Linda McMahon for Senate catch-all thread

[kjh]

Vince could never run for office for the same reasons that Ric Flair never could.

[El-P]

So, 100 million $ down the drain. Jeez, could I have just one, I promise I'll do a much better use than this.

[Al]

Here in Pennsylvania, Tom Smith spent $17 million of his own money on a Senate race and fell nine percent short.

[Childs]

Good lord, Vince would never have a prayer. They'd hang him with all the stuff they hanged her with x 10, even if he is more charismatic and more competent.

[Victator]

He couldn't do any worse.

[NintendoLogic]

Vince running for office would be a Christine O'Donnell-level train wreck. I'm pretty sure he'd try to strangle a reporter with his bare hands at some point.

[Victator]

Not seeing a downside.

[sek69]

Honestly I would expect Vince to do better even with all his obvious liabilities. Charisma goes a long way in politics, and if he could manage to go a whole campaign without having a Bob Costas moment on an interviewer (a big if, for sure) he'd probably do a lot better than you'd think.

[FLIK]

 

 

[JerryvonKramer]

The fact that Jesse Ventura got elected with all the shit he'd said as a heel and commentator, with all the stupid costumes etc., I mean they didn't make a difference in the end.

 

Not seeing how Vince is any more "wacky" than Ventura must have seemed in the late 90s.

[Al]

The fact that Jesse Ventura got elected with all the shit he'd said as a heel and commentator, with all the stupid costumes etc., I mean they didn't make a difference in the end.

 

Not seeing how Vince is any more "wacky" than Ventura must have seemed in the late 90s.

From what I understand, politics in Minnesota is far different from in the Northeast. Minnesota also elected Al Franken to its Senate.

[NintendoLogic]

Ventura won a three-way race with 37 percent of the vote. And the problem with Vince isn't that he's wacky, it's that he's evil.

[Loss]

The fact that Jesse Ventura got elected with all the shit he'd said as a heel and commentator, with all the stupid costumes etc., I mean they didn't make a difference in the end.

 

Not seeing how Vince is any more "wacky" than Ventura must have seemed in the late 90s.

Vince has no patience for the media, can't have his ideas challenged without reacting aggressively, and is a war profiteer and drug addict that has fired people who are good in media settings and would be happy to cut ads against him. He hired a doctor to dispense illegal drugs so his wrestlers could look more muscular, and is an accused rapist. He has built an infrastructure that allows him to fuck women who work for him without fear of reprisal, and there is video footage of him using the N-word on WWE programming. He doesn't provide health care to his wrestlers, and doesn't even consider them employees. And you think he would be a good candidate? Come on.

[tigerpride]

The fact that Jesse Ventura got elected with all the shit he'd said as a heel and commentator, with all the stupid costumes etc., I mean they didn't make a difference in the end.

 

Not seeing how Vince is any more "wacky" than Ventura must have seemed in the late 90s.

That's a terrible comparison. Jesse Ventura said stuff in his scripted role as television commentator. Vince McMahon is insane.

[Cross Face Chicken Wing]

I'm a lifelong Minnesotan. Here's how Jesse Ventura became governor:

 

The democrat in the race was Skip Humphrey, son of former vice president Hubert Humphrey. Unfortunately for Skip, he only inherited a tiny fraction of his father's character and charisma. Most people saw him as someone trying to ride his last name into office, or as a slimy lawyer type because of his role in suing tobacco companies.

 

The republican was a former democrat turned moderate republican named Norm Coleman. Norm tried to position himself as the populist center candidate in the race, but failed. Hardcore conservatives were not fired up by Coleman and Minnesota liberals will never vote for a guy w/ a 'R' next to his name, regardless of how moderate he claims to be. Coleman also went on to win a senate seat, but lost it after one term to Al Franken. So yes, Mr. Coleman has lost elections to a pro wrestler and a comedian known for characters such as Stuart Smalley.

 

The entire race got thrown off when Coleman decided to let Jesse Ventura particiapte in a debate. Coleman felt that Ventura would siphon votes off of the liberal Humphrey. Turns out, Ventura siphoned votes off both guys and ended up hurting Coleman most.

 

Being included in the debates allowed Ventura to position himself as the populist candidate from the center. While Coleman and Humphrey kept repeating bland talking points, Ventura charasmatically answered questions in a manner that seemed much more real and honest than the other two guys.

 

Ventura also ran a great campaign (managed by Dean Barkley, I believe). His ads were groundbreaking, he targeted youth voters successfully (not easy to do) and took some chances that underdog candidates always refuse to take (even to this day) for some reason. Ventura openly admitted he was an underdog and tried to use that "us vs. them" mentality to his advantage.

 

So, could Vince McMahon get elected to some sort of office? Of course he could. It all depends who he runs against, which way the political winds in Connecticut happen to be blowing, and how he and his team run the campaign.

[Dylan Waco]

The fact that Jesse Ventura got elected with all the shit he'd said as a heel and commentator, with all the stupid costumes etc., I mean they didn't make a difference in the end.

 

Not seeing how Vince is any more "wacky" than Ventura must have seemed in the late 90s.

Vince has no patience for the media, can't have his ideas challenged without reacting aggressively, and is a war profiteer and drug addict that has fired people who are good in media settings and would be happy to cut ads against him. He hired a doctor to dispense illegal drugs so his wrestlers could look more muscular, and is an accused rapist. He has built an infrastructure that allows him to fuck women who work for him without fear of reprisal, and there is video footage of him using the N-word on WWE programming. He doesn't provide health care to his wrestlers, and doesn't even consider them employees. And you think he would be a good candidate? Come on.

 

You forgot "publicly admitted his fantasy about shoving crushed leaves into his cousin's vagina."

[Cross Face Chicken Wing]

The fact that Jesse Ventura got elected with all the shit he'd said as a heel and commentator, with all the stupid costumes etc., I mean they didn't make a difference in the end.

 

Not seeing how Vince is any more "wacky" than Ventura must have seemed in the late 90s.

Vince has no patience for the media, can't have his ideas challenged without reacting aggressively, and is a war profiteer and drug addict that has fired people who are good in media settings and would be happy to cut ads against him. He hired a doctor to dispense illegal drugs so his wrestlers could look more muscular, and is an accused rapist. He has built an infrastructure that allows him to fuck women who work for him without fear of reprisal, and there is video footage of him using the N-word on WWE programming. He doesn't provide health care to his wrestlers, and doesn't even consider them employees. And you think he would be a good candidate? Come on.

 

Ventura also had no patience for the media. He kept it farily under control during the campaign, and I think it actually helped him. Remember, the public hates the media almost as much as they hate politicians. Ventura's temper with the media really came back to bite him in the ass after he was in office, though. The schtick got tiring.

 

All of the other things you mention can be overcome.

 

Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying Vince is anything close to an ideal candidate. He's not. But he'd have a better shot than Linda, IMO. Again, it all depends on the political winds, quality of opponent, and the quality of Vince's and his team's campaign strategy (and money, of course).

[Loss]

Being a racist rapist can be overcome?

[Cross Face Chicken Wing]

Being a racist rapist can be overcome?

I admit, I haven't paid attention to WWE in the last 10 years. Where is this rape stuff coming from? Clinton had whispers of rape thrown at him, too.

 

A republican being accused of racism or using a racial slur? You don't say!

 

Again, I'm not saying Vince is an ideal candidate. He's not. But everything brought up about him in this thread isn't a deal breaker.

 

As far as leaves in the vagina......whew, that's a rough one. I've never read that Playboy interview, but I still don't think it'd be a dealbreaker.

 

A month or two before the election, Ventura was quoted in Playboy saying that organized religion is a sham and a crutch for weak-minded people. Franken talked openly in books and other media accounts about rampant drug use and sex as a young comedian and as a cast member on SNL.

 

Both still managed to get elected.

[Dylan Waco]

This is moot, but Vince would have no shot. It's unlikely he could even win the GOP nomination EVEN WITH his shit tons of money.

[Loss]

Look at Minnesota's record of elected officials. It's a zany group of people that is more reflective of the state's political climate than anything else. It's such a bizarre state that I hesitate to apply precedent there.

 

Vince was accused of raping a woman in the early 90s. It would come up again. Vince isn't just *accused* of racism. He called Booker T "my nigga" on pay-per-view. That would end up in ads for months.

 

I'm shocked that we're having this conversation.

[Dylan Waco]

It's also important to remember that there are tons of people within the GOP who believe that Linda was a puppet for Vince all along. As an aside I have some reason to believe that Vince was the one who wanted to run and was begged not to by state party officials.

[Loss]

I don't even think Vince could beat John Edwards.

[tigerpride]

Being a rapist can be overcome?

Bill Clinton?

[Cross Face Chicken Wing]

Look at Minnesota's record of elected officials. It's a zany group of people that is more reflective of the state's political climate than anything else. It's such a bizarre state that I hesitate to apply precedent there.

 

Vince was accused of raping a woman in the early 90s. It would come up again. Vince isn't just *accused* of racism. He called Booker T "my nigga" on pay-per-view. That would end up in ads for months.

 

I'm shocked that we're having this conversation.

I haven't seen the PPV w/ the "my nigga" comment, but I don't see why it couldn't be spun as something a character on a scripted show said, and not as a racial slur.

 

I'll stop now because I'm starting to sound like Vince's campaign manager. I agree 100 percent that Vince winning anything would be a major longshot and highly unlikely. But it's not impossible.

 

Rape accusations, racial slurs, drug use, treating employees like garbage...it's all been overcome by local, state and federal candidates -- from states other than Minnesota -- before.