Linda McMahon's WWE Problem
It's the reason she has the background and financial ability to run for office, but it could also prove her biggest liability. Either way, ex-WWE CEO Linda McMahon (R) has questions to answer over the company she built into a global empire.
Over the last week, McMahon has had to explain a mentally handicapped character, and in an appearance this morning on MSNBC, McMahon answered more questions about the company's steroid policy than she did about the jobs bill making its way through Congress.
McMahon's GOP foes are happy to pass around clips delving into the less-than-senatorial side of WWE, previewing some of the negative ads sure to come her way if she wins the primary and goes on to face AG Dick Blumenthal (D). Shortly after her appearance today, ex-Rep. Rob Simmons's (R) camp emailed around a research document on the history of scrutiny of the WWE over its steroid policy.
McMahon has used her business history to bolster her credentials; spokesperson Ed Patru said running the business had given her "the ability to balance budgets, to create jobs and to exercise fiscal discipline, not just in rhetoric but in practice." But she has also been forced to downplay the seriousness of the business as well.
"It's a wonderful product that -- you know, it's fiction," she said this morning when Lawrence O'Donnell harangued her over steroids. McMahon also pointed to safety measures WWE instituted that have been adopted by the NFL and other sports leagues.
Having business experience is one thing, but having run the WWE is a boon to opposition researchers on all sides. It's not that McMahon wants to talk about WWE, it's that her background is so unique -- outside of ex-MN Gov. Jesse Ventura (I) -- that McMahon gets questions on it wherever she goes. She spent far more time discussing wrestling on MSNBC today than she did talking about any issues.
Asked whether WWE has proven more of a liability than a benefit, Patru said the company is still a net-positive.
"Linda has not shied away from taking any WWE questions. Clearly, the totality of her experience relative to WWE is an asset to this campaign. It is a story of a company that started off at rock bottom and grew to become a major Connecticut employer," he said. Voters "are clearly able to differentiate real-world issues from the soap opera and the scripted entertainment that is WWE."
The novelty factor is one thing: It gets McMahon an instant audience, and even a following. But the drawbacks are myriad; from steroids to a mentally handicapped wrestler, the reams of opposition research could help define McMahon before she has a chance to do so. Add to that the number of ex-wrestlers who have come out in opposition to McMahon -- and ex-employees who spit venom over her candidacy are far more attractive to the media than former wrestlers who sing her praises -- and it's hard not to imagine WWE helping McMahon rise, only to hasten her fall.
After the jump, McMahon's complete appearance on MSNBC this morning.
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I just found it interesting that in all of her TV ads that were running in CT she just mentioned she "ran a business", as if it was like a luncheonette. No need to get into the details of their "entertainment".
She definitely is going to win this race. I see has those skills in the boardroom that can make for a strong Senator. Again and again, she's pushing away those naysayers who talk about the steroid abuses of the 80s, and I like what I'm hearing about her improvements for Connecticut's business environment.
You go Linda!
nice article, thank you
Politi-Junkie, "Steroid abuses of the 80's". The 80's? What about the 90's and the last decade? The policy was only implemented after they finally had a drug related death of a talent who was too big to ignore, Eddie Guerrero in 2005. Prior to that they had not implemented a drug policy since the early 90's, having dropped it for cost-based issues. The staggering number of deaths of people under the age of 50 employed by the WWF/WWE in the last 20 years should really open peoples eyes to their irresponsible attitude for so many years. The current policy might be effective, but they only did it because they had reached a point where they needed to defend against these sorts of accusations.
Why is Linda McMahon held to these standards? Did anyone question Arnold about the "killings" he acted out in any of his movies? Did Jesse Ventura turn out to be such a bad governor after some of the bad movies he took part in? Linda McMahon did not create the character of Eugene, nor has it ever been thought that she had say in the "creative" side of the wrestling business. Linda took the title of CEO when Vince was under fire from the federal government, and was at the helm of a billion dollar company during one of the biggest booms that the business had ever seen. Should she not be judged on her record, not the company's? She would be just as good, if not better that any other candidate in that office. And it would be such a fresh breath of air, a non-career politician, looking to serve her state, and her country. Linda McMahon deserves to be given a chance to prove herself in the political arena, back off everyone.
Elivs who -
Are you serious? How can you compare running a business that arguably cost many their lives with being in a movie with bad guy characters? It is one thing to say that she played an evil character on sceen; true, but irrelevant. I would even grant that the fact that her company's produt included sexist, racist storylines that appeared to the lowest common demoninator are irrelevant. It is absurd, however, to overlook the fact that many people died taking steroids working for her company while not getting basic health insurance because they were "contractors."
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I wonder how GOP primary voters will respond to the simulated necrophilia that the WWE put on nationwide TV when she was CEO. Also, I thought that the character who was an elderly nymphomaniac was adorable, but will conservative voters feel the same way?
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