Previewing WWE Linda McMahon's second Connecticut campaign for US Senate
by Keith Harris on Sep 20, 2011 9:04 PM EDT
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Earlier today Linda McMahon, the wife of WWE's majority shareholder Vince McMahon and its former CEO until 2009, finally announced on friendly home turf that she was running for U.S. Senate again in 2012. This move has largely been expected by political and wrestling insiders ever since she lost by almost 12% to Richard Blumenthal in the last Connecticut senate election on November 2nd, 2010. So wrestling fans may be wondering what will be different this time around.
The short answer is that it's highly unlikely that Linda will fare much better in her second attempt. Her speech announcing the bid was what you would expect, composed but lacking in substance, focusing instead on the same rosy narrative of how she went from once being a bankrupt working mother into a job creating global entrepreneur with six grandchildren. Her stance on the issues facing the country remains unchanged, banging on about a balanced budget while promising middle class tax cuts, without detailing how she would plan to cut government spending so drastically that both could be achieved.
So what does Linda plan to do differently? Dave Meltzer provided us with the answer in his August 29th Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Realising that her association with WWE was a huge negative, Linda plans to distance herself from the company as much as possible, which is a really futile exercise, given that her opponents will use any excuse to bring that connection up and there's bound to be plenty of opportunities for them to do so, as wrestlers far too regularly get into the headlines for all the wrong reasons. Recognising that portraying herself as a hard-nosed wrestling business executive turned off female voters last time, she wants to transform that image and become thought of as a warm hearted, benevolent grandmother concerned for the future of her state and its ordinary citizens. That will also be a difficult idea to place in voters' minds, because once again her opponents will be out there to remind everyone that she wasn't quite so kind and generous in her previous occupation. Finally, to avoid the criticism in her last run that she was trying to buy the senate seat by spending a whopping $50 million on her self funded campaign, this time around she's taking campaign contributions. But seriously that's a token gesture, as we all know Linda will still dip into her own pockets to significantly outspend her opponents once again, she just won't have to dip into them so much this time.
What about WWE, how does it effect them? Well, it means that we're in for more of the same too. The product will remain PG-13 rated and continue to be largely inoffensive and uncontroversial. The only difference will be that the McMahon family's neuroses will be on clear display through their television writing and inevitable propaganda efforts whenever they get annoyed by the coverage of WWE by the Connecticut media and Linda's political opponents. So expect more segments on Raw where Triple H tries to dispel the "myth" on behalf of his father-in-law that they both have a "weird bodybuilder fetish/fantasy about what a main-event caliber superstar needs to look like."
What does recent polling suggest that the likely result will be? Local Republicans still enamoured with her substantial wealth are expected to give her the nod and choose her to be their candidate again in the 2012 election, as Linda is currently leading her opponent in the primary Chris Shays by a 50% to 35%. However, this choice seems foolish as current polling suggests that Linda would lose the general election comfortably against either of the two main Democrat candidates she could face, Chris Murphy or Susan Bysiewicz (who you may remember as the official who tried to get WWE T-shirts banned from polling stations), while Shays would be expected to give both of them a much tougher race.
After the jump, you can find links to some of our past coverage of Linda McMahon's political career and how it has effected WWE in the past.
The ghost of George Zahorian finally rears its ugly head in Linda McMahon's Senate campaign
Linda McMahon caught gloating that she exposed Dick Blumenthal to be a lying carny just like her
Chris Benoit's father Michael writes anti-Linda McMahon/WWE editorial for The Hartford Courant
Martha Hart sues WWE for using Owen's likeness without permission and not paying royalties
Politico brings the 1992 WWE sex scandals back into the limelight
Could Linda McMahon Becoming A Senator Actually Be A Bad Thing For The WWE?
Lance Cade dead at 29 [Updated with more details]
WWE fires back against Chris Nowinski
Lance Cade's father on Linda McMahon's comments: "She disrespected him. She disrespected my family."
Mick Foley thinks he was snubbed. Again. He also has issues with how the media operates. Again.
[Updated] Connecticut investigating WWE for misclassifying employees as independent contractors
Liveblog: Linda McMahon vs Richard Blumenthal debate
An in-depth look at the "Stand Up For WWE/Setting The Record Straight" campaign
Mick Foley continues to be intellectually dishonest in his blog posts about Linda McMahon
Triple H and Stephanie McMahon Campaign for Linda McMahon
Cageside Radio 11/13/10 w/ Irv Muchnick on the Linda McMahon campaign
Tom Cole continues to do free PR work for Linda McMahon and Jerry McDevitt
WWE accused of lobbying to keep UFC banned in Connecticut
Call for WWE wrestlers to stand up for their withheld employee benefits
Did the McMahons force out long time board member Lowell Weicker Jr.?
Does WWE's $7,316 back taxes payment mean that their Connecticut labor audit is over?
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Linda has no chance, that's what she's got. No chance in hell.
As a long time Connecticut resident it’s a bit baffling why Linda is throwing her hat into the ring at all. Yes, 2010 was a good time for Republicans but Connecticut is as blue as they come. The only statewide position that has a remote chance of going red is the governorship and even that went Democratic in 2010 (though judging by Malloy’s piss poor record in office so far that may change in 2014). Why she doesn’t set her sights lower (and cheaper) and go for the state senate seat for Stamford (where she might actually have a shot) is beyond me.
Basically it goes like this. Connecticut has not had a Republican senator since Prescott Bush (yes, W’s grandfather and HW’s father) was Senator and retired in 1962. So why did the Connecticut republican party throw their support behind Linda? AS Keith mentioned, Linda was entirely self financed and if the, always embattled and often broke, CT Repubs could throw a candidate to be eaten by Dick Blumenthal for free why would they say no?
And, if you don’t live in Connecticut you probably don’t know this, but for years Dick Blumenthal, formerly the state Attorney General who is responsible for representing the state in civil (though not criminal) court, has been milking his position to be on local TV any time the state sued somebody or was even thinking about suing somebody…which was very often. This amounted to years of free name and face recognition plus everytime you saw his skelator-like face it was to talk about how he was suing on behalf of taxpayers and citizens etc.
Still, I don’t know if the CT Repubs will be as forgiving this time with Linda running again. Like the WWE the Republicans suffered with some collateral egg damage from the amount thrown at Linda for her company’s actions. Still, when the price tag is essentially zero, it may be hard to say no.
Local insight is always appreciated! I think the reason why the McMahon family didn’t set their sights lower is partly their arrogance and partly because they want influence on a national scale, not just on a local scale.
Part of the reason why the CT Repubs may be so forgiving is that Linda did better than expected against Blumenthal. Given that the state is so true blue and Blumenthal’s popularity, they likely expected Linda to get hammered by 20+%. The race was a lot closer than that, but that was largely due to Blumenthal being exposed by the increased scrutiny rather than Linda’s own performances. The CT Repubs likely hope that Linda’s cash can rake up some dirt on her eventual opponent and they might strike lucky.
by Keith Harris on Sep 21, 2011 9:43 AM EDT up reply actions
Good point Kieth, but remember that, as I said, 2010 was a great year for Republicans nationwide. Like wrestling management, political campaign managers don’t always attribute gains and losses properly when their egos and reputations are on the line. Still 2012 may be a good year for Repubs also so we’ll have to wait and see if the state GOP will be as eager this time around.
2012 will be a strong year for Repubs
Tea Party is going to dive in head first and everyone with a “R” next to their name is going to benefit
by Jonathan Loesche on Sep 21, 2011 11:45 AM EDT reply actions
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