Shays Says McMahon Cannot Win In Nov.; Cites Karl Rove, Dick Morris, Frank Luntz

As the candidates prepare for their final debate Wednesday night, former U.S. Rep. Christopher Shays says flatly that Linda McMahon cannot win the general election for the U.S. Senate.

Shays says that McMahon, who has never held public office, lacks experience in government and in dealing with the major issues facing the nation. He added that he believes she is “clueless’’ on various issues, including national defense and the recent uprisings in Syria.

“No one can envision her winning the general election – not Karl Rove, not Dick Morris, not Frank Luntz,’’ Shays told The Courant in an interview. “No one can envision her winning the general election.’’

Rove, the longtime political strategist for President George W. Bush who is known as “the architect,” held a fundraiser for Shays last month at a private home in Greenwich. Morris, a longtime Connecticut resident and one-time strategist for President Bill Clinton, is now a commentator on the Fox News Channel. Luntz, who grew up in West Hartford, is a well-known pollster and Republican strategist.

McMahon’s chief spokesman, Tim Murtaugh, declined to directly address the comments by Shays, Rove, and others.

“We look forward to contrasting Linda’s plan to cut middle-class taxes and grow the economy with Chris Murphy’s vision of higher taxes and uncontrolled spending,’’ Murtaugh said in an interview.

Shays has repeatedly criticized McMahon, but the criticisms have been increasing as the two rivals head toward the August 14 Republican primary.

In the all-important money race, McMahon has far outspent Shays, based on the latest financial statistics. McMahon has spent $9.07 million so far, having loaned $8.18 million to her campaign. That total is below the $50 million of her own money that McMahon spent in her unsuccessful race in 2010 against Republican rivals in a primary and Democrat Richard Blumenthal in the general election. At the end of the second quarter in her 2010 race, McMahon had already spent $18.8 million.

Shays has raised $1.4 million and says he does not have enough money to purchase any television commercials. McMahon, by contrast, has been running commercials for months and recently mailed an expensive, eight-page, full-color brochure to households across the state. She still had $1.46 million on hand as of June 30, compared to only $327,000 for Shays.

The problem, Shays said, is that Democrats and independents will not vote for McMahon in the same way that they voted against her in the 2010 general election when she lost by 12 percentage points in a year when Republicans swept to victory across the country. A moderate Republican who attracted independent voters when he served in Congress for 21 years, Shays says he has the qualifications and vote-getting ability to win in November.

“A Senate seat is a terrible thing to waste, and if she were to win the primary, it would be a huge waste because it will go to [Democrats] Chris Murphy or Susan Bysiewicz,’’ said Shays.

Shays added that the Republicans need to win a statewide race in order to break the Democrats’ hold on state government. He noted that Connecticut Republicans had held seats in Congress dating back to when Lowell P. Weicker served in the U.S. House of Representatives in the 1960s. Republican Stewart McKinney held the Fourth District Congressional seat for 17 years until 1987, and Shays served for 21 years until losing to Greenwich Democrat Jim Himes in 2008. Shays was the last remaining U.S. House Republican in New England.

“It is not healthy for the state of Connecticut to have two senators from the same party and five Congressmen from the same party, and a governor and four other elected [constitutional officers],’’ Shays said. “There’s nothing healthy about that. It’s not good for our state. It’s not good for our country.’’

Murtaugh responded, “Linda is going to be the Republican nominee, and we intend to win the election in the fall.’’

Shays said flatly that he could win in November.

“I believe my experience and my knowledge and the guts I’ve shown in Washington trumps her money any day of the week,” he said.

Shays continually cites the 1987 race when he won a five-way primary in the hot summer before defeating Democrat Christine Neidermeier in the general election.

“Some people will be surprised on August 14 because I think I’m going to win this primary,” Shays said. “I won’t be surprised, but I think others will be. They think her money buys it. They think her unwillingness to debate buys it. They think her unwillingness to speak to editorial boards buys it. But I don’t think it does. … She’s not going to be able to hide from the press indefinitely. … She’s really clueless on so many issues. I mean, remarkably clueless. I thought that, having been in this for four years now, that she would understand the issues, and she doesn’t seem to.”

He added, “She didn’t have an answer for Syria. Then she said it’s all about creating jobs at home. Creating jobs back home has nothing to do with Syria. But that was her response.”

During a conversation with The Courant during the state American Legion convention in Rocky Hill, Shays was interrupted several times by veterans who wanted to shake his hand and speak with him. One spoke to him about burning the American flag, and said it is still happening around the country.

“The bottom line is nobody is burning the flag,” Shays said. “It’s a problem that doesn’t exist. All I want you to know is if I ever see someone burn a flag, I will try to stop them. I would grab the flag away from them, and if I went to jail, I would be proud to go to jail defending the flag.”