McMahon finds herself on familiar Connecticut turf: attacked, ahead

McMahon finds herself on familiar Connecticut turf: attacked, ahead - 28th July 2012...

Pro wrestling mogul Linda McMahon finds herself in a familiar position this summer -- attacked as a candidate depending more on her personal wealth than her political skills to win a U.S. Senate seat in Connecticut -- but once again the likely Republican primary winner.

The only real difference for the millionaire, former professional wrestling executive is the primary attacks this year have been exceptionally harsh, even compared to those against McMahon in her debut 2010 run.

One ad two years ago shows a wrestler pretending to smash a folding chair over the head of his opponent, then McMahon, a former World Wrestling Entertainment chief executive officer, standing in the ring hand-in-hand with husband and company founder Vince McMahon.

This year’s primary opponent, former GOP Rep. Christopher Shays, recently called McMahon “clueless” and said she is the political opponent for whom he has the least respect, after having served 32 years in elected office.

“I have never run against an opponent that I have respected less,” Shays told the New Haven Register after a July 18 debate, then characterized McMahon’s performance as “embarrassingly clueless.”

McMahon’s camp and political analysts have said the recent comments from the well-respect Shays suggest his frustration and realization that his political career might be coming to a close as McMahon holds a significant lead just weeks before the August primary.

“It has become increasingly clear that Shays has become unglued,” McMahon campaign manager Tim Murtaugh said. “It’s sad to see his career end this way.”

A recent Quinnipiac poll shows McMahon leading Shays by 29 points.

Shays, a moderate with support from such Washington Republicans as Karl Rove, appeared to suggest after the debate that he faces long odds in extending his political career, considering the campaign could not afford TV ads – crucial when trailing late and because he has under-whelming name recognition despite 21 years in the House.

His campaign said this week it had received an infusion of money for media buys and remains optimistic about winning.

Communications Director Amanda Bergen didn’t question the validity of the Quinnipiac poll, but said it might not reflect true voter sentiment because voters disconnect during the summer.

“People won’t start paying attention until early August,” she said.

Bergen said the campaign is also focusing on Republican primary voters and spending its advertising money in their specific markets.

“This election is too important to waste,” she said. “Chris votes on principle (and) he has the experience to hit the ground running.”

The Shays campaign also has repeatedly characterized McMahon as scripted and unprepared for Congress, much like she was criticized in the 2010 primary against former Rep. Rob Simmons and in the general election with Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal, who defeated her.

Regardless of who wins, either candidate will have a difficult time defeating the Democrat challenger in the race for the open seat of Sen. Joe Lieberman, an independent, considering the blue state has a no Republicans in either the House or Senate.

Meanwhile, McMahon continues to poor millions of her own money into the race, as she did in 2010. And her campaign continues to stick to its message and look ahead to a match up with likely Democratic nominee Rep. Chris Murphy.

“Linda McMahon will be the Republican winner on the night of August 14,” Murtaugh told FoxNews.com.

He also said the campaign is sticking to its grass-roots campaign effort to contacts thousands of voters and tell people that McMahon is not a career Washington politician, but in fact a jobs creator whose wrestling business started as a kitchen table operation that once went bankrupt.

“She understands the plight of the small business person because she has lived through it,” Murtaugh said. (Fox News)

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Will Ferrell in Sydney for 'The Campaign' red carpet event at Fox Studios - 5th August 2012

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Plot...

In order to gain influence over their North Carolina district, two CEOs seize an opportunity to oust long-term congressman Cam Brady by putting up a rival candidate. Their man: naive Marty Huggins, director of the local Tourism Center.

Tonight 'The Campaign' enjoyed it's Sydney, Australia premiere at Entertainment Quarter - Fox Studios, Moore Park, Sydney.

'The Campaign', about two rival politicians who will stop at nothing to get elected, is directed by Jay Roach, the man behind comedies Austin Powers and Borat, as well as more serious political efforts The Recount and last year's Sarah Palin biopic Game Change.

Even though Ferrell had become known for his impressions of George W. Bush on Saturday Night Live over the years, and his 2009 Broadway show You're Welcome America: A Final Night With George W. Bush - he says the former US president didn't influence his character in The Campaign, the venal, preening Cam Brady.

