Spin This, Dick

Attempts at damage control are already underway for the disgraced Connecticut Attorney General Richard (Dick) Blumenthal. But there's just no ambiguity here. He says he served in Vietnam and he didn't. Some things you just can't spin, try as hard as you might.

Previewing a campaign event tomorrow, Myers wrote that "Dick has a long record of standing up for veterans. Tomorrow, veterans will be standing up with Dick."

Dick may have a long record, but how will we know those standing up for Dick are actual veterans? Can we get a check of their records, Dick?

Assorted reaction here this morning.

While the Linda McMahon campaign is taking credit for feeding the info to the Times, it's worth noting GOP contender Rob Simmons actually served in Vietnam.

Rob’s public service career began when he enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1965 as a Private, and spent 19 months in Vietnam where he earned two Bronze Star Medals. Rob continued his military service in the U.S. Army Reserve as a Military Intelligence Officer, retiring as a Colonel in 2003 with over 37 years of active and reserve service.

He is past commander of the 434th Military Intelligence (MI) Detachment New Haven, CT, which won the Reserve Officers Association’s Outstanding Small Unit Award in 1996. In 1998, Rob was recognized by for his contributions to the Military Intelligence Corps with the Knowlton Award for "Integrity, Moral Character, Professional Competence and Selflessness.”

Replacement candidates for Blumenthal are already being mentioned.

A New York Times report Monday night that Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal had lied about serving in Vietnam had pundits and pollsters across the nation speculating about the impact that it will have on an already tough mid-season election for Democrats.

Speculation immediately turned to Northwest Connecticut’s local congressman, 5th District U.S. Rep. Chris Murphy, as a possible “replacement” candidate should this revelation be a death blow for the Blumenthal campaign.

An organization called Public Policy Polling tested Murphy against potential Republican nominees Linda McMahon and Rob Simmons in early January. He led both by 7 points, but the organization said the poll basically functioned as “generic Democrat” against McMahon or Simmons since Murphy has “low name recognition” statewide.

Connecticut Senate Race Set to Become Clown Show

Memo to the Conencticut GOP: Put the kibosh on this one right now. While the obvious goal is to rid us of the odious and corrupt Christopher Dodd, the last thing you need is to have a woman with a cattle car of baggage such as Linda McMahon, who as recently as 2006 was giving money to Democrats. If she's anything like her husband you need to distance yourselves as fast as possible.

World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) CEO Linda McMahon appears primed to run for Senate in Connecticut and should make an announcement very soon, according to sources with knowledge of her deliberations.

“A decision is imminent, and she will likely make a decision over the next couple of days,” said a Republican strategist. “It will be made sooner rather than later.”

One well-placed source said McMahon is “99 percent” in. Another said the announcement could come as early as Wednesday.

The second source noted that she has done polling on the race and hired consultants Mike Slanker and Patrick Sullivan. She has also brought on former National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) spokesman Ed Patru to help with early communications.

Patru said McMahon hasn’t made a decision yet.

“She is taking into consideration a number of factors, including resources and the time commitment it would take to win,” he said. “She plays to win, so if she gets in, she’s in all the way. She has the capacity to bring considerable resources to the race, and she has an established record.”

McMahon, the wife of WWE Chairman Vince McMahon, would throw a big wrench into the race against Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) simply by virtue of her ability to spend potentially tens of millions of dollars of her own money on the race.

The absolute last thing the GOP needs is to have some political neophyte buy herself a nomination and then watch the media and Dodd pose this basic question to her: Why do so many of your employees drop dead at such a young age after rampant steroid abuse?

Is this an image the GOP needs? If that's not enough, consider this:

No stranger to Connecticut Republican politics, McMahon has been an active supporter of GOP causes and politicians. But she has also given to Democrats over the years, including to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) in 2006 when it knocked off two Connecticut Republicans in the House.

Sounds like a committed Republican, no?