And She's Down for the Count

I rarely talk about politics on The Wheel, but I wanted to share this bit of news with you. Earlier this evening, Linda McMahon, U.S. Senate hopeful and former CEO of World Wrestling Federation Entertainment, was crushed by the steel chair of defeat.

This makes me happy.

I'm registered as an independent here in Connecticut, and over the past week I dutifully reviewed the stances for every candidate in every race in my area. That is, except for U.S. Senator. That one I'd decided on months ago. And it had nothing to do with McMahon's political stances. Here's why:

• Linda McMahon raised over $46 million for her campaign... in a state that has approximately 2 million registered voters. According to opensecrets.org, this was twice the amount of the 2nd highest total raised by any other U.S. Senate and House candidates this year.
• Almost all of that was self-funded.
• She sent out, on average, three mailings a week to every household. This started for us well before the primary, although neither Denise nor I are Republican and we couldn't vote in it. I suspect if we'd kept the flyers instead of recycling them, the pile may have reached up to my waste waist.
• We received multiple calls from supposed pollsters, asking questions heavily skewed against her opponent (Democrat Dick Blumenthal).¹
• Despite this monstrous waste of funds, McMahon spent much of her campaign calling out Blumenthal for how much of the state's money he had spent during his time as Attorney General, and touting how she — as a financially savvy businesswoman — would be able to save the state money.²
• And, regarding her financial savvitry: Her wrestlers in the WWF WWE had to buy their own health care, and the WWF WWE owns the rights to the names and images of every character they created. (See Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson)

Though my decision was already made, it was reinforced yesterday. At a rally on the University of Connecticut campus, a protester allegedly shoved one of McMahon's supporters. Her spokesman explained it thusly:

"A disappointing incident occurred this morning on the UCONN campus when a male protester at a pre-election rally shoved a young woman supporting Linda. She is fine and has declined to file charges against him, but it is disappointing that Dick Blumenthal's campaign has resorted to intimidation."

That's right: Blumenthal was behind it. Oh, and here's the kicker: The protester in question? He's with the Green Party.

Linda McMahon tried to buy the election with $46 million of her own money, and with more than half of the precincts reporting, that's the percentage she's got: 46%, compared with Blumenthal's 52%. The race was called in Blumenthal's favor within minutes after the polls closed.

So long, Linda. Don't let the ladder hit you on the way out.


¹ Although, I have to admit this is a creative tactic. As an entertainer, she does know how to spin things to her advantage.
² And as a federal employee, no less.