I saw this video today whole floating around "teh interwebs" as a response video to the nasty political war being waged right now on the mean streets of Greenwich, CT in the race for U.S. Senate. Democrat Richard Blumenthal is running against Rep. Linda McMahon...who many of us who grew up in the early 2000's know simply as the former C.E.O. of World Wrestling Entertainment and the wife of controversial, uber-billionaire Vince McMahon. Along the political road, McMahon has pushed Blumenthal's buttons for being a fiscally irresponsible liberal. In the most mature move possible, Blumenthal of course referenced Linda being hit over the head with a steel chair on live television. Which I guess really isn't actuallythat bad, considering I remember a lot worse things being done to, or around, the former C.E.O. of WWE (then the WWF, before endangered pandas stole the company's name). For example, I remember Katie Vick. I wish I didn't...but I do.
Blumenthal has continued to promote McMahon's overseeing of the raunchy days of what the WWE now calls it's "Attitude Era." Earlier this week, Vinny Mac took it upon himself to defend his company, his wife, and his reputation by lauching this "Stand Up for WWE" promotion on every social network available, as well as WWE.com. It seems that in the past five years or so, the WWE has traded in it's Attitude Card for a pinwheel hat and a lollypop. WWE programming is now exclusively PG rated, features no swearing, sex or excessive violence (which I understand now to mean, no chair shots to the head. Just the back), has marketing deals with children's magazines, Mattel toys, and numerous other "family friendly" enterprises. Essentially, it's a throwback to the "Say your prayers, eat your vitamins!" 80's only with the guy from "The Marine" instead of Hulk Hogan.
Blumenthal points out that Linda oversaw a wildly controversial, weekly episodic TV show that routinely garnered mature ratings and more outrage from parent groups than Snooky being punched in the face by the South Park rendition Allah. There's video to prove all of this and enough Stone Cold Steve Austin middle fingers to probably fill the entire state of CT. On the flip side, the company is "clean" now, and Linda no longer has any affiliation with the WWE besides being married to The Boss. Of course, The Boss still being the original face of steroid abuse in sports in the United States, and a guy who once had human crap sprayed on him and his son in fron of 15 million people. I should probably mention the fact that too that, as a business practice, the WWE has seen a marketing boom throughout the last 15 years, even lasting through the latest recession with great numbers on Wall St. as a publically traded company (thank you, American Airlines in flight magazine article). Regardless of content: people just really like wrestling. It used to be kids, then it was adults, then it was teenagers, now we're back to kids again.
So is Blumenthal in the right for using such inflamatory video against McMahon in this race? Should he acknowledge that the company has gone the family friendly route and, despite it's raunchiness, the business was still a successful one and brought business to the state of CT during McMahon's tenure with the company? Should McMahon have to at least atone for her on-air sins during the "Attitude Era" and address them like a professional? Should she sling mud back? Should Vince McMahon have brainstormed this new "Stand Up for WWE" thing, which is going to cause great feedback from fans I assume, but horrible feedback from the democratic challenger?
There are a lot of relevant, ethical questions going on here and I think this election, not the stupid one in Delaware with the witch, is the best microcosm of national politics in the U.S.A: The practice of attack ads over issues. The relevance of one's past business practices versus their current day objectives. The dillusion of politics into entertainment, and vice versa. The overwhelming media obsession with "drama" over state issues, which I think everybody can agree should be the real talking points in the CT Senate race.
In my opinion...McMahon helped run a major corporation that, for years, promoted indecency because that's what got ratings and made money. That's not wholely ethical, but it at least proves she's a shrewd business woman who knew how to run what was, at the time, one of the biggest money making businesses in the entire country, something CT values. By constantly going back to the "look at this horrible video!" gimmic, I think Blumenthal is grasping at straws to stir up national controversy against his more famous opponent. We get it. Linda McMahon is/was into pro wrestling, which is violent, which once upon a time was like soft-core porn, which a lot of people didn't approve of. It also proved it WAS popular enough to be a major force in entertainment, and is still making more ad money than some professional sports organizations are (I'm looking at you, everybody but the NFL). To me, that's a one time shot you can take as a candidate...then you move on to attack her political ideas. Blumenthal's not going that route, which is why Vince and the WWE have their new promotion, Linda McMahon is still more famous than her challenger but now is a demi-villain, and the whole thing is like...well...some sort of scripted, poorly acted, smackdown of a drama.
And that's the bottom line.
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