Wyman vs. McMahon
by Hugh McQuaid | Sep 13, 2012 3:53pm
(16) Comments | Commenting has expired
Posted to: Election 2012, Health Care, State Capitol
Nancy Wyman may be the state’s acting governor while Gov. Dannel Malloy is away in China, but she found time Thursday to go on the offensive for Chris Murphy’s U.S. Senate campaign outside the state Capitol.
Wyman, along with state Democratic Party Chairwoman Nancy DiNardo, staged a press conference Thursday in Hartford where they focused on Republican candidate Linda McMahon’s support of an amendment that allows employers to choose not to provide insurance coverage of contraception.
“Linda McMahon has spent so many millions of dollars on ads and commercials, so she has no problem worrying about getting her own health care,” Wyman said.
Wyman said it was fine that the former wrestling CEO could afford health insurance, but her support of the amendment, and the proposed repeal of the Affordable Care Act, would deny health care to women who aren’t as wealthy.
“She’s fighting to overturn the law that prevents insurance companies from raising rates on women simply because they’re women,” she said referring to the gender rating provision eliminated by the Affordable Care Act.
The press conference, organized by Murphy’s campaign, was the latest in an ongoing effort to use women’s health as a wedge issue in an election year that has seen the female demographic warm up to McMahon.
Two years ago when McMahon ran for Senate against former Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, women overwhelmingly supported Blumenthal. He maintained a 25 point lead over McMahon among women in a poll just before the election.
But things have changed. Early in the election cycle McMahon ran a series of ads focusing on her life story and family in an effort to soften her image. Women seem to have responded. In the most recent Quinnipiac poll, Murphy had just a four point lead among women.
Wyman said she wasn’t concerned about the poll numbers.
“I think the word is getting out now of Chris Murphy and I think when November comes, you will see the largest voting population—women—supporting the man who has really protected our rights and that is Chris Murphy,” she said.
DiNardo said the ads are likely the reason McMahon has been successful in courting women this time around.
“She had a summer of buying millions of dollars of TV ads misrepresenting Chris Murphy and trying to change her image into this nice lovable women. She never talks about how she made her millions. Her treatment in WWE was very abusive towards women,” DiNardo said.
The McMahon campaigns response to the press conference was two-fold. Corry Bliss, her campaign manager, blasted the news conference as a campaign stunt “direct from Fantasyland.”
“The facts are: Linda McMahon is a pro-choice candidate who supports access to contraception. Congressman Murphy’s continued insistence that Linda is anything other than pro-woman is ludicrous,” Bliss said.
Bliss said Murphy was hiding from the media while his surrogates launched baseless attacks against McMahon. Murphy’s spokeswoman, Taylor Lavender, said the three-term congressman was in Washington with the rest of the congressional delegation.
Meanwhile, Kathy McShane, chair of a group called Women for Linda, sent out a statement questioning whether Murphy has noticed that McMahon is a woman.
“I don’t know a lot about Congressman Murphy, but I know this: Congressman Murphy has never undergone a pap smear, a mammogram, or childbirth. Linda has,” McShane said.
McShane said she was insulted that Murphy would assume that abortion is the issue women care most about when many are more concerned about economic problems.
“To me, the focus on so-called ‘women’s issues’ implies that my reproductive organs render me incapable of caring about other issues so critical to our country,” she wrote.
An Aug. 28 Quinnipiac poll suggested voters are more concerned with the economy than women’s reproductive rights. Fifty-eight percent of likely voters said the economy would be an “extremely important” factor in their vote for president, meanwhile 31 percent said women’s reproductive health issues would be extremely important.
After the press conference Wyman said part of the problem is many younger women don’t understand the threat to their reproductive rights because they are too young to remember a time before they had those rights.
“We can’t afford to have Linda McMahon in the Senate. We need to have someone who understands when women’s rights really mean and Linda McMahon’s not going to be the one,” she said.
Tags: U.S. Senate 2012, Linda McMahon, Chris Murphy, Nancy Wyman, Nancy DiNardo
(16) Comments
posted by: Not that Michael Brown | September 13, 2012 5:16pm
Linda “soften[ed] her image” by talking about the fact that her and Vince had to file for bankruptcy. Not for problems paying medical bills or some other family emergency situation. They filed for bankruptcy to avoid paying suppliers and creditors on their ill fated promotion of EVEL KNIEVEL’s jump across the Snake River Canyon. We all can relate to that - can’t we?
posted by: Noteworthy | September 13, 2012 6:24pm
It’s the silly season of politics and Nancy Wyman lived up to it.
posted by: Lawrence | September 13, 2012 7:09pm
Lies!
Linda has been standing up for women for years—she even created a WWE “Diva’s Division” with athletic benefits such as wrestling in bikinis, in thongs, and an evening gown-ripping contest.
