to fly to Vietnam ……………………..
He is going to have to not only drop out of the race but also resign as AG
OVER / Under is June 6 th ( D DAY ) can you imagine the protest if this clown is around for that historic date ?
ELMO Q on May 19, 2010 at 10:12 AM
Cut pork to his district/state.
Good Solid B-Plus on May 19, 2010 at 10:13 AM
In Virginia we have a gentleman with a story similar to Marco Rubio running for Rep. Nye’s seat. His name is Ben Loyola. But so far he isn’t getting much attention. Other then the fact that he has Mel Martinez’s face on his site he seems excellent. http://www.benloyola.com/
Cindy Munford on May 19, 2010 at 10:14 AM
LastRick on May 19, 2010 at 9:46 AM
I did see the freeper link, but I checked out Flopping Aces and Gateway Pundit link to the POW network. (pownetwork dot org) They are the ones who have the info on this CJ Tumpower aka Elliott Storm character that Free Republic reported.
dish on May 19, 2010 at 10:19 AM
I hope you are right, but I don’t think you understand the media whore that Blumenthal really is. It came to light for me when he arrived in our town because Home Depot was building a big plaza with some other stores and a retaining wall broke and some lady’s garden got flooded out. He called a huge press conference for a flooded garden, that they were going to fix anyway. With Blumenthal, it’s all about him 24/7.
Johnnyreb on May 19, 2010 at 10:23 AM
I’m in the coast mode till Dec 1st. Life “is” good! I should start a blog for what exactly your tax dollars are paying for until I actually punch out.
(If you were upset about paying for Jimbo3′s healthcare, wait’ll you see my “outprocessing” pictures)
You and James should have said something. I mean, you could have literally walked up to my truck on 495 as I sat in interstate purgatory for almost 2 hours trying to get to Route 15.
hawkdriver on May 19, 2010 at 10:25 AM
How is the guy up in the polls at all?
People on the east coast appear only slightly less brain dead than those on the west coast.
ORconservative on May 19, 2010 at 10:26 AM
That would be a serious understatement. Linda is charisma-deficient to say the least and doesn’t have the gift of gab that her husband and son have.
In THIS election season, though, that may not be an issue considering how many people are pissed off at Captain Hope-And-Change.
teke184 on May 19, 2010 at 10:26 AM
Good point. Kudos to Rasmussen for seizing on this story to run a poll so soon after the story broke, but it’s very possible that a lot of Connecticut voters might have missed the story, if the NY Times article was not picked up by some other local papers and TV stations. The full effect of this revelation might not be known for three or four days.
Linda McMahon is running closest to Blumenthal FOR NOW, but a swing of veterans and/or military supporters away from him will most likely benefit Rob Simmons, who DID serve in Vietnam, and worked hard to save the submarine base in Groton while he was a Congressman.
Linda McMahon has run lots of TV ads against Blumenthal, but most of her very numerous mailings have been trashing Simmons as a RINO “voting with Pelosi 58% of the time”, while saying very little about what she would do as a Senator if elected. It’s not clear whether she would be the best GOP candidate to take down Blumenthal.
Simmons’ mailings have been focused more on his own achievements as a Congressman, and Blumenthal’s liberalism, but he’s been almost absent on TV. It will be interesting to see how both McMahon and Simmons adjust their campaigns to the revelations of Blumenthal’s lies about Vietnam.
If McMahon does win the GOP nomination, I am well placed to work for her–she has a campaign HQ about a mile from my house in West Hartford!
Steve Z on May 19, 2010 at 10:30 AM
We sat in traffic on the way up. Around Exit 150 in N.C. on 95, they are repaving. I am not going to mention names but somebody wasn’t happy.
Cindy Munford on May 19, 2010 at 10:33 AM
Here’s my post from the headlines thread:
Schiff isn’t polling better, because we’ve heard virtually nothing from him. Simmons is doing pretty well over here in the Eastern half of the state because we know him from his time in the House. He managed to unseat a long time popular D representative, and only lost to Courtney in ’06 by less than 100 votes. Yes, he may be a bit of a RINO, at least on social issues (something McMahon’s mailings to delegates this last week or so has been emphasizing), but this *is* Connecticut, and he’s sound on national security, and pretty good on fiscal too as far as I can tell, and that’s a damn site better than what we’ve got for our district right now (Joe “Those Who Rule Them in Washington” Courtney – ptui!)
LibraryGryffon on May 19, 2010 at 10:36 AM
http://www.vfw.org/index.cfm
canopfor on May 19, 2010 at 10:45 AM
.
When asked to comment on this,
Blumenthal had this to say:
“I’ve seen some things, man, and some stuff.”
mrt721 on May 19, 2010 at 10:56 AM
It looks like Blumenthal just gave McMahon more ammunition to use against him with his press conference with other fake warriors in it.
Is this guy really this stupid and if so how did he ever get elected to any office?
JeffinSac on May 19, 2010 at 11:05 AM
If the bluest of blue states elect a known liar like this, they get what they deserve. We all will have to put up with someone else they helped send to DC that will lie again to our faces. He even had a fake marine standing next to him. Is this the best MA has to offer the country?
Kissmygrits on May 19, 2010 at 11:07 AM
It’s not clear to me that Simmons is REALLY a RINO, although McMahon tries to paint him that way. Simmons may be short on cash, since I don’t get much from him in the Hartford area (whereas McMahon is all over the airwaves here), and his “base” is in eastern CT.
