You Won't Believe This: Chris Shays is Criticizing Blumenthal Over Vietnam!!

by: thomashooker

Tue May 18, 2010 at 15:55:28 PM EDT

"watched with worry as Mr. Blumenthal gradually embellished his military record over the years."

It's incredible that Halbfinger uses Shays as a source regarding Mr. Blumenthal's military record in light of the fact that Mr. Shays has been lying about his military record for many years.  Shays has repeatedly over many years responded when questioned as to why he didn't serve in the military that, "I didn't enter the military; I served in the Peace Corps." Though he doesn't actually insert the word "instead", he certainly implies it.  The problem is that Peace Corps service was never considered as the basis for granting a deferment or an exemption by the Selective Service Administration.

I, too, served in the Peace Corps from 1978 to 1981, and I recall Peace Corps officials telling us that the Peace Corps did not exempt anyone from the draft, and that, indeed, PCV's were regularly pulled out of their overseas sites and inducted into the military.  And when Mr. Shays repeatedly used the excuse of Peace Corps service, I wrote to the Selective Service Administration directly and received back written confirmation that Peace Corps service was not considered the basis for a deferment or exemption from the draft.

Shays received the extremely low lottery number of 5 in December 1969, which should have insured that he was drafted.  But he wasn't.  And as recently as two months ago, Shays told Nick Keppler, editor of Fairfield County Weekly, that he wasn't drafted in 1969 because he was serving in the Peace Corps in Fiji.

Chris Shays then filed for and was granted conscientious objector status in 1972, but wasn't required to perform any alternative service whatsoever, an unusual out for a CO.  But again, no one in the Connecticut press corps has ever asked Mr. Shays to explain how he got out of military service, or about the morality of claiming CO status, but supporting enthusiastically the war in Iraq.

So it's absolutely hypocritical and shocking that Chris Shays would dare to comment on Mr. Blumenthal's military record when Blumenthal actually did serve in the military and Shays first avoided the draft in some way that he won't disclose, and then claimed that he was morally against all wars as a CO.  And it's incredible that anyone in the media would take Chris Shays seriously about anyone's military service.

Perhaps it's finally time that the media started to ask Chris Shays some pointed questions about his own draft record, and stopped accepting his lies.

It's time.