Stupid Pols - One From Each Party

I'm sure you know that stupid politicians are not restricted to just one party. On this blog, I am usually pretty hard on Republicans, but I realize there are idiots in the Democratic Party also. A couple of stories have recently come to light that emphasizes this fact.

Let me tackle the Republican first. Yesterday, Rand Paul, son of Texas congressman Ron Paul, won the Kentucky Republican primary. He is now the official candidate for the Republicans for the U.S. Senate in the fall elections. But I have to wonder if most of the people who voted for him know something he recently revealed in an interview.

In a Lexington interview last weekend, Paul made it known that he opposes the Americans With Disabilities Act. This is the law that makes transportation, walkways and business accessible to Americans that have disabilities, including those in wheelchairs. The law has been a big success, and most cities and businesses have had no problem complying with the law. Most of the time this involves nothing more than building a ramp or widening a doorway -- certainly not an onerous expectation.

Most businesses see the small changes they've had to make as a plus, since new customers are now able to have access to their stores. But Rand Paul disagrees. Instead of seeing the law as helpful to millions of Americans with disabilities, Paul says it is unfair to business owners. For him, those with disabilities shouldn't be guaranteed equal access to venues and businesses that other Americans take for granted. Personally, I think that's just a mean-spirited point-of-view.

Equally troubling is the fact that Paul also supports the militia movement. The picture above shows some of his supporters (note the "I'm a Rand fan" stickers they're wearing) at an "open carry" rally in Kentucky's capitol, where Paul spoke. Of course, his campaign doesn't broadcast this little tidbit. When he was asked during last weekend's interview if he thought Americans had a "Constitutional right to violently overthrow the government", his handlers wouldn't let him answer the question and quickly hustled him away. They were obviously afraid of his answer.

Sadly, Rand Paul stands a very good chance of becoming Kentucky's newest senator. All we can hope for at this point is that Kentucky voters will come to their senses before November.

Now for the Democrat. He is Connecticut's Attorney General and his name is Richard Blumenthal. He is also running for the United States Senate (to replace the retiring Christopher Dodd). And like Rand Paul, he is considered the favorite (both to get the nomination and win in November). At least he was.

It seems that in at least two speeches (probably more) he has referred to the time he spent as a soldier in Vietnam. In fact, this war service of his is so widely known in the state that he has been referred to as a "Vietnam veteran" by at least three newspapers in the state. The only problem with this heroic service of his is that it never happened. Blumenthal never even left this country as a service member. Here's what a little research by the New York Times turned up:

"Mr. Blumenthal. . . 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.

The deferments allowed Mr. Blumenthal to complete his studies at Harvard; pursue a graduate fellowship in England; serve as a special assistant to The Washington Post’s publisher, Katharine Graham; and ultimately take a job in the Nixon White House.

In 1970, with his last deferment in jeopardy, he landed a coveted spot in the Marine Reserve, which virtually guaranteed that he would not be sent to Vietnam. He joined a unit in Washington that conducted drills and other exercises and focused on local projects, like fixing a campground and organizing a Toys for Tots drive."

Blumenthal has never really apologized for these lies, or tried to correct the newspaper reports. I find it hard to believe he thought he could get away with such an outrageous lie. He had to know that anyone running for the United States Senate would have his life examined with a fine tooth comb. It makes me question his intelligence.

But even more importantly, it makes me question his honesty. If he'll lie about something like this, what else will he lie about? Do the Connecticut Democrats really want a candidate who lies and is an embarrassment to their party? Frankly, the exposing of this rather egregious lie may have cost him a lot of votes -- I know if I lived in Connecticut I certainly couldn't vote for him now.

The Connecticut Democrats are holding their convention next weekend, and one of the convention's most important jobs is to nominate a candidate for Dodd's senate seat. That's not a lot of time, but I hope they can find a better candidate than Blumenthal. A lie like that one could cost them the election in November, and even if it doesn't, is this the kind of person they want to send to Washington? Surely they have some better options. How about giving Ned Lamont another shot?

As you can see, stupidity is not the exclusive purview of either major party.