Republican candidate Rob Simmons, who served in Vietnam, says that Attorney General Richard Blumenthal owes an apology to all Vietnam veterans for statements that he has made about serving in the war-torn country.
Simmons, who often spoke about his service during multiple campaigns over his six years in the U.S. Congress, said veterans who actually served in Vietnam are very careful about how they speak about their experiences and whether they served in other coutnries during the war.
"He owes an apology to those whose service he has undeservedly capitalized on for his own political purposes,'' Simmons said.
Simmons sharply criticized both of his main opponents in the U. S. Senate race - Blumenthal and wrestling entrepreneur Linda McMahon of Greenwich.
"It was just a few weeks ago that The Hartford Courant revealed that McMahon, like Blumenthal, provided false information about her credentials,'' Simmons said outside the state Capitol in Hartford. "She lied about her college degree, and she lied about her WWE background on her application to the state board of education. She also claims she doesn't remember anything about the memo she authored that tipped off WWE's steroid dealer to a federal criminal investigation. In reality, that was the smoking gun that nearly made Titan Towers into a federal office building and put her husband behind bars. How can she not remember that memo?''
He added, "Trust and character are qualities that cannot be bought, and they are issues in this race. Neither Attorney General Blumenthal nor Mrs. McMahon have lived up to the high standard that Connecticut demands.''
When asked if Blumenthal should step down from the race, Simmons responded, "I have not asked for that.''
Simmons said he had no criticisms of Blumenthal's deferments that allowed him to avoid service in Vietnam.
"Which is fine if that's what you want to do, but don't come back 30 years later and tell people that you served in Vietnam when in fact you requested deferments from that service,'' Simmons said.