Successful young women under her tutelage could even win a “Best Buns” award or “Babe of the Year.”
And do you know how many of those young women whom she mentored later went on to lucrative and successful personal careers posing nude in Playboy, or making hardcore pornography?
Linda has been a role model to women for years.
posted by: SalRomano | September 13, 2012 9:53pm
Bot that Michael Brown: You can’t say anything GOOD about Chris Murphy—so you can only attempt to smear Linda McMahon—but you are doing a bad job of it, as you are dealing with a bad deck of cards. Try to meditate before you write Michael—as you do not seem to be prepared to deliver a valid message.
posted by: MGKW | September 14, 2012 8:11am
It was not more then two years ago that Linda McMahon tried to buy a CT Senate seat by smearing Dick Blumenthal and trying to hide her past. That did not work.
Yes, the voters have short memories but let us remind ourselves who Linda McMahon really is.
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: joemanc | September 14, 2012 9:29am
MGKW - Have you ever watched a Hollywood movie? If so, then you support the same material that the WWE peddles!
posted by: Not that Michael Brown | September 14, 2012 10:08am
The Hatch Act precludes federal employees from belonging to or advocating for political organizations that are working against our government.
posted by: NoNonsense2012 | September 14, 2012 10:19am
McMahon may have tried to “soften her image”, and she may have some women bamboozled. But not this woman. And, I suspect, not a whole lot of other women.
posted by: NoNonsense2012 | September 14, 2012 10:32am
McMahon may have tried to “soften her image”, and she may have some women bamboozled. But not this woman. And, I suspect, not a whole lot of women.
posted by: SalRomano | September 14, 2012 10:34am
Not that Michael Brown: You continue to hit Linda McMahon for going bankrupt in private life, many years ago, Yet, you seem condone the fact that the bad leadership of Barack Obama and Chris Murphy—has the United States in a virtual state of bankruptcy—in public life—USING OUR MONEY—with $5.2 trillion dollars of massive federal deficit spending in the past 44 months. Quit nit-picking, Michael Brown, and start telling the truth—even if it is against your personal, political colors. If you really care for American, vote for Mitt Romney and Linda McMahon, “not a failed leadership—that could be fatal to our survival, if allowed another four years in office—to completely bury this country!”
posted by: skyrocket27 | September 14, 2012 11:38am
Congressman Murphy’s voting record has brought us 23 million unemployed Americans. 23 million families that have to manage and figure out ways to put food on their tables every day and clothes on their children’s back. Add to this the millions of uncounted American families that have been forced to reorganize their budgets as a result of them being underemployed. Additionally, Congressman Murphy’s record brings 1 in 3 Americans a need to continue on welfare as a means of funding their family’s needs.
These are the real issues for which no distraction or attempt to distract, should matter. These are issues that families throughout Connecticut face every second of every day. These are the problems that Congressman Murphy’s record has brought to millions of Americans’ kitchen tables.
Connecticut and American needs and deserves better.
posted by: GoatBoyPHD | September 14, 2012 5:09pm
Caligula’s Horse is back in action!
Did I ever tell you the story of a marginally-trained radiologist and how she rose to be Comptroller of America’s wealthiest state and the financial crisis in pensions and unfinded benefits that ensued?
It’s a knee-slapper.
Gallup consistently reports that Americans reject Abortion on Demand and the only real consensus is First Term for the Big 3 exceptons (Rape, Life of the Mother, and Incest).
With free and readily available contraception coming (including Plan B) what’s the excuse now? We just turn our heads and watch animals eat their young?
I prefer to live with civilized people where We spay our dogs.
posted by: dano860 | September 15, 2012 4:34pm
http://www.osc.gov/haStateLocalProhibitedActivities.htm
According to the Federal Site it sure looks like a violation of the Hatch Act.
Katherine Sebilius is in trouble right now for the comments she made at the DNC a couple of weeks ago.
posted by: Not that Michael Brown | September 16, 2012 10:00pm
@dano860
Which federal employee are you referencing here? And my bet is you and Drudge both have your heads up your butt when it comes to Kathleen Sebelius and a violation of Hatch.
posted by: dano860 | September 18, 2012 1:58pm
@ Not that M.B.
Nothing from Drudge, no head stuck in the MSM’s butt. The facts are published in newspapers and web sites but ignored to protect Obummer and his hacks. Here is a typical news comment…
The news about Sebelius was overshadowed last week by the attacks on America’s diplomats in the Middle East. But Torie Clarke, a former Assistant Secretary of Defense under Donald Rumsfeld, argued while guest hosting WMAL’s Mornings on the Mall on Monday that a double standard may be at play.
“If it were a Republican official who had done this, the outrage would be continued and loud and would have been on the Sunday talk shows beyond Benghazi and anything else,” Clarke said