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Redlemon · 11-01-2010, 05:46 AM

I'm glad to see the Connecticut Post editorial page agreeing with me this morning.

Quote:

Editorial: No WWE swag for poll goodies

WWE Ringmaster Vince McMahon, who knows how to put on a show, whether you like the show or not, has been conspicuously quiet during most of his wife Linda's very unquiet campaign for U.S. Senate.

But he's making up for it as the campaign heads for the finish line.

World Wrestling Entertainment, which employed Linda McMahon as CEO before she became a candidate, announced Thursday that it will give away free merchandise at select polling locations on Election Day.

WWE said it will stay at least 75 feet away from polling places, the campaign-free zone mandated by law.

The announcement understandably angered Democrats, who had previously complained that the McMahons had used the iconic company to bolster her campaign in ways that violated election laws.

This latest gambit may or may not violate the law's letter, but it certainly smashed the spirit to bits. The notion that a candidate's company -- technically her former company, though she still benefits from it -- would give out gifts to voters as they enter the polls is outrageous.

We hope Vince McMahon reconsiders and keeps all WWE swag away from polling places.

He said the move is in retaliation for a report that Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz had declared a prohibition on people wearing WWE-related clothing at polling places on Election Day.

"Even though it doesn't say (Linda McMahon's) name directly, the brand is so ubiquitously associated with the McMahons," a spokesman for Bysiewicz told the press last week.

But Bysiewicz later said her message was misconstrued and that it was OK to wear WWE apparel as long as it did not actually feature Linda McMahon or her campaign logo.

That's as it should be. We don't know what will happen if WWE representatives actually show up to hand out gifts at polling places Tuesday, but this is one show that Vince McMahon should pre-empt.