Wrestling Promoter or Economist? Peter Schiff Qualifies for Republican Primary in Connecticut

Economist-turned-politician Peter Schiff qualified for the Republican U.S. Senate primary ballot earlier this week, becoming the only active challenger to wealthy wrestling promoter Linda McMahon in Connecticut’s Aug. 10 primary.

Former U.S. Rep. Rob Simmons of Stonington suspended his campaign last month, but his name will remain on the primary ballot — leading to speculation and charges from the McMahon campaign that the ex-congressman may be waging a “stealth campaign.” Simmons, who reportedly carries around a tea bag with his copy of the U.S. Constitution, had been a favorite among some Connecticut Tea Party activists. 

Simmons received 46 percent of the vote at the party’s state convention in May.

Schiff, who served as senior economic advisor to iconoclastic and libertarian-leaning Texas congressman Ron Paul during the 2008 presidential campaign, collected 8,697 valid signatures from registered Republicans — 429 more than needed — to qualify for the ballot.

Schiff’s nominating petitions had been unsuccessfully challenged by a Hartford Tea Party activist. 

“Linda McMahon thought securing the nomination would be a cakewalk. But the more Connecticut voters learn about her, the further her favorable rating plummets,” said an increasingly confident sounding Schiff in an e-mail to supporters earlier this week, shortly after learning that he had enough valid signatures to appear on the primary ballot. 

“Connecticut Republicans now have an alternative: a wrestling promoter or a businessman and economist,” said Schiff. “Given the state of our economy, I think the choice is clear.

The highly-regarded money manager and president of Euro Pacific Capital is arguably best known for predicting the financial meltdown of 2008 — a crisis, he has long argued, that was caused by ill-conceived monetary and regulatory policies that badly distorted market forces. 

Schiff has also been an outspoken critic of the $700 billion bailout of Wall Street. 

Schiff has raised more than $2.7 million in his bid to wrest the Republican U.S. Senate nomination from Linda McMahon.

Warning that “the same irresponsible financial policies that got Wall Street into trouble are now repeating themselves in Washington— only this time on an even bigger scale,” the 47-year-old financial analyst promises to make the economy his top priority, a goal that can only be achieved, he says, by first putting the nation’s fiscal house in order. 

The winner of the Aug. 10 GOP primary will face Democrat Richard Blumenthal, who’s been embroiled in a controversy that he deliberately misled the public about his Vietnam-era military service, for the seat currently held by Democrat Chris Dodd, a thirty-year veteran of the U.S. Senate and chairman of the powerful Senate Banking Committee.

Three independent or minor-party candidates have also entered the race, including John Mertens, an engineering professor from Hartford’s Trinity College who’s been struggling to gain media recognition for his long-shot candidacy.

10 Comments

  1. Folks, Schiff is the real deal and the only candidate that has any kind of a clue how to fix our economic disaster. Connecticut voters, vote for Schiff! He will make minced meat out of Blumy if we can get him past the primary.

  2. aksteve-
    I totally agree, if you do a little research on this guy, check out a couple videos, one can clearly see he knows what he’s talking about. A major key with most of these people is that they are not constantly reading from prompters and the like, most of the time they are just talking which implies that they are comfortable with and know well the ideas they are expressing.

  3. Schiff is the only REAL conservative in this race. Linda McMahon has donated thousands to the Democratic party.. Here is The Proof!

    McMahon is a RINO republican… This country is drowning in phony politicians just look at what a liar Blumenthaul is.. and he has the audacity to say he “Misspoke”?..
    Peter Schiff… is the only reliable, honest and trustworthy candidate in the room.. Period!

  4. Excellent compilation of Schiff’s market calls in 2006-2007:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXl_joAzl1A

  5. When talking about economics, Schiff may indeed be the smartest forecaster but he comes across as a johnny-one-note policy wonk. He needs a deeper agenda to have wider appeal – yes, these economic times demand effective and savvy people on Capital Hill, but one must get elected first.

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  7. I have met Peter a number of times and I have heard him speak both formally and
    in a casual setting. He knows finance and can explain the ups and downs of the
    economy. I like his level-headed approach and his no-nonsense bottom line.
    Our Government is too big and the debt is even bigger. I’ll be voting for Peter in the
    primary and again on November 2nd. He has my support and I encourage all
    Connecticut voters to get on board the Schiff Train! He’s got the know-how to
    make a difference.

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  9. I watched the debate between Schiff, McMahon, and Simmons. McMahon, and Simmons often sound like they’re speaking from the script that Schiff wrote. Listening to McMahon, and Simmons makes me want to crawl out of my skin. They’re clearly classic politicians saying exactly what they think people want to hear.
    Here’s a link to the debates http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_M6kSZrYCs
    I recommend you skip ahead to the end of the last segment. Linda will never debate Schiff again.
    Schiff was the only there who seemed to have a pulse.

  10. Linda McMahon is poison for conservatives–just another RINO trying to grab power.

    She donated $2,300 to Rahm Emanuel in his 2008 campaign. (Scroll down past all her donations to her own campaign.) If that doesn’t make your skin crawl, then please don’t vote.

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