NewsMax succeeded against all odds this month in finding a way to actually lower the standard of American politics even further with an invitation to Donald Trump (reality television star and professional uber-egotist) to moderate the next presidential debate. Not surprisingly, only two candidates immediately declined on the grounds that the presidential office demands a modicum of dignity: Ron Paul and Jon Huntsman. These two men continue to try to bring some level of principle to the debate and have been rewarded by being continually marginalized by the media. Newt Gingrich just accepted the invitation.
Paul spokesman left little question about how they view NewsMax’s effort to add a Circus theme to the presidential campaign:
“The selection of a reality television personality to host a presidential debate that voters nationwide will be watching is beneath the office of the Presidency and flies in the face of that office’s history and dignity. Mr. Trump’s participation as moderator will distract from questions and answers concerning important issues such as the national economy, crushing federal government debt, the role of the federal government, foreign policy, and the like. To be sure, Mr. Trump’s participation will contribute to an unwanted circus-like atmosphere.
Mr. Trump’s selection is also wildly inappropriate because of his record of toying with the serious decision of whether to compete for our nation’s highest office, a decision he appeared to make frivolously. The short-lived elevation of Mr. Trump’s stature as a candidate put him on the radar of many organizations and we recall that last spring he was invited to keynote the Republican Party of Iowa’s annual Lincoln Day Dinner, yet at the last minute he left RPI holding the bag by canceling. In turn, RPI canceled its biggest fundraising gala of the year and suffered embarrassment and in addition RPI was required to engage in refunding measures. Our candidate will not even consider participating in the late-December debate until Mr. Trump publicly apologizes to Iowa party leaders and rectifies in full the situation.
Therefore our candidate Ron Paul, the champion of the Constitution, has advised he will not attend.”
NewsMax should be ashamed if there were any room left for shame in its corporate headquarters. Not only did NewsMax select a person widely viewed as a scary clown, but someone who is still suggesting that he might run himself. What is particularly astonishingly is that former CNN figure Eason Jordan has lined up to help produce this sensational event.
Newsmax CEO Christopher Ruddy has issued a statements predicting “the largest audience of any Republican primary debate to date.” Of course, if you add strippers and a contortionist, ratings might be even higher.
The race to the bottom in national coverage is also reflected in this question from Fox News to Ron Paul:
It is important to note that it is the mainstream media that is accelerating this deep dive in quality and decorum. As with faux court programs, politics is being merged into the entertainment industry. This must be reassuring to the world that reality show stars will now help select the next president.
Source: Politico
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For those of you who aren’t 70 years old with a mind filled with useