Can somebody find me another race where there are two candidates actually running against each other?
Try as he did, Chris Shays failed to ruffle a focused, if tentative, Linda McMahon in their final senate debate Thursday evening. Time after time, McMahon ignored what Shays said about her family business, her donations to Democrats, her lack of understanding of Congress or her willingness to spend anything to win a seat in the U.S. Senate.
It wasn’t even a rope-a-dope victory for McMahon, whose campaign emphasizes Linda’s job creating skills and mostly pretends that Chris Shays doesn’t exist, except when she pauses to remind folks that the former Congressman is a “career politician.” Thursday evening in West Hartford, she went to the far corner of the ring and left Chris Shays to swing punches that didn’t land.
If Shays had walked over and slapped her in the face, Linda would have reminded the audience about her jobs plan. When you’ve spent $60 million getting your name out to the state, one doesn’t bother with a troublesome opponent who can’t even afford a TV ad.
The fact that Shays looked sharp, knew the issues, had clear and specific answers and played the part of an aggressive attacking opponent mattered little Wednesday evening against Linda, who’s got a script, a “vetted” (and vague) economic development plan and a strategy to bring her campaign to selected groups of voters.
Wednesday, she spoke to voters. Shays and reporters were flies, buzzing in her ear. Very well played.
Take the annoying topic of tax returns, which have become a standard disclosure item for candidates running for Congress. McMahon is refusing to release her information, or even previous year’s tax returns. They’re coming she says.
“We are waiting on on information over which we have no control. When it’s done we will release them,” McMahon said, talking to reporters after the debate. “As soon as my tax returns are done you will get it.”
“When my tax return is done I will release it,” she said. Um, but will this happen before the Aug. 14 primary? “Next question.”
Asked by a persistent reporter if she had off-shore bank accounts — a controversial issue in the presidential campaign — she said all the information would be provided soon. We just don’t know when.
Shays, talking after the debate (when all the interesting stuff is said) remarked that this was all a matter of integrity. He lamented that over the next three weeks, the two candidates will have no debates or forums during the next three weeks.
“This may be the last time. I think that would be a loss for the state. And the country,” Shays said. “She is someone who didn’t answer the questions … It’s stunning to me … There is no way she can win the general election.”
Linda could not care less about Shays. It was clear Wednesday evening, Linda has moved on, from Shays, reporters and that whole old fashioned election process. The questions don’t matter.
I came home Wednesday evening and found a fresh and glossy flier from Linda in my mailbox. She’s a woman with a plan who can’t be bothered with the give-and-take of the debate from an actual campaign. Brilliant. And depressing.
Also, take a minute to watch the Bass Man’s video and be sure to check out the Independent’s coverage:
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9 Responses to McMahon-Shays Debate: A One Candidate Affair Because Linda Has Moved On
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Shays is campaigning against a fellow GOP candidate. Echoing the vacuous attacks from Democrats isn’t going to move the dial.
Linda is successfuly using the Bozo Bin approach to campaigning. Shays, The Courant, Powell — irrelevant to a populist running an “I am not Murphy” campaign.
Mr.Green, while I agree with you in most part …as an interested observer I thought Ms. McMahon appeared quite uncomfortable and seemingly became more annoyed as the debate wore on.She stumbled several times on questions obviously not in her “script”.She did not display any real understanding of issues and added no new insight but lots of political double speak.Congressman Shays was outstanding ….clear, concise and on point.He is very knowledgeable on all the issues …..the contrast is stunning.I hope the voters take seriously their choice on August 14….The experience and gravitas of Congressman Shays….or Ms MacMahon’s lack of substance but very deep pockets.
You found the debate depressing, why? Do you support Mr. Shays? Sadly Mr. Shays is attempting to outrun his congressional record and he is failing. A democrat could be proud to have voted for Dodd-Frank and the stimulus, not a republican. Recently I read that Mr. Shays is proud to have worked to keep President Clinton from being impeached over lying to congress, while clear evidence that he can be bi-partisan his vote twice to impeach President Bush should lead any republican to trust his party affiliation. Mr. Shays proudly represents himself as having voted with the republicans 80 percent of the time, yet a search shows that much of that time the vote was on procedural process. He voted with the Democrats on far too many issues that are not in line with republican values. Mrs. McMann is not running against her own record while serving in congress.
You found the debate depressing, why? Do you support Mr. Shays? Sadly Mr. Shays is attempting to outrun his congressional record and he is failing. A democrat could be proud to have voted for Dodd-Frank and the stimulus, not a republican. Recently I read that Mr. Shays is proud to have worked to keep President Clinton from being impeached over lying to congress, while clear evidence that he can be bi-partisan his vote twice to impeach President Bush should lead any republican to question his party affiliation. Mr. Shays proudly represents himself as having voted with the republicans 80 percent of the time, yet a search shows that much of that time the vote was on procedural process. He voted with the Democrats on far too many issues that are not in line with republican values. Mrs. McMann is not running against her own record while serving in congress.
Looks like the 2012 election pits the “career politicians” versus the Job Creators, Capitalists and Successful Entrepreneurs. President Obama set the standard the other day. His brief furlough from the Teleprompter let America see the Emperor with no clothes.
The 2012 conservative tsunami is on a path to extend and exceed the historic 2010 mid-term incumbent expulsion. Time and time again the Tea Party rebellion has ousted old-guard Republican icons in lopsided primary battles. Momentum is building among minions of the Middle Class towards am electoral catharsis, the likes of which we’ve not experience since Reagan destroyed Carter in 1980.
For those of us who participated in that exquisite victory, our mouths are watering for the taste of a much sweeter prize on November 6. It’s not a vindication of Republican values that looms before us. It’s more like a reaffirmation of the principles seared into the birth of a nation.
Christopher Shays is a political anachronism stumbling to gain a foothold on the steep trail towards American renewal. There will be no new “Shays Rebellion” in the formation of this New Republic. His place is fixed among other observers perched in the viewing stands of history as new blood and new ideas sprint to finish the bold task of refreshing the American Dream.
The GOP and Democrats are both in danger of doing irreperable damage to this country with the deficit over the enxt 4 to 8 years.
The CEO from Starwoods was on CNBC this AM and you can’t help but wish he was running. He hit health care on the head. The question isn’t universal coverage its why the US pays double its peers at an estimated 22% of GDP for some form of universal coverage.
ObamaCare doesn’t address cost containment and the systemic changes needed to properly manage health care costs.
All we get from the local Democrats are ‘single payer’ and ‘let Kevin Lembo fiat reimbursent rates and all is good’ and some disproven concepts like monthly management fees to providers.
The real answer is in modern Supply Chain Management systems and a true Medical Records System that allows complete transparency into purchasing and utilization.
“One policy to heal them all” should be the norm. The first reform in CT was that ‘SEBAC policies will never be SustiNet’ and codified into law. That’s the Democrats doing reform the “22% of the GDP and ever higher” Rube Goldberg racketeering way that put the politicians into a separate cadillac policy group.
I do not know what Chris Sheys is doing in a GOP debate. He should be running as the Democrat. While Sheys comments about McMahon not knowing how the BRAC works, he surely did and voted for 3 BRACs. So for someone that should be for a strong military, he voted 3 times to reduce it. Last I knew, Republicans stood for a stong military.
Why doesn’t someone remind Mr. Shays that after he was defeated the last time he ran, he sold most of his expensive property in CT and went to live down south only keeping a small piece here so he could come running back to run in this Senate race. The people in CT. didn’t want him then and we don’t want him now. In my opinion he is a carpetbagger, wose than the ones in the old South after the civil war. His congressional voting records was one of the worse. Does he think we don’t remember. Well Mr. Shays we do!
Republican primary voters, and very likely a majority of voters in November, are concerned about the moribund economy, the dearth of new jobs, the staggering amount of Federal debt, the excessive and uncontrolled Federal spending and chronic deficits, and the inability of career politicians in Washington to address these fundamental issues.
I am glad that Mrs. McMahon stays focused on the issues that are important to voters and ignores what Shays says about peripheral issues.
I am also encouraged that Mrs. McMahon does not wilt under badgering from reporters. She has a warm personality, which wins over voters, and a spine of steel, which will enable her to stand up to pressure of special interests.
It will not be easy to get this country back on the right track. Mrs. McMahon demonstrates that she has the persistence and perseverance to get the job done.