Trailing badly among Republican voters in the latest Quinnipiac Poll, Chris Shays of Bridgeport spiked the rhetoric today in a debate against party-endorsed Linda McMahon. They will face off in an Aug. 14 primary for U.S. Senate. The Hartford Courant’s Daniela Altimari reports:
STORRS — Christopher Shays and Linda McMahon, in their first one-on-one debate in the Republican race for U.S. Senate, agreed Thursday afternoon on the need to cut taxes, grow the economy, and take U.S. troops out of Afghanistan.
And that the other candidate was the wrong person to accomplish those goals.
Shays said McMahon, former CEO of the WWE pro-wrestling empire, comes from “a make-believe arena” that has ill-prepared her for the challenges ahead.
McMahon said Shays, a former Congressman, helped bring the country to the difficult situation it is in today: “We can’t keep sending the same people back to Washington who created the mess.”
Regardless of the question, Shays found opportunities to bring up the WWE and wrestling routines that he said degraded women, minorities and retarded people. Hugh Hefner is a job creator too, Shays said, but he wouldn’t want Hefner representing the state in the U.S. Senate.
McMahon said that she was proud of the business she helped build and the jobs it has created, and that the Senate needs people from the private sector who know how to create jobs.
But Shays, in response to a question about Syria, said it showed why Connecticut needs someone with experience in Washington to handle the problem. “We don’t need two junior senators,” he said. U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal is serving his first term.
The hourlong debate was held at the University of Connecticut. It will be televised tonight at 7 on FOX CT. It was sponsored by The Courant and FOX CT, in cooperation with UConn.
McMahon won the backing of Republican delegates at a convention last month, but Shays received enough support to qualify for a primary, which will be held Aug. 14.
The debate was the first featuring only McMahon and Shays; three other candidates participated in earlier forums but have since dropped their bids.
*** Shays needs to push the political envelope with Independent and Dem voters in CT. Like him or not he’s the best man for the job during these unstable hard economic times in America! *** It is what it is! ***
Who is better for Bridgeport?
I’m past caring about team Republican and team Democrat; what I want to know is who is going to bring the most pork to the Park City.
Or the most Park to the Porked City?
What did Shays do for Bridgeport in the past?
Linda is just gritty enough to emulate the typical Bridgeporter. Do you think she has tattoos?
Pathetic, whiny, desperate, anger-laced display by RINO “I vote 40% with the Democrats,” Chris-Cross Shays …! Someone forgot to tell Chris the party is changing. No moderates needed.
yahooy,
Shays brought serious federal dollars back to Bridgeport; for example–the entire regional bus terminal–over $20 million; the transit garage; there is another $9 million the city is still processing through the Federal Transit Administration. Lots of legislation; lots of pressure on the Federal agencies like HUD. I saw it first hand. His two decades of experience helped Bridgeport big time.
Have a little dignity Chris Shays, and bow out, be a party guy … finally!