Linda McMahon for Senate catch-all thread

[jdw]

So I wonder if/when the Democrats will unleash their secret weapon of dirty McMahon laundry.

What dirty laundry isn't out there already? The issues of steroids, death and how the WWE uses women have already wrapped around Linda's neck to help sink her.

 

John

[Ronnie]

Jeez, it's made it to the UK.

 

The current-affairs program Newsnight has just started, and the host has just previewed the evening's skedule. (It's 22:30 here.)

 

I heard a familiar robotic drone saying that "30 years ago my husband and I started our company. It took hard work and perseverance", and looked up to see Linda McMahon talking to the screen, with the host voicing over "The best democracy money can buy: We report on the cost of winning and losing elections in America." There was also footage of Linda kicking JR in the bollocks.

 

I've set this to record, and I'll pop back later if there's anything worth mentioning.

[Ronnie]

Bah, it wasn't any form of hatchet job on Linda after all. It was a simple piece on how ever-greater amounts of money are being thrown into US elections.

 

It started with one of Linda's campaign videos, the voice-over saying "She seems conventional ... until you see her in action", followed by Linda kicking JR in the balls. Back to the campaign video, where she says "I'm Linda McMahon: I'm running for the US Senate, and I approve this message because it's time for something different."

 

The presenter then voices over "Something different, like runaway election-spending right in the middle of a recession", over footage of Kane pulling Linda about by her hair on the stage area immediately before the Titantron, before tombstoning her. "McMahon has dropped a cool 50 million of her own wrestling-empire fortune to try to become the next senator for Connecticut."

 

They like money in Greenwich, CT. It's the nation's hedge-fund capital, the kind of place where McMahon's husband can proudly name his own speedboat 'Sexy Bitch'. Her Democrat opponent is less brash, but not exactly poor either."

 

And that's the end of the McMahon part. The report, only a few minutes in length, gives examples of other massive spending, saying that there's been a "radical change in that outsiders can spend as much as they like anonymously" to donate in elections. "Political spending is protected as a kind of freedom of speech."

 

And that was that.

[Guest kowking]

Do Japanese politicians/Japanese politics affect pro wrestling in Japan, or have they over the years, in a manner similar to the way Linda's race has affected WWE?

[Guest kowking]

Please pardon the double post -- but I'd like to amend my previous question to include Mexico.

[Ditch]

Inoki's political aspirations might have affected NJ, but it's hard to discern from his usual insanity. Several wrestlers have run for office but it didn't change the product.

[jdw]

WWE will offer free merchandise outside poll stations

 

This might annoy people even more. It's a good way to get WWE Fans out to vote: swag.

 

John

[Loss]

It's a shame (for them anyway) that Connecticut isn't really a strong market for WWE.

[artDDP]

Ok, how much money has been sunk into this Linda-for-governor project already ?

Estimated at $50M by the time its done.

 

John

 

Amazing waste of money. WCW level waste.

 

Can you imagine just how much WCW would have spent just for some cheap publicity had they actually tried to manage a Hogan campaign in 2000?

[tomk]

The question would be what does Vince win?

Is it possible that it’s just about the T-shirts.

 

The whole Stand Up for the WWE really feels less like completely tone-deaf political campaign attempt than it feels like an attempt at merch sales. Maybe it just is that the WWE knows how to put together a T-shirt campaign better than it does an election one. But Stand Up for the WWE started in mid October about the same time that the WWE traditionally does it’s angles built around getting addresses for their Christmas catalog mailing list (send get well cards to Matilda, Austin passes around a petition, etc). And it really has the feel of those things.

 

Don’t get me wrong, I am not a guy who thinks Vince is particularly clever or underestimates his foolishness. But is it possible that Vince just saw that they’ve wasted 41 million on the campaign and went “Let’s see if we can salvage that loss and sell some T-shirts"?

[Ronnie]

Just to embellish John's earlier post:

 

STAMFORD, Conn., October 28, 2010 – To celebrate the victory of restoring voters' right to wear WWE® clothing at the polls, World Wrestling Entertainment® will be giving away WWE merchandise near select Connecticut poll locations on Election Day, this Tuesday, November 2nd.

 

"I can't think of a better way for WWE fans to celebrate their constitutional rights and freedom of expression while voting than to proudly wear the WWE merchandise that Connecticut Secretary of State Susan Bysiewicz attempted to prohibit from the polls," said Vince McMahon, Chairman and CEO, World Wrestling Entertainment.

 

Out of respect for voters from all political parties, WWE will not be handing out merchandise within 75 feet of polling locations, and merchandise will be available on a first come, first served basis.

That's a nice way of acknowledging that Linda is synonymous with WWE, and so it's illegal to distribute the merchandise within 75 feet.

[El-P]

Anybody thinks the RAW following the election will be a riot ?

[Cox]

I think the Raw before the election is going to be where the action is, since that's going to be when they are really pounding their message out full blast. The Raw after the election will be almost a week after the election ended, so unless Linda pulls off a win, I bet it will be quite muted. NXT might be interesting that week, though, as it will be airing right around the time election results are trickling in.

