ROCKY HILL, Conn. — The rancor in Connecticut’s close Senate race spilled over yesterday into the campaign’s first debate, with Republican Linda McMahon and Democratic Rep. Chris Murphy accusing one another of deceit and avoiding the issues.
McMahon, 64, the former CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment took the step of publicly chastising Murphy, 39, repeatedly saying “shame on you” for questioning the originality of the jobs plan she touts on the campaign trail.
Murphy accused her of lifting entire paragraphs and sentences from right-wing Republican groups in Washington, which he said is the wrong policy for Connecticut.
McMahon said her plan was fully cited and she believed Murphy was wrongly accusing her of plagiarism to score political points in the tight race.
Murphy pointed out that McMahon’s plan allows the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy to continue, which he argues could harm the middle class due to the revenue loss.
He criticized McMahon for not proposing specific cuts to cover the tax-cut extension.