McMahon does have a well-funded and effective marketing campaign, but it remains to be seen whether she can be effective in a debate against a slick and experienced liar like Blumenthal.
Steve Z on May 19, 2010 at 11:08 AM
FIFY – As I understand that’s how it’s done up there.
pain train on May 19, 2010 at 11:08 AM
Having enlisted in the Marines in late 1969, I know the Reserves had a 6 month waiting list. Even the active Navy and Air Force had waiting lists. And I spent more time in Vietnam than Blumenthal did on active duty.
Blumenthal exhausted his deferments to keep from being drafted and fled to the reserves with “no special help”to get in. (Why did he say that? No one accused him of that). And this BS about no one will impugn my[his] service in the reserves? With his education, he could’ve easily gone to OCS and been commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant instead of a private. He used the deferment game and reserves to escape Vietnam, plain and simple!
cartooner on May 19, 2010 at 11:31 AM
I’m glad to hear that you, as a delegate, are supporting Simmons at the convention, because it seems that Simmons would be a stronger candidate than McMahon (three terms in the House should count for something) if he could get his message out, but McMahon is overwhelming him with a better-funded campaign, and Simmons might not be well-known in the central and western parts of the state.
McMahon is all over the TV in the Hartford market, whereas Simmons is nearly absent. I’m not sure about western CT, but the TV market there is dominated by NYC, which is very expensive to advertise, and many of the CT political ads would be wasted on people living in NY or NJ.
Are McMahon’s repeated attacks on Simmons’ voting record in the House true–did he really vote with Pelosi 58% of the time?
If Simmons does get over 15% of the delegates at the convention, maybe he SHOULD force a primary, and let ALL CT Republicans decide who should represent them against Blumenthal.
Steve Z on May 19, 2010 at 11:35 AM
I’m inclined to agree with you on the primary issue, but I think it’s a matter of money. If Simmons has to spend money on a primary, he might not have it for the general race which would be a lot harder in this state, so he’s announced that he will support whoever wins at the convention.
I haven’t checked all of Rob’s voting record while he was in the House. The stuff I got from McMahon’s campaign about it was specifically looking at his votes on abortion. While important to me, it’s not a deal breaker, at least not this year, since I want someone who has a chance at defeating the Dem candidate, whoever that turns out to be. And I really don’t think that McMahon can collect enough independents and less radical Democrats to win in November. Rob has a much better chance.
And yes, I do realize that Courtney is in the House, not the Senate, and that’s what Rob is running for. 8) It’s been a long couple of weeks – I’m on our town RTM and we’re working on the budget, part 6 of the budget meeting is tonight….
I will be so happy after the 25th when the convention is over, and so is the town budget, and I’m back to two meetings a month rather than three or more a week. My family will be happy too.
LibraryGryffon on May 19, 2010 at 11:47 AM
These idiots need to vote for Peter Schiff.
iamse7en on May 19, 2010 at 12:00 PM
How can a man who’s job in part consists of prosecuting public deception and has a personal gain to be made through his own public deception, remain in his present job without being impeached or forced to resign?
The leftist socialists in CT haven’t enough moral characteer to let one of theirsw getting caught bother them. As the left admitted finally (but, only after the blue dress was discovered) yes, he lied, but he’s our liar!
Don L on May 19, 2010 at 12:25 PM
http://www.politifake.org/it-depends-on-what-the-meaning-of-in-is-marine-political-poster-2507.html
heh
macncheez on May 19, 2010 at 12:26 PM
If Schiff wanted to be taken seriously he would of pumped McMahon type money into his campaign a long time ago.
CTSherman on May 19, 2010 at 12:33 PM
this is why you run on the ISSUES and keep pounding them. All the rhetoric about “change” and washington and the establishment needs to take a second seat to the actual issues, which are on our side!
Daemonocracy on May 19, 2010 at 12:36 PM
Good news for Blummie is that his support % hardly moved.
Bad news is late deciders more likely to go against him.
Sir Napsalot on May 19, 2010 at 12:43 PM
Drowning man helped with boat anchor now asks for the chain to be sent his way… give him a week and underwater he will be. At that point a no-name party apparatchik will run better than him. One of those ‘generic Democrats’. Put a UPC barcode on their head to emphasize that.
ajacksonian on May 19, 2010 at 12:58 PM
http://realclearpolitics.blogs.time.com/2010/05/19/simmons-camp-shoots-bank-shot-at-mcmahon/
Here is a statement from Jim Barnett, Simmons’ campaign manager, posted on RealClearPolitics.com:
Why have McMahon’s millions in ad spending been “uncontested”? If McMahon has a “troubling record” with “Congressional investigations” and “criminal prosecutions”, why don’t we know about it? Why has Simmons allowed McMahon to bash him relentlessly on being a RINO?
Simmons’ service as a “decorated Vietnam veteran” is the perfect counter to Blumenthal’s pretending to be one, but why has he been silent so long?
Steve Z on May 19, 2010 at 1:04 PM
Seriously, this guy is emotionally sick.
There’s something wrong with him.
AnninCA on May 19, 2010 at 1:06 PM
Says a lot about the people of CT when a plurality of them say a sociopathic dirtbag like hum represents who they are as a people.
TheBigOldDog on May 19, 2010 at 1:35 PM
Wrong again Ann. He’s a Donk and simply a liar.
hawkdriver on May 19, 2010 at 5:19 PM
Sent Peter Schiff my donation a few months ago – and I am not from CT :) He makes a ton of sense
wubu on May 19, 2010 at 5:58 PM