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Is Linda McMahon the Ideal Moderate Republican? [1]

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Date: 2012-08-28 03:56:37+00:00

This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Community Corner Is Linda McMahon the Ideal Moderate Republican? Linda McMahon is almost every moderate Republican's ideal candidate -- except for her family's controversial business, the WWE. Can she win over Connecticut's blue-leaning voters?

Voters in Connecticut’s recent Republican primary chose Linda McMahon to run against Democrat challenger Chris Murphy in November’s election for U.S. Senate. Barring any unforeseen events, either Murphy or McMahon will occupy the retiring Senator Joseph Lieberman’s seat – and the race, once thought to be a shoe-in for Murphy, appears increasingly up for grabs. Last week, many readers reminded me that – hey! – isn’t Patch about local news? So, mouse in hand, I decided to learn everything I could about Mrs. McMahon in preparation for this week’s column. As I read campaign website fluff pieces, political blogs and just-the-facts websites such as OnTheIssues and FactCheck, I realized that this candidate is the embodiment of the years-long internal Republican Party battle between the social moderates and social conservatives.

Undoubtedly, party leadership gets it -- the odds of a far-right-winger winning our traditionally blue state are slim to none. And, up until recently, most pundits never even gave McMahon a chance – and her double-digit loss to Richard Blumenthal in the 2010 Senate race appears to bear out that assertion. To McMahon’s credit, she didn’t give up – and she’s spent millions of her own money in the process, waging a public relations campaign that paints her more as everyone’s favorite grandma rather than the professional wrestling CEO who once kicked her husband in the groin for television entertainment purposes and whose company, the WWE, came under investigation for allegedly promoting steroids abuse among its wrestlers.

On my plus side: Linda McMahon understands business and the economy. She understands what it’s like to struggle financially, unlike many modern candidates. She supports abortion rights but doesn’t believe the federal government should subsidize it. She supports openly-gay military service, and believes same sex marriage should be a state’s rights issue. (See? Something for every far-right and far-left advocate to hate! But that’s about as much social compromise as Republicans are willing to offer.) The Greenwich-residing McMahon family has donated millions to education, literacy and non-partisan voter-registration charitable efforts. Linda herself donates her time to a variety of causes I believe in, including the Make-a-Wish Foundation, the Special Olympics and more. She’s also earned many service awards, on behalf of herself and the WWE.

Nevertheless, as the former CEO of WWE, Linda McMahon made millions objectifying women and glorifying violence -- although she brushed off that criticism by calling WWE events a “soap opera.” Plus, in addition to the steroid abuse problem, 2010 campaign foe Richard Blumenthal criticized McMahon and the WWE for accepting Connecticut tax breaks while putting 10 percent of the WWE employees out of work. The WWE also faced criticism that it didn’t provide health care or disability benefits to its wrestlers, who sometimes sustain serious injuries – although they are independent contractors, and the WWE is under no legal obligation to do so.

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[1] Url: https://patch.com/connecticut/westport/is-linda-mcmahon-the-ideal-moderate-republican-826eff5d

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