Richard Blumenthal Has a Strong Foundation for Making Linda McMahon’s Record as WWE’s Chief Executive the Focus of Monday’s Debate

It’s going to take an electronic crowbar, but I’m trying mightily to extract the politicos’ heads from their asses for just a second here.

In their usual way of promoting superficiality and frivolousness as supreme values – all the while pretending to bemoan the superficiality and frivolousness that have overtaken our world – the mainstream media have made their Connecticut Senate narrative du jour the despair or panic in the Richard Blumenthal camp in the face of Linda McMahon’s seeming dead heat in the latest polling.

That is no more accurate or fair than it would be to write that Blumenthal has conducted a good campaign to date.

The truth is that for all his negative momentum, Blumenthal still has plenty of time to introduce Connecticut voters to the real Linda Edwards McMahon, a merchant of death of such callousness as to almost defy belief.

I don’t blame newcomers to the history of World Wrestling Entertainment for taking a while to wrap their minds around this sordid tale. But the debate next Monday in Hartford marks the start of a new season, and Blumenthal has plenty of “Raw” material to work with – whether the so-called smart set realizes it or not.

In his under-noticed blog post today, the hardworking Brian Lockhart of Hearst gives the full treatment to the endorsement of McMahon by the National Federation of Independent Business. See “Linda McMahon scores backing of biz group,” http://blog.ctnews.com/politicalcapitol/2010/09/30/linda-mcmahon-scores-backing-of-biz-group/.

It’s all there: WWE’s record on health care … the state investigation of its independent contractor chicanery … all tied together by the sort of nugget that makes wonks swoon – this business group’s rather funky position on lowering or eliminating the minimum wage.

If he plays it smart, Blumenthal still will have every opportunity to frame the debate in ways that put McMahon on the spot. And he can do so without sacrificing his own dignity, which seems to be an inordinately high priority for Harvard undergrad/Yale Law people.

Meanwhile, as the echo chamber reverberates with nonsense like how one of Linda’s stupid TV commercials landed on Gawker’s weirdo list, there were two new solid pieces published today, outside Connecticut, on Linda McMahon’s accountability for the body count in her company and industry. Will outlets within the state add value to the public’s education on this between now and Monday night? Or will they hide behind “been there, done that”?

Irv Muchnick