Dems Answer Murphy SOS
by Christine Stuart | Sep 13, 2012 7:23am
(7) Comments | Commenting has expired
Posted to: Congress, Election 2012
The SOS message Chris Murphy sent out at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte was heard loud and clear by the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, which didn’t anticipate having to spend money in a blue state like Connecticut.
According to Politico the DSCC diverted resources from New Mexico in order to spend $320,000 in Connecticut helping the three-term Congressman with his U.S. Senate race against Republican Linda McMahon.
“Connecticut voters deserve to know the real Linda McMahon,” Matt Canter, spokesman for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, said in a press release detailing their newest television advertisement.
A traditionally blue state, McMahon, has done a such a good job in her second try for the U.S. Senate seat that polls show the two in a statistical dead heat. McMahon, who lost by 12 points in 2010 to Richard Blumenthal after spending $50 million, spent most of the summer focused on defining Murphy and softening her own image.
Polls show that her strategy seems to be working. McMahon is making in roads with women and independent voters.
“McMahon’s 54 – 42 percent lead among men swamps Murphy’s small 50 – 46 percent lead among women,” Doug Schwartz, director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute, said. “McMahon leads 88 – 10 percent among Republicans and 55 – 40 percent among independent voters, while Murphy takes Democrats 82 – 16 percent.”
Murphy is still an unknown commodity statewide with the same Aug. 28 Quinnipiac University poll showing that there are still 32 percent voters who have not heard enough about him to form an opinion.
Over the past month, McMahon launched a series of attacks regarding Murphy’s Congressional attendance record in 2008 to his brush with foreclosure in 2007 to his delinquent property tax payment in 2005, and his failure to pay rent in 2003.
On Sunday the McMahon campaign filed an ethics complaint against Murphy alleging that he received favorable treatment for a home equity line of credit from Webster Bank in exchange for his work on the House Financial Services Committee and the passage of the Troubled Asset Relief Program. It’s an allegation the bank and Murphy both deny.
On Wednesday after a Sept. 11th cease fire, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and the Murphy campaign went on the offensive against McMahon with similar ads depicting her as a greedy CEO who doesn’t care about her employees.
Sound familiar? It’s the same strategy employed by Blumenthal in 2010.
“Profits before people,” was a tagline used by the Blumenthal campaign and it was trotted out again Wednesday at the end of the DSCC ad.
The Murphy campaign ad, which was also release Wednesday morning, wasn’t much different.
“Greedy CEO Linda McMahon was never on our side. And she won’t be as Senator,” the narrator in the Murphy ad says at the end of the ad.
Corry Bliss, McMahon’s campaign manager, fired back at the two ads, claiming they won’t work.
“Congressman Chris Murphy and his Washington cronies are sadly mistaken if they think they can resuscitate his flailing U.S. Senate campaign by spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on false and unsubstantiated television attack ads,“ Bliss said. “The people of Connecticut will see these ads for exactly what they are: a desperate congressman and a bunch of Washington insiders trying to manipulate Connecticut voters in an effort to guarantee another go-along, get-along politician another term in office.”
McMahon’s campaign was quick to respond with this radio ad that admits the WWE laid off employees in 2009, but it claims it recovered from the recession and has more employees now than it did prior to the layoffs.
Tags: Linda McMahon, Chris Murphy, U.S. Senate
(7) Comments
posted by: kenneth_krayeske | September 13, 2012 10:14am
Cory Bliss - that’s rich! Fascinating how McMahon and her GOP cronies project her own problems onto her opponent. Like when Bliss accuses Murphy of manipulating Connecticut voters when McMahon is the one who has unleashed millions of dollars of propaganda and psychological warfare on the television watching people of Connecticut. Those of us who don’t watch TV don’t subject themselves to McMahon’s politico-porn. But because she can carpet bomb the airwaves, media take her message “seriously.” McMahon is a fraud, and one hopes that Nutmeggers are smart enough to see through her attempt to purchase power.
posted by: MGKW | September 13, 2012 10:29am
Let’s be clear…
Despite what the delusionist Corey Bliss says…
Along with her husband Vince (Where is he?), Linda McMahon built an entertainment company, Worldwide Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), that markets in sex, mental cruelty and physical violence. She actually had the temerity to go on cable television and defend it by saying that it was “family entertainment”, which her host (Bill O’Reilly) disagreed with vehemently. The enormous amount of blood money she and her husband made appealing to the lowest common denominator is now financing her second run for the Senate. Her strategy of distortion of the truth and lies are not surprising given her past.