[Guest Slickster]

I wouldn't be surprised if Vince never even goes to the arena on Tuesday. Win or lose, Linda's going to have an election-night rally and make a speech so Vince will probably be there along with the rest of the McMahon family.

[CodySave]

From this past weekend's Stewart/Colbert "Rally to Restore Sanity/March to Keep Fear Alive"

 

[sek69]

Vince gets his fingers slapped for trying to troll the elections people in CT, responds as you would expect:

 

 

STAMFORD, Conn. Not so coincidently after President Obama's visit to Connecticut this past weekend and on the eve of the midterm elections, WWE is being threatened by the U.S. Department of Justice of the Obama Administration with potential criminal activity for distributing WWE T-shirts near select polling stations tomorrow on Election Day.

 

“This is clearly heavy-handed bullying from big government and would appear to be desperate political activity in closely contested elections in Connecticut, said Vince McMahon, Chairman and CEO World Wrestling Entertainment. “This is consistent with some Attorney Generals’ tactics that threaten litigation for political gain.

 

Under this ambiguous threat of legal action by the U.S. Department of Justice, WWE has reluctantly decided not to give away WWE merchandise near select polling stations tomorrow.

 

The controversy began with Connecticut Secretary of State Susan Bysiewicz's directive stating “if poll workers feel like the wearing of WWE paraphernalia is in any way interfering with the voting process, they can ask the individual to cover it up or come back with something else on". The directive was ultimately overturned by a Federal Judge last week. Subsequently, to celebrate the victory of restoring voters' rights, WWE had planned to give away WWE merchandise at select polls to anyone regardless of political affiliation or whether they intended to vote.

 

 

 

 

Yes Vince, it's heavy handed bullying that you were trying to hand out free merch to voters outside polling places your wife is on the ballot at and you got told to knock it the fuck off. Poor, poor, picked on WWE.

 

 

 

 

 

*edit* if you haven't been keeping up with the comments on WWE's Facebook page, you really should. Every election related story has comments that are 25% I STAND FOR WWE, CENA RULZ! and about 75% "I can't wait for Linda to hurry up and lose already so we can get back to wrestling and forget this stupid political stuff". If Vince ever sees this, WWE will probably remove all traces of their presence off the Internet since it seems that a majority of their precious "WWE Universe" is sick of hearing about it.

[Bix]

The Department of Justice has recently received information indicating that your client, World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), might be providing or planning to provide free merchandise to voters at polling places. However, the available information also indicates that, if this practice is actually planned or occurring, it is open and notorious. Accordingly, this letter is to advise you that WWE might be operating in ignorance of applicable federeal criminal law, and to notify you of that law.

 

Specifically, Section 1973i © of Titale 42 of the United States Code makes it a federal offnse to pay or offer to pay an individual a thing of value for voting. Violations of Section 1973i © is punishable by imprisonment up to five years and a fine not to exceed $250,000. Please note the Department's understanding that this statute prohibits a person from providing a thing of value--such as clothing--in return for an individual's participation in the voting process.

 

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

 

Sincerely,

 

 

Richard C. Pilger

Director

Election Crimes Branch

[El-P]

Jeez, that "Kids of all ages Stand Up for WWE" is... I have no word, really. They have no shame. And they don't realize they're being really fucking ridiculous. And the comments on the video are mostly... not kind to this shit.

I don't care at all about the WWE and its product, but I admit this whole debacle entertains me quite a bit.

[Bix]

I honestly didn't expect Vince to poop on a Blumenthal banner.

[Guest kowking]

I honestly didn't expect Vince to poop on a Blumenthal banner.

Smells like victory.

[rovert]

Im getting really tired the CRAZY VINCE narrative in the wrestling media (looking at you Bix!) when really he has a sense of humour about it.

[Guest Paul Kersey]

The thing is, when Vince tries to goof around with that image (or most other things) he just seems stranger and even more out of touch. I haven't even seen this skit but it's very existence (the night before Election day?) is strange.

 

I'm not rooting for Linda (and i'm not a CT resident so that really doesn't matter) but I can't think anything to come out of WWE tv or Vince's behavior doing her campaign a bit of good. her non-WWE campaign staff must be going nuts, and I'd love it if someone (Muchnick? Meltzer? Even Bix?) could get some of them talking when this is done.

 

This has delivered the weird McMahon goods, and stacks up well against other such episodes.

[Marty]

For those who haven't seen it, the skit in question:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmeBE0TIIJE

[kjh]

Im getting really tired the CRAZY VINCE narrative in the wrestling media (looking at you Bix!) when really he has a sense of humour about it.

It would help if his sense of humour wasn't so weird and juvenile.

[S.L.L.]

Im getting really tired the CRAZY VINCE narrative in the wrestling media (looking at you Bix!) when really he has a sense of humour about it.

It would help if his sense of humour wasn't so weird and juvenile.

 

It would also help if it was funny or if it showed any clear difference from the way Vince normally carries himself. Vince McMahon doing a self-parody is indistinguishable from the real thing.