It’s no surprise that Connecticut Sen. Chris Dodd is in trouble. Chairman of the Senate banking committee—during the worst banking crisis in recent history—is not exactly a desirable job. But Dodd can’t seem to catch a break. In June of last year, it surfaced that he received favors from the mortgage company Countrywide Financial as part of the “Friends of Angelo” program, which waived fees and rules for prominent businessmen and politicians close to the company’s chief executive Angelo Mozilo.
With his approval ratings tanking, there has been much speculation about who the GOP will tap to oust Dodd in the 2010 midterm elections. Former Rep. Rob Simmons is the most likely challenger—a recent Daily Kos/Research 2000 poll shows Simmons beating Dodd in a dead heat. But Simmons and Dodd should get ready to rumble, because the uber-rich World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) CEO Linda McMahon is likely to join the fight to tag team Dodd. Her spokesman is already talking smack against McMahon’s future rivals: “She plays to win, so if she gets in, she’s in all the way. She has the capacity to bring considerable resources to the race, and she has an established record.”
McMahon’s plan to take Dodd to the ropes comes as he draws criticism from all sides. Controversial documentary film maker (and one-time Mother Jones editor) Michael Moore takes aim at Dodd in his new film “Capitalism: A Love Story.” Speaking to the Washington Post this week, Moore said Dems should ask Dodd to step aside to keep the GOP out of Connecticut. “I don’t know why they’d risk losing that seat just because they’re afraid to tell him not to run,” he said.