One day after striking hard against opponent Linda McMahon in a televised debate, Republican U.S. Senate candidate Christopher Shays kept the heat on, telling supporters that McMahon cannot continue her “code of silence” about her years running the wrestling and entertainment conglomerate now know as WWE.
“As CEO of WWE, McMahon made the decision to promote bullying, violence and degradation of women, minorities and the disabled to grow her business,” the Shays campaign said in a newsletter emailed to supporters Friday afternoon. “As CEO of WWE, 41 of her wrestlers died before they were 50 and 19 of those died before age 40.”
The McMahon camp reacted to this latest volley just as it did to similar charges made by Shays during their debate Thursday at UConn: By ignoring them.
“We are not going to comment on Chris Shays’ make-believe desperation campaign,” McMahon spokeswoman Erin Isaac said “We are focusing on our real opponent, [Democratic frontrunner] Chris Murphy.”
Shays, who faces McMahon in the Aug. 14 Republican primary, is down by 29 points in the latest Quinnipiac University poll, released last week.
Hitting McMahon hard in her WWE record is a smart approach for him, said Kevin J. McMahon, a political science professor at Trinity College (and no relation to Linda McMahon.)
“Being as far down as he, its probably a wise strategy,” Kevin McMahon said. “He’s got to swing for the fences.”
Shays aggressive questioning of Linda McMahon’s record does present some potential pitfalls, especially for a male candidate running against a woman.
But Trinity’s McMahon noted that Linda McMahon is a multi-millionaire who spent $50 million on her losing 2010 bid for U.S. Senate. Shays has limited finances to get his message out and has to make the most of televised debates and other high-profile opportunities.
“The most important thing for him at this stage is to somehow get some traction, which will help him raise money,” Kevin McMahon said. “From his perspective, its probably very frustrating. Despite the fact that he was elected to Congress many times, he’s way back in the polls.”
The Shays campaign said they are simply calling on voters to compare McMahon’s record with the one he compiled during 21 years in Washington.
“What Christopher started to do yesterday, and what our newsletter did today, was make the point that — just as Christopher’s record is open to scrutiny — as it should be, so are the decisions she made at WWE,” Shays spokeswoman Amanda Bergen said.
Bergen said Shays is not questioning WWE but rather McMahon’s leadership of company. A co-founder with her husband Vince McMahon, she stepped down from her post as CEO in Sept. 2009, the same day she announced her run for the 2010 Senate race.
“This has nothing to do with her running a legitimate business,” Bergen said. “Christopher is not attacking the company but if she wants to make her experience the cornerstone of her campaign, the decisions that she made at WWE are fair game for scrutiny.”
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9 Responses to Shays Keeps the Heat on McMahon
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For Shays to attack WWE smells of desperation…what he should have done was tell us why he is a better candidate than linda. the problem is he isn’t the better candidate.
get off the WWE thing shays..your going to lose if you keep running with that.The world is not pretty, you politicians have made it acceptable to marry the same gender, demonize religeon,but you can not control what millions of people watch on TV just because it all of a sudden sickens you for its past content.Politics sickens millions also, maybe why not everyone votes, or loses interest in someone when they have been around so long and has nothing but the same to offer
Shays should just hang it up and do the right thing for the benefit of the party. Let Murphy and Suzy B kill each other and let the best candidate go to the U.S. Senate (Linda McMahon). She is not a career politician and deserves a chance. With the prior (abysmal) records of the others in full display, she gets my vote!
If McMahon wants to keep saying she’s a job creator she has to be willing to admit what those jobs were. If she is going to attack Shays for being a career politician, why can’t he point out her success has been built on a business that degraded women and celebrated bullying.
Also for her to to claim to be a Republican when she has spent most of her life not voting in state elections and supporting Nancy Pelosi, is a shame. And it’s too bad the media has barely reported on that.
It’s obvious that Connecticut Republicans are satisfied with Linda McMahon for their Senate candidate. As for Chris Shays, his continued attacks against the McMahon business enterprise reveal him as the true bully.
McMahon altered her business when met with bona fide criticisms of the show. She listened to her audience and her critics. Chris Shays hasn’t changed his tactics a smidgen even though his critics AND his supporters have urged him to tone down his mad dog attack frenzy.
People can sense a Loser. That’s why Shay’s campaign cash spigot has dwindled to a trickle. Karl Rove came late to the state to help at a Shays fundraiser. The fundraiser turned into a wake and Rove presided over Shay’s political last rites. But nobody told Chris.
As a Dem. With no dog in this fight, I’m really happy you guys are killing off the only person that has a chance to beat a Dem.!!
As an active Republican I am solidly in Chris Shays corner. It is unfortunate that money is such a factor in our election process. Linda has been able to inundate the electorate with her flyers and media ads, and I am hoping that Chris is able to get his message out to voters who have not been co-opted by Linda McMahon’s flash. We need a Senator with real substance, solid experience and a willingness to work to build meaningful coalitions to produce some positive results in Washington. It is easy to put forth proposals and plans, it is something else to get them enacted. Chris has proven he can do both. We need his kind of leadership.
Tell it to Chris Murphy, not Chris Shays. Murphy will pummel Linda in November. She’s already peaked, just like she did with Blumenthal. PEAK OIL, PEAK LINDA.
Like most professional politicians Mr.Shays & Chris Murphy only know how to create jobs for government workers who live off our tax dollars.
By contrast Mrs. Linda McMahon creates jobs and provides entertainment paid for with after tax dollars. To build a business that can succeed and pay taxes is something that neither Shays nor Murphy have any idea how to do.
Like all professional politicians they know how to collect your earnings through taxation & spend it for a zero net result to the private sector.