Joe Biden

White House Says It's Serious About Trimming Government Fat

Susan Crabtree | September 14, 2011, 12:00PM

V.P. Joe Biden

As President Obama asks for more money from taxpayers for his jobs plan, he's trying to show just how serious he is about cutting a little fat out of the administration's own budgetary diet.

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CT-SEN

Mr. McMahon Rumbles The Vote At WWE Show In Connecticut

Eric Kleefeld | October 31, 2010, 12:38PM

CT Sen. candidate Linda McMahon (R) and WWE CEO Vince McMahon.

World Wrestling Entertainment held a raucous, reduced-price event yesterday in Connecticut, with attendees encouraged by CEO Vince McMahon to vote on Tuesday, and to wear their WWE merchandise when they do so. And of course, this officially was not any kind of corporate promotion of Republican Senate nominee Linda McMahon, the former WWE CEO and Vince's wife and business partner.

The New Haven Independent reports:

Vince McMahon stepped into the ring after the divas departed. "You may think I am here to talk politics," Vince McMahon said, "but nothing could be further from the truth."

He encouraged WWE fans to vote on Tuesday and to "feel free to wear a WWE T-shirt" to the polls. He also urged them to "Stand up for WWE." Professional wrestling has been given a bad rap, he said. "We've been subject to ridicule by elitists," he said. Those "elitists" would like to tell people what they should and shouldn't watch on TV, he said. He asked fans "to stand up for what you want to watch ... for what you think is appropriate for your family to watch.".

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CT-SEN

Mr. McMahon Strikes Again: WWE To Hand Out Merchandise Near Polling Places

Eric Kleefeld | October 28, 2010, 5:51PM

CT Sen. candidate Linda McMahon (R) and WWE CEO Vince McMahon.

Republican Linda McMahon might be seriously down in the polls for the Connecticut Senate race, but it looks like she'll have some unconventional help on Election Day, The Day reports. Folks from World Wrestling Entertainment, the company she ran along with her husband and business partner Vince McMahon, will be handing out WWE merchandise near select polling places.

This comes after Secretary of State Susan Bysiewicz's (D) office backed off from an attempt to bar voters from wearing WWE paraphernalia to polling places, on the grounds that they would be construed as electioneering materials. Vince McMahon then filed a lawsuit over the matter, a judge sided with McMahon, and the matter was dropped.

As The Day reports, Vince McMahon is now mounting this new maneuver, and boasting in a statement: "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."

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CT-SEN

Vince McMahon Web Ad: 'Let's Stand Up For WWE' Against Dem Attacks (VIDEO)

Eric Kleefeld | October 18, 2010, 5:48PM

Web video from WWE, "Vince McMahon addresses the WWE Universe"

Look out, Richard Blumenthal -- it's Mr. McMahon!

In the Connecticut Senate race, Democrats have relentlessly attacked Republican nominee Linda McMahon for the corporate track record and programming record of World Wrestling Entertainment, the company where she was CEO. Now her husband and business partner, WWE head honcho Vince McMahon, has posted a new video on the WWE's YouTube account, seeking to mobilize fan support -- for the company.

"The United States Senatorial campaign in Connecticut involving my wife, former WWE CEO Linda McMahon, and Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, has quite frankly put the spotlight on WWE," says Vince. "It has resulted in some negative and inaccurate attacks on our company. So, we're reaching out directly to you, the WWE Universe, our fans, to provide the real facts about WWE."

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WWE

Smackdown! How The WWE Might Bodyslam Voter Turnout In Connecticut

Brian Beutler | October 14, 2010, 12:17PM

WWE Wrestling: Beth Phoenix, Mickie James, Jillian Hall

As long as Linda McMahon has been the Republican Senate candidate in Connecticut, everybody -- even conservatives -- assumed her long, infamous ties to World Wrestling Entertainment would be a huge liability for her. But it might pay off for an unforeseen reason, particularly if her opponent's narrow lead keeps shrinking.

On November 2, voters and their families will face a choice: head to the polls to vote, or rush over after work to the Arena at Harbor Yard in Bridgeport for a rollicking night of "Smackdown" -- election night fun for the whole family.

The event has Connecticut Dems working the refs.

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CT-SEN

FLASHBACK: McMahons Sued Geraldo For Airing Rape Claims By Former WWE Referee

Christina Bellantoni | October 12, 2010, 8:35PM

Seventeen years ago, after a former World Wrestling Entertainment referee claimed on Geraldo Rivera's syndicated TV show that Vincent McMahon had sexually assaulted her, the WWE founder and his wife Linda McMahon filed a lawsuit against the woman and media outlets who had made her claims public, asking for $1 million in damages due to "severe emotional distress."

Linda McMahon, who served as WWE's CEO and is now the Republican Senate nominee in Connecticut, has been deflecting past stories about the wrestling company for months as she battles Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal for the state's open Senate seat now held by a Democrat. Before McMahon even captured the GOP nomination, Democrats were pushing videos of old WWE sketches that depicted mock necrophilia and simulated rape scenes. The prevalence of steroids in the "sport" and the deaths of wrestlers associated with WWE have been major political problems for the McMahon campaign.

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CT-SEN

Vince McMahon: Stop Using WWE To Bash Linda In CT-SEN Race!

Eric Kleefeld | August 9, 2010, 1:14PM

CT Sen. candidate Linda McMahon (R) and WWE CEO Vince McMahon.

Vince McMahon, the chairman and CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment, is upset about the use of his franchise's content against his wife, former CEO Linda McMahon, in her campaign for the Republican nomination for Senate in Connecticut.

In an interview with the Associated Press last week, Vince McMahon said that critics have not mentioned the "soap opera elements" in the storylines that have led up to any objectionable moments. "Most of the people have not even seen our show. They don't even know what this business is about," said Vince McMahon. "They haven't been to a live event. They really haven't watched on television at all. All they've seen is like one little snippet and try to make up their minds as to whether or not it's acceptable programming."

[TPM SLIDESHOW: Bringing The Smackdown: Linda McMahon's Campaign For Senate, And Her Colorful Pro-Wrestling Past]

Vince and Linda McMahon have both appeared on the show, playing fictionalized versions of themselves as the evil multi-millionaire bosses of the company, and even participated in the dramatized violence. For example, Vince was depicted forcing a female wrestler onto her knees and making her bark like a dog, while Linda has kicked a man in the groin -- the latter episode has even made its way into an ad by one of McMahon's GOP rivals, financial commentator Peter Schiff.

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