Dodd Could Face Bout with WWE CEO Linda McMahon

By Bonnie Erbe, Thomas Jefferson Street blog

We knew Connecticut Democrat Chris Dodd was in trouble, but now he’s going to have to wrestle his way to reelection—literally. The female head of WWE, CEO Linda McMahon, has tossed her, er, name in the ring and even admits a few “body slams” may help her win the race. Even though wrestling is hardly seen as a pristine industry, this woman may have managed to make it to the top of her profession without engaging in fixed matches. And she’s got some interesting things to say as a fiscal conservative running in a time of record federal debt:

 "We've got mounting debt in our country. I'm not a politician, but I am a businesswoman," McMahon told us in an exclusive interview at her Connecticut home. "I've created jobs here in Connecticut and [turned] a 13 person company [into one] over 500."

McMahon is one of several Republicans vying for the nomination, since incumbent Sen. Dodd last year was first accused of accepting a preferential loan from mortgage-meltdown player, Countrywide. The issue still dogs him, even though the Senate Ethics Committee this summer cleared him of wrongdoing.

Nevertheless, the “what?”, “who?”, “huh?” rivals from the GOP see an opening and cannot constrain themselves from jumping in. If Congress’ ratings stay low, the deficit high and the end of the recession doesn’t bring with it some job creation, some of these candidates may even end up in Congress. 

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