McMahon has Money, So What?
It is obvious that money matters in politics. Mitt Romney, the 2010 GOP presidential nominee is supposedly worth $230 million and has already spent $100 million on his own campaign. 2008 Democratic nominee John Kerry, who can attribute most of his fortune to his wife, is worth about $750 million; and although he agreed to accept public funding, he spent the maximum amount possible of his own money on his campaign. Of course, other notable and incredibly wealthy men have run for office. Donald Trump (worth $2.9 billion) considered running, Steven Forbes (worth $430 million) ran in 1996 and 2000, and Arnold Schwarzenegger (worth $400 million) ran and won in 2003 and 2006. They are just a few of the money machines who decided to try their hand at politics. When these men ran for office they faced little to no scrutiny from the media with regards to their motivation for seeking elected office. The public did not assume they were “bored;” they were taken seriously and some even continued on to serve in office.
Yet when Linda McMahon, known for her career in developing the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), spent $50 million on her own campaign for U.S. Senator in 2010, one blogger said “[w]hy would anyone spend $100 million to win a job that pays $174,000 a year?” Terry Cowgill, the blogger, went on to say, “If I had to guess, I’d say she’s bored. After all, how many beautiful-people cocktail parties can you attend in Greenwich without eyeing an upgrade to Georgetown?”
So because McMahon comes from a background of money, she must be a “bored” housewife who is entering into politics just for fun? When rich men run for office they are seen as ambitious and driven candidates, yet when a wealthy woman runs she is chastised by the media.
Since running for the Senate, McMahon has remained active in politics. She serves on the board of the Close Up Foundation, a nonprofit which offers youth field trips to Washington, DC and she created WWE’s non-partisan voter-registration campaign, “SmackDown! Your Vote.” She is running for U.S. Senate again this year in Connecticut.
She might be rich, but McMahon’s determination and engagement in the public sphere prove her genuine interest in making a difference. Cowgill’s sexist comments are not appreciated, nor appropriate when referencing an influential woman running for office. That’s just plain sexist.
Published by Kate McCarthy on 07/03/2012