Linda McMahon and Her Senate Run
Years ago, I was a part of a popular TV program in Montgomery County. The show, “Inside The Squared Circle,” lives on today and maintains a loyal following. People still stop me at grocery stores and gas stations wanting to know if I am “that guy.” I often respond by saying, “No, I just look like him. But I heard he was the best!”
During my years with that program, I learned what was happening inside of what is now known simply as WWE. This is the sports entertainment company headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut that is run by Vincent K. McMahon and was once also run by his wife Linda. Yes, the stories of sex, drugs, injuries, death, alcohol and overall insanity were a little too common when we discussed the company. The numerous PG 13 story-lines on its programs were, at times, a little too extreme. Over the years, the WWE product has made a number of onlookers wonder how someone who was at the helm could ever get away with it all? Now we are wondering how someone like its former CEO Linda McMahon could ever be a viable candidate for U.S. Senate? I’ve even wondered myself.
Well, the answer is simple. Let there be no mistake, the economy is the most important issue of this election. It’s what will likely determine the outcome of most elections. Believe it or not, Linda McMahon is seen as someone who has the knowledge to boost economic recovery in her devastated state.
“With the economy in this poor state, McMahon could make this race interesting,” says Robert Romano of Americans for Limited Government. “Her experience as a CEO of a company that’s now worth $388 million will likely be seen as an asset by the electorate.”
I was recently reporting on this story and learned that the WWE employs 700 people in the state of Connecticut. The business community in that region see it as a true business success story. While there is a lot of crazy stuff that goes on in its walls, it represents the type of company that the state needs to have in its borders. Connecticut is hurting more than much of the nation. Its unemployment is hovering at around nine percent and it has lost hundreds of thousands of jobs during the Great Recession, only gaining a fraction of them back.
McMahon’s opponent, Chris Murphy, is a career politician. He worked briefly as an attorney. This isn’t the type of resume that would lead one to believe that he understands how shops in the private sector grow. Let’s face it, you have to have spent time on the roller coaster ride of the business world before you truly understand it. People who have spent their whole careers in nice government offices and only know how to politic on the issues aren’t going to be effective in helping local companies grow or even hire.
Perhaps the voters of Connecticut will side with Linda McMahon after all. Yes, she has some crazy stuff in her past, but she could help turn an ailing economy around. This is one of the more interesting races this year. I know I will be watching to see how it turns out.
