By Lauren Garrison, Register Staff
lgarrison@newhavenregister.com

MILFORD — Linda McMahon, the Republican front-runner for the U.S. Senate seat going into today’s statewide nominating convention, told the Republican Town Committee Thursday night that she always expected to be running against state Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, and began scrutinizing his past early in the campaign.



McMahon announced her candidacy Sept. 16, 2009. U.S. Sen. Christopher J. Dodd didn’t announce that he wouldn’t be seeking re-election until January 2010, and Blumenthal immediately got into the race.

“I never thought that Chris Dodd would be the candidate, and I always thought it was going to be Dick Blumenthal. And we really started looking into issues and doing our research about Dick Blumenthal. So we were happy to share some of that research this week,” the former CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment told a roomful of town Republicans.

She, as well as her fellow Republican senatorial hopefuls, addressed the group at the Crown Corporate Campus Conference/Training Center on the eve of the GOP’s nominating convention. The party’s senate candidate will be chosen today.

McMahon’s campaign team turned over its research to the New York Times and the newspaper quoted Blumenthal, in a March 2008 speech in Norwalk, saying, “We have learned something important since the days that I served in Vietnam. 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.”

The Associated Press reported Thursday that in the same 2008 speech, Blumenthal also correctly said that he “served in the military, during the Vietnam era.”

Blumenthal has said he “misspoke” on his combat experience several times. He said he more frequently acknowledged that he served during the Vietnam-era, not in the combat zone.

McMahon said Thursday, “This is a story about someone who’s just not telling the truth. And I do believe that all of us in this room, including myself, are tired of hearing political double-speak, political spin, just absolute misstatements, absolute statements about saying one thing when in fact it didn’t happen, and then trying to spin it. We’re tired of politicians who are trying to spin it. Let’s just tell the simple truth.”

McMahon was scheduled to do a live interview with Sean Hannity shortly after her address to the RTC. A Fox News van was visible through the window in the room where several dozen Republicans gathered. Continued...

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They were in high spirits, as they also celebrated the state Supreme Court’s ruling that Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz wasn’t qualified to run for attorney general.

The focus on Blumenthal ran throughout the meeting. RTC Chairman Tom Jagodzinski wore a large pin printed with the words: “No Blumen Way.”

“There’s been a dramatic change in the election” with this week’s news about Blumenthal, he said. He pointed to a new Rasmussen telephone poll, conducted Tuesday night and released Thursday, that showed the divide between Blumenthal and his Republican challengers narrowing.

The poll of likely voters gives Blumenthal a 3-point lead over McMahon, 48 percent to 45 percent. Two weeks, ago, he was 13 points ahead, 52-39.

Blumenthal now scores 50 percent against Rob Simmons to the former 2nd District congressman’s 39 percent. The previous poll had Blumenthal ahead 55-32.

Peter Schiff, a financial commentator, now trails Blumenthal by 16 points, at 53-37. Two weeks ago, the poll had Schiff behind 54-29.

In addressing the RTC Thursday night, Schiff said, “I’m on a very upward trajectory right now. I’m moving up as fast as Dick Blumenthal is moving down … because as my message gets out there, people are going to support it.”

Schiff said he’s said from the beginning that Blumenthal had nowhere to go but down, and now his predictions are coming true.

“We have a real opportunity to beat him,” he said.

Simmons began his address with a joke: What’s the difference between Attorney General Dick Blumenthal and Jane Fonda? Jane Fonda went to Vietnam, he said. Continued...

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“Dick Blumenthal overreached. He didn’t misspeak, he misled. He’s an attorney, he’s a summa cum laude graduate of Harvard,” Simmons said. “Lawyers speak precisely; they know what their words mean.

“Let’s make sure that the candidate who gets to go against Richard Blumenthal is battle-tested,” Simmons said, adding that he believes he is that candidate.

The Republicans’ nominating convention ends Saturday at the Connecticut Convention Center.

Contact Lauren Garrison at 203-789-5614.

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More from NHRegister.com on the Blumenthal controversy:

PRESS CONFERENCE (5/18/2010): Blumenthal defends remark about Vietnam service (with video & full stream of press conference)

LETTER TO EDITOR: Blumenthal writes New Haven Register, defends remark

REACTION: Vets' reactions on Blumenthal divided

SOUNDOFF: NHRegister.com readers have lots to say on Blumenthal's "misspoken" controversy Continued...

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EDITORIAL: Blumenthal's mistake should be forgiven

EFFECT ON CAMPAIGN: Military controversy unlikely to stick, some say

DUELING VIDEOS: Did he lie or misspeak? You decide.

'NET BUZZ: links from around the 'net, compiled by affiliate RegisterCitizen.com

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