the Informer

[caption id="attachment_1138" align="alignnone" width="480" caption="From left, Peter Schiff, Linda McMahon and Rob Simmons at the Lincoln Theater Tuesday night. (John Woike/Hartford Courant)"][/caption] It wasn't a wrestling ring, but if it was, the three GOP candidates for U.S. Senate seat would have made a great tag-team. In a televised debate at Lincoln Theater Monday, former U.S. Rep. Rob Simmons, former CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment Linda McMahon and investor Peter Schiff found little to argue about on issues. McMahon and Schiff took Simmons to task during part of the debate, both titling themselves as non-career politicians, referring to Simmons' years in Congress. "I am not a politician," Schiff said in his closing remarks. "It's about time some of our career politicians lost their jobs." On job creation, the candidates argued in favor of small business and free enterprise-- a term that largely became the buzzword of the evening. "I would not recommend lawsuits to create jobs," Simmons said in his response to the first question posed. This referenced Monday night's debate when Merrick Alpert knocked Attorney General and frontrunner for the Democrats Richard Blumenthal's claim that lawsuits helped put businesses on even grounds. "If you create jobs, those people pay income tax," McMahon said. "They add to the economy." Schiff said, "Government inhibits job creation" arguing for lower taxes on small businesses. On foreign policy, in regards to Iran, the candidates all agreed that the nation is a threat. "Iran is a rogue nation," McMahon said. She said the only way to deal with the threat is with sanctions and the help of allies. Schiff called Iran a "serious threat" and that he wanted to stop nuclear proliferation. Simmons said using Special Operations forces and C.I.A. operatives would be put to good use in Iran. McMahon's days in wrestling appeared to come out a little bit when she joked that she would come to Washington, set up a wrestling ring and "lay the 'smack down'" in Congress. Simmons is the frontrunner for the GOP, but is trounced in the general election polls by Blumenthal. A Rasmussen poll taken in February has Blumenthal leading by 19 percent, 54 percent to 35.