The latest tactic is to file a bogus ethics complaint which will not be acted upon until after the election against Chris Murphy because the press is not holding him accountable according to her “standards”. If this tactic were not so pathetic, it would be laughable. Ethics?! Since when had that stopped McMahon in building WWE with questionable drug use (steroids), verbal and physical abuse, and sex.
Murphy has done good work on healthcare issues on the both the state and federal levels and has worked and learned about the mid-east by traveling to Iraq multiple number of times to determine both the impact and progress of our involvement. I refuse to believe anything Linda McMahon says about his attendance at meetings or his votes about cutting the defense budget. Given her background, Ms. McMahon’s version of the truth is highly suspect.
The press needs to do its job and show her for who she really is……a snake oil salesman and marketer in moral depravity, who is hoping the voters of CT have a very short memory!
posted by: skyrocket27 | September 13, 2012 11:20am
Congressman Murphy’s record is clear and indisputable: 23 million Americans unemployed, historic Federal debt, household income down by over 5% over the past 3 years, failure to pass a budget in over 3 years and American tax dollars and jobs shipped overseas under the guise of stimulus. With a record like that no one should be surprised by Congressman Murphy’s attempt to distract the electorate.
Don’t be fooled again. Connecticut needs and deserves better.
posted by: tin turnip | September 13, 2012 3:07pm
skyrocket, you clearly have no idea how the House of Representatives works. In the House, the majority party controls EVERYTHING. Mad about those things? Blame the REPUBLICANS in the House, who are too busy holding 33 symbolic votes to repeal the Affordable Care Act (and countless votes on women’s access to healthcare) to actually pass a JOBS BILL.
Another person who has no idea how Congress works is Linda McMahon, based on her ad about Murphy missing subcommittee meetings. Among those meetings he missed? A subcommittee meeting about coal mining in West Virginia—that took place IN WEST VIRGINIA. Could you imagine the ad she’d have released if he’d actually ATTENDED that meeting? Yeah, I can, too. She’s got no morals at all.
posted by: ALD | September 13, 2012 7:41pm
Ken, Come on, both parties manipulate voters.
How can anyone from either party be a member of Congress for the last six years and NOT be part of the current problems in this country? Is anyone in Washington ever responsible when things go wrong?
Four of the the last six years Murphy’s Pelosi ran things in the House. He didn’t need to attend many hearings, he already knew how to vote. Since she still pulls the strings for her Democratic puppets what then really has changed the last 2 years?
McMahon may not be the perfect canidate for the Senate but to me anyone who is currently NOT in Washington from either party is a better choice than anyone who is.
It’s time for a change!!!
Unless we voters let these guys know ( from both parties) that we are no longer going to accept their partisan party politics ahead of what’s best for our country they won’t get the message until it’s too late. Which I fear is a time not too far away.
posted by: mbuatti | September 13, 2012 10:06pm
I only hope they’re giving enough money and that it’s not too late. Murphy will be a great Senator, and the alternative bodes darkly for CT, and the US Senate majority, and for electoral politics in this country. Do we want to be the first in the nation where we sold one of our 2 Senate seats to the highest bidder? This isn’t even a super-PAC, it’s personal financing. Connecticut voters must support Chris Murphy.
posted by: CitizenCT | September 14, 2012 7:37am
It’s too bad all Murphy can do is run attack ads. If he had any record of accomplishment the last six years, he could take the high road and run on that, but he doesn’t. Not one meaningful piece of legislation to his name. His record is showing up to vote when uninformed of expert testimony in committee meetings. An example of his uninformed vote was voting against the defense appropriation act in July supported by all other CT congressmen and critical for CT jobs. If he can’t manage his own finances (and sadly tried to hide it), how can he be trusted to manage the country’s? We don’t need any more lazy politicians. Linda is the better alternative.