Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said that proceeding with Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination would “forever stain the Supreme Court.”

A U.S. senator since 2011 and a leader of the “resist Trump” movement on the liberal left, Blumenthal has a lasting stain in his own record, especially among military veterans.

After Kavanaugh was nominated by Trump and the hearings even began, Blumenthal refused any one-on-one meeting with the judge, stating that such a meeting “would be an empty, deceptive charade after his evasive and meaningless answers to my colleagues.”

Blumenthal’s use of phrases like “deceptive charade” and “evasive and meaningless” is hard to take considering his own past. Blumenthal received five draft deferments during the Vietnam War and saw part-time service in the reserves or National Guard.

During his 2010 Senate campaign, reports surfaced that Blumenthal had lied about serving in the Vietnam War. After being exposed, he acknowledged having occasionally “misspoken” about his service record but insisted that his misrepresentations were “totally unintentional.”

Since Senate Democrats are obsessed these days with vetting and presenting evidence to judge the character of conservatives, here is a letter from 14 Vietnam-era Medal of Honor recipients on Blumenthal, who vigorously opposed Neil Gorsuch’s nomination in 2017:

Dear Sen. Richard Blumenthal,

You recently called upon your Senate colleagues to subject Judge Neil Gorsuch’s record to “extreme vetting,” questioning both his qualification and biography. The Senate certainly has the right and obligation to closely review any nominee for the United States Supreme Court. Conversely, it is our right as Americans and veterans to scrutinize your hypocrisy in doing so.

We are veterans of the Vietnam War. We fought alongside our brothers in arms, many of whom died or were gravely injured there. We saw the treatment meted out on us and our fellow military personnel upon our return, yet we never questioned our commitment to our nation’s freedom. But perhaps more relevant to this discussion is that we know you were not there with us.

The fact you repeatedly and consistently claimed to have served in Vietnam is a gross case of stolen valor in our opinion. You obtained at least five military deferments between 1965 and 1970, at least two of which were seemingly political favors to you so that you could avoid joining us in a war zone. Here are just a few examples where it appears that you have chosen to buttress your political resume by shamefully inflating your record of military service:

In 2003, you apparently stated, “When we returned (from Vietnam), we saw nothing like this (a public outpouring of support for deployed military personnel).”

In 2008, the New York Times reported you said, “We have learned something important since the days I served in Vietnam …”

At a Vietnam War memorial in 2008, it is reported you stated, “I served during the Vietnam era … I remember the taunts, the insults, sometimes even the physical abuse.”

We recognize that military service of any kind is valuable to the protection of our nation’s freedom. There is no shame in engaging in “Toys for Tots” campaigns, recycling efforts, or assisting in the improvement or construction of various facilities, which appears to be a fair description of the bulk of your duties during the Vietnam War.

What is offensive to those who fought in a most brutal conflict, some of us who were captured and tortured by our enemy, is any comparison of those most brutal experiences to the ones of people like you who never even sniffed the air in Vietnam.

You should be proud that you shared a uniform with so many brave souls who endured the hardships of war, but instead you chose to attempt to deceitfully and craftily join their ranks with your intentionally vague statements and false claims. Quite simply, it is impossible to “misspeak” about having seen a war.

Valor is too uncommon a commodity, and too precious a virtue, to be stolen by those who have not paid the high price for freedom. We recognize that some concerns over any appointee, especially the Supreme Court, are honest and legitimate.

You, sir, are neither. If you ever had a sense of duty, if ever you respected the service and sacrifice of others, then please recognize your duty now:

Sen. Blumenthal, “Take your seat”!

Note: This letter was signed by Medal of Honor recipients Sgt. Maj. Bennie Adkins, Col. Don “Doc” Ballard, Maj. Gen. Pat Brady, Col. Bruce Crandall, Sgt. 1st Class Sammy Davis, Col. Wesley Fox, Col. Harold Fritz, Maj. Gen. Jim Livingston, Command Sgt. Maj. Bob Patterson, Sgt. Maj. Kenneth Stumpf, Maj. James Taylor, Lt. Mike Thornton, Col. Leo Thorsness and Col. Jay Vargas. Their Medal of Honor citations can be read at www.cmohs.org.

By Jim Zbick | tneditor@tnonline.com