(MYSTIC) - Jim Barnett, campaign manager for Simmons for Senate, made the following statement today reacting to Linda McMahon's support for the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), passed last year to bail out Wall Street:

"After spending millions on paid advertising misleading Republicans by telling them that she opposes bailouts, it turns out Mrs. McMahon actually supports the largest bailout in American history, the $700 billion TARP giveaway to Wall Street. This is the same bailout bill that has incited fiscal conservatives across America, and it is the same bailout that Rob Simmons has clearly and unambiguously opposed.

"Mrs. McMahon needs to explain to Republicans and every voter in Connecticut why she has been telling them one thing in her paid advertising, while believing exactly the opposite."

FACTS:

In An Interview With The West Hartford News Published Monday On Her Own Website, McMahon Defended The Wall Street Bailout, Saying Passage Of TARP Was "A Necessary Thing To Do." WHN: "How did you feel about the (Wall Street) bailout?" McMahon: "And TARP?" WHN: "Yes." McMahon: "TARP (Troubled Asset Relief Program) I think it was a necessary thing to do at the time. ... TARP was a necessary step to take at the time at the very end of the former administration." (emphasis added; Linda McMahon For Senate Website, www.linda2010.com, 11/30/09)

Last Year's $700 Billion Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) Was "The Largest Bailout In American History." "Ben Bernanke may not have sold Main Street on the largest bailout in American history, but it isn't for lack of trying. The Federal Reserve chairman appeared flustered speaking before Congress Wednesday as politicians skewered the $700.0 billion financial bailout he is backing questioning motivations for the plan and even whether it will work." (Maurna Desmond, "Bernanke's Outside Bailout Pitch," Forbes, 9/24/08)

But McMahon Previously Claimed She Was "Opposed To Government Bailouts." "I'm opposed to government bailouts because they generally reward inefficiency and incompetence." ("Chat With U.S. Senate Candidate Linda McMahon," The [New London] Day, 11/17/09)

In Her TV Ads, McMahon Attacks "Bailouts," Saying "Banks And Special Interests Had Their Say For Years." "Trillions in new debt. Bailouts. Government run health care. And Chris Dodd? Right in the middle of it all. ... Banks and special interests had their say for years." (Linda McMahon for Senate TV ad, "Middle," www.linda2010.com, Accessed 12/1/09)

A McMahon Campaign Mailer Pledges To "End The Bailouts." (Linda McMahon Mailer, "The Devil Is In The Details")

National Journal Headline: "'Tea Party Patriots' Brew Contests For GOP TARP Backers" (Erin McPike, "'Tea Party Patriots' Brew Contests For GOP TARP Backers," National Journal's Congress Daily, 9/25/09)

Grassroots "Tea Party Patriots" Are Organizing Challenges To GOP Supporters Of TARP. "Last year's vote to establish the Troubled Asset Relief Program might come back to haunt some House Republicans who supported it. Grassroots activists from the 'Tea Party Patriots' are springing up as primary challengers..." (Erin McPike, "'Tea Party Patriots' Brew Contests For GOP TARP Backers," National Journal's Congress Daily, 9/25/09) Fiscally Conservative FreedomWorks Opposed The Bailout. "FreedomWorks, the national grassroots advocacy organization, today announced it opposes the unprecedented $700 billion intervention to bail out Wall Street banks under hasty consideration on Capitol Hill." (FreedomWorks, "FreedomWorks Opposes $700 Billion Wall Street Bailout," Press Release, 9/22/08)

Fiscally Conservative Club For Growth Condemned The Bailout. "The Club for Growth condemned the massive government bailout proposed by the Treasury and the Bush administration as unnecessary, unfair to taxpayers, and fraught with serious costs to the American economy. ... [I]f the government incurs $700 billion in debt to finance the purchase of bad bank assets, the danger that it will eventually monetize that debt and trigger dramatic inflation is very worrisome." (Club For Growth, "Club For Growth Condemns Federal Bailout," Press Release, 9/22/08)