Democratic Party Attacks Pro Wrestling

Now that former World Wrestling Entertainment CEO Linda McMahon (wife of Vince McMahon) has emerged as the Republicans' Senate candidate in Connecticut, national Democrats are attacking her today, and, in doing so, they're going after the WWE.

The Democratic Party's Senate campaign arm described McMahon today in a statement e-mailed to reporters as "a wrestling mogul who made her millions peddling violence to kids, hiding widespread steroid abuse, and sending her employees into dangerous situations in exchange for their glory and her profit."

In other words: WWE is bad for kids, conceals steroid use, and forces its wrestler-employees into bad situations at the workplace--all of which has been said about pro wrestling before.

Expect more of this line of attack from Democrats as November approaches. Since McMahon entered the race, it has been thought that her former WWE role could leave her vulnerable to exactly this type of criticism, given the prevalence of steroids in pro wrestling and the general outrageousness of the pro-wrestling spectacle.

Connecticut Democrats, for instance, have dug up some of WWE's racier moments, including a simulated rape and a clip depicting a wrestler having sex with a corpse, and suggested that someone who condones this material has no place in the U.S. Senate; McMahon's campaign has said this stuff is scripted entertainment, and people can separate it from real life problems of governance.

Given the raciness and intrigue that wresting intentionally supplies--along with the steroids issue--don't expect Democrats to ease up on the WWE. The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee's portrayal of WWE wrestling as a violence-peddling drug haven was, after all, the first thing they had to say about McMahon after she became the GOP's stand-alone candidate in this race, which means it's a preview of what they'll keep saying about her between now and November.