In 1993, then-state Rep. Rob Simmons wrote a letter to a constituent who was concerned about the issue of global population growth.<\/p>\n
“My mother used to serve on the board of Planned Parenthood and for years she told me that over-population is a serious global problem,” Simmons wrote. “It just seems that we do not have the resources to support our current population and yet the babies keep coming. I agree with you that something needs to be done.”<\/p>\n
Call the letter Exhibit A as to why social conservatives don’t like Rob Simmons. Jim Barnett, Simmons’ campaign manager, points out that McMahon has given thousands of dollars to Democratic candidates<\/a> in the past. And he notes that WWE’s raunchy programming several years ago earned the company a public scolding from Brent Bozell<\/a>, a well-known cultural conservative.<\/p>\n “Linda McMahon’s entire career and her role elevating liberal Democrats to power in Washington, D.C. is an affront to the conservative movement,” Barnett said via email. <\/p>\n “Conservatives should take a long look at Linda McMahon and ask themselves what they will do when liberal Democrats make them defend McMahon’s record of marketing gratuitous violence against women, graphic sex, and bra and panties matches to young children? I think conservatives should be very careful before casting their lot with someone who has shown nothing but contempt for conservatism. I think some of these folks may be regretting their decision once they learn more about McMahon’s distinctly un-conservative record,” Barnett said.<\/p>\n Wolfgang hasn’t decided which Republican he’ll back yet. (The Institute, which is primarily focused on state issues, won’t make an official endorsement, though Wolfgang expects to make a personal one.) <\/p>\n “Number one concern of social conservatives in Connecticut is that Dick Blumenthal not be our next senator,” Wolfgang said. “No single politican in the state of Connecticut is more responsible for same-sex marriage than Dick Blumenthal — not Mike Lawlor<\/a>, not Andrew McDonald<\/a>.<\/p>\n “It was Dick Blumenthal by not doing his job in the Kerrigan case<\/a>,” Wolfgang said.<\/p>\n And McMahon, with her enormous resources, represents the GOP’s best hope of blocking the man whose approval rating approaches 80 percent<\/a>. Schiff has an “iron sharp intellect,” Wolfgang said, adding that “no one doubts that this man is a true fiscal conservative.” But Schiff’s libertarian views include support of abortion rights. <\/p>\n “Conservatives need to think strategically,” Wolfgang said, and that might mean going with McMahon and her massive war chest, even if Rowe and others wrestle with the implicatiuons of the former WWE CEO serving in the U.S. Senate. Barnett said that Simmons has won the backing of several conservatives, notably former U.S. Sen. Fred Thompson, state Sen. Rob Kane, Mayor Peter Nystrom, state Rep. Marilyn Giuliano, and others. <\/p>\n “Rob is pro-choice,” Barnett added, “and he respects people who have other views…he thinks the Republican party is big enough for both perspectives.”<\/p>\n UPDATE: An earlier version of this post indicated McMahon opposed the federal Defense of Marriage Act. “Linda supports DOMA because she supports states rights,” her spokesman, Shawn McCoy said in an email. “She does not support repealing it.” In an interview earlier this month with Mark Pazniokas of the CT Mirror<\/a>, McMahon expressed reservations about the DOMA and said same-sex marriage is a “state’s rights issue.”<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n According to McCoy, “Linda opposes a federal law banning same-sex marriage.”<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/font><\/span> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In 1993, then-state Rep. Rob Simmons wrote a letter to a constituent who was concerned about the issue of global population growth. “My mother used to serve on the board of Planned Parenthood and for years she told me that over-population is a serious global problem,” Simmons wrote. “It just seems that we do not have […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4000,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-472215","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/472215","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4000"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=472215"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/472215\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=472215"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=472215"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=472215"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
“I know of almost no social conservatives who are backing Simmons,” said Peter Wolfgang, executive director of the Family Institute of Connecticut<\/a>, a Catholic and a leading voice for religious conservatives in the state. Wolfgang keeps a copy of Simmons’ letter in a file he has on the Republican former congressman and current candidate for U.S. Senate.
Two of the legislature’s most prominent social conservatives, Rep. T.R, Rowe <\/a>of Trumbull and Sen. Michael McLachlan<\/a> of Danbury, have endorsed Republican Linda McMahon, the former CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment, who is pro-choice <\/a>and used to run a company <\/a>once known for pushing the envelope on sex and violence.<\/p>\n
“I haven’t made up my mind, but I can understand why T.R. Rowe and Michael McLachlan would endorse Linda McMahon,” he said. “When I look at the Senate race, the math for social conservatives points to Linda McMahon.”
McMahon is capturing the hearts of social conservatives for a number of reasons, Wolfgang said.<\/p>\n
What about Vinny Forras, the sole anti-abortion candidate running for Senate? Or Peter Schiff, whose message of fiscal conservatism has won him some friends<\/a> among social conservatives as well.
“Vinny Forras is the only true pro-life candidate in the race but he is a minor…candidate,” Wolfgang said. <\/p>\n
“Our Number One concern is that Blumenthal not be a U.S. Senator,” Wolfgang said. “Our Number Two concern is that Rob Simmons not be the Republican nominee.”<\/p>\n