"We stole some things from actual political candidates and their behaviour but I don't know if that really informed this," he says. "The hair is really a tribute to John Edwards - he had the most beautiful hair in politics."

With 'The Campaign' campaign just about behind them, Ferrell and Galifianakis will go their separate ways. The Hangover Part III starts shooting in September, and although Galifianakis hasn't had a chance yet to look over the most recent iteration of the script, he thinks he and Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms and company will be doing this one in Mexico. "Maybe. I think."

Meanwhile, Ferrell and his frequent writing and directing partner, Adam McKay, are readying their own sequel, Anchorman 2. Yes, after a long, long hiatus (the original was released in 2004), Ron Burgundy returns. They'll shoot early next year, when Steve Carell and Paul Rudd are available to reprise their roles.

"We're working on the script now," Ferrell reports. "Adam and I were philosophically just always resistant to the sequel thing. There are all these original ideas out there, but then you watch people make sequels and it seems like they're having a good time. So we caved."

"I'm looking forward to being in Anchorman 2," Galifianakis chimes in. "I got your text about being in it, thank you. . . . And I'm the lead?"

"That was a mistake," Ferrell says. "I was sending that to Zac Efron, and somehow it got sent to you."

"Is he nice?" says Galifianakis.

"He's great," Ferrell says.

The Campaign opens on August 9.

Director: Jay Roach
Writers: Chris Henchy (screenplay), Shawn Harwell (screenplay)
Stars: Will Ferrell, Zach Galifianakis and Jason Sudeikis

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Crown wants world's best hotel for Sydney

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Billionaire casino mogul James Packer says he will build the world's best hotel in Sydney if he gets approval to include a gambling facility for high rollers in the development.

Mr Packer, the executive chairman of casinos operator Crown Ltd, said on Thursday that Crown wanted to build a hotel at Barangaroo South that would attract millions of tourists to Sydney and create thousands of new jobs.

Barangaroo is a residential, office and parkland development currently under construction on Sydney Harbour.

Crown and Lend Lease, the developer of Barangaroo, have signed a two-year exclusive dealing arrangement for the hotel development, but building approvals are still required from the NSW government.

"Sydney deserves one of the world's great hotels on its magnificent harbour," Mr Packer said in a statement.

"My desire is for Crown to build the best hotel in the world at Barangaroo."

Mr Packer said Crown wanted to incorporate a "VIP-only" gambling facility into the hotel, which would require approval from the NSW government and gaming authorities.

He said a facility for high rollers was "necessary to provide the commercial underpinning for any development and for the operation of a world-class six-star hotel resort".

Acting NSW Premier Andrew Stoner appeared to welcome Mr Packer's plan to build a world-leading hotel at Barangaroo, but stopped short of commenting on plans for a gambling room.

"The creation of a hotel of this stature would deliver new jobs in construction, off-site manufacturing and the tourism industry, along with hundreds of millions of dollars for the state economy each year," he said.

Crown chief financial officer Ken Barton told AAP that Crown said detailed costing of the project would be developed in the next two years.

He said if Crown was to operate a gaming facility in Sydney it would require the NSW government to issue a new licence, or it would have to be done as part of the existing licence which is held by Echo Entertainment Group, the operator of The Star casino in Sydney.

"I guess that's part of the two-year program as well: working through a licensing scenario," Mr Barton said.

"If the NSW government were to issue another licence between now and November 2019, it would be exposed to a requirement to pay compensation to Echo."

Asked if Crown had engaged with the NSW government to sound out its attitude towards a second licence, Mr Barton said: "Not in any conclusive way."

Crown operates casinos in Melbourne and Perth and is pushing for a presence in Sydney, where it holds a stake of around 10 per cent in Echo.

Crown has applied to regulators in NSW and Queensland for permission to lift its stake in Echo to up to 25 per cent.

Crown has been upgrading its casinos in Melbourne and Perth in a move to entice more high-rolling VIP gamblers from Asia.

It is planning to spend $568 million building a new six-star hotel at its Burswood complex in Perth.

Shares in Crown closed eight cents lower at $8.39 on Thursday. (AAP)

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