McMahon Slouching Towards Bethlehem

In its first survey of “likely voters,” a Quinnipiac poll shows Republican nominee for the U.S. Senate making inroads upon Chris Murphy, the Democratic U.S. Representative who this year is hoping to fill U.S. Senator Joe Lieberman’s Independent shoes:
 

“In today's survey, McMahon's 54 - 42 percent lead among men swamps Murphy's small 50 - 46 percent lead among women. McMahon leads 88 - 10 percent among Republicans and 55 - 40 percent among independent voters, while Murphy takes Democrats 82 - 16 percent.”

Mrs. McMahon has always drawn a strong male vote. Having learned important lessons from her loss to now Senator Richard Blumenthal, Mrs. McMahon this time at bat made a vigorous effort to capture women’s votes, and her 15 point lead over Mr. Murphy among Independents must be encouraging to her campaign.

One presumes that Mr. Murphy’s polling figure among women journalists who write for Connecticut’s media would be far in excess of 4 points. Connecticut’s media continues to be snarlingly disappointed with Mrs. McMahon for giving them the slip during her primary campaign against media preferred candidate Chris Shays.

During one of the primary encounters between Mrs. McMahon and an agitated media, Mrs. McMahon, retreating towards a door, was asked by a sorrowful reporter, “Do you even need us anymore?” Full of Southern charm, she smiled went about her vote collecting business.

Since his primary loss, Mr. Shays has made purring noises, indicating that his critique of Mrs. McMahon may have been a touch severe. Mr. Shays still has no plans to watch wrestling but did allow that he had underestimated Mrs. McMahon’s “seriousness.”

In the absence of serious debates between Mrs. McMahon and Mr. Murphy, Connecticut’s media, as well as Connecticut’s voters, will assume that the lady lacks gravitas, a virtue generally associated with grey heads pickled in the brine of Beltway collegiality. Chis Dodd, the author of the alarmingly idiotic Dodd-Frank bill, had gravitas, and continues to display it as he hobnobs among Hollywood celebs and politically attuned Tinsletown millionaires such as Harvey Weinstein many of whose films, by the way, are outsourced. Mr. Weinstein and a goodly chunk of Hollywood stars and starlets are a deep pocket contributors to President Barack Obama.

“Mr. Weinstein’s long list of movie credits includes many films that, although set in the United States, were filmed primarily in foreign countries,” writes Jonathan Karl of ABC News, which is -- Outsourcing, pure and simple.”

Mrs. McMahon’s great wealth continues to be a problem for the Madam DeFarges in the audience who thrill whenever a rich head is severed from a rich neck and falls – plop – into the executioner’s basket.

The lady has been much underestimated by the tribunes of the people. Mrs. McMahon won the nomination of her party for the U.S. Senate because she aggressively sought the votes of nominating convention delegates. Mr. Shays declared early in his campaign that he had never sought delegate votes during his more than 20 year stint as a Connecticut congressman; he had no intention of asking delegates to vote for him now either. Well then, who does not ask does not receive. Mrs. McMahon’s primary campaign was a classic get-out-the-vote triumph. Of course, it helps a great deal that she is able partly to self- finance her political attempt to reduce by one the Democrat’s lock on Connecticut’s progressive congressional delegation.

The great fly in Mrs. McMahon’s campaign ointment is her seeming unwillingness to confront her critics boldly. She needs to lay out, perhaps in a series of major speeches, her views on the economy, foreign policy and the constitutional role of the senate in shaping the destiny of the country. The moment calls for a Henry Clay or a Lincoln or, on the Democratic side, an Andrew Jackson -- “One man with courage makes a majority."

And a little courage will go a long way in smoothing the ruffled feathers of Connecticut’s left of center media. Mrs. McMahon probably will not arrive at this point without vetoing her too cautious advisors. That, too, would take a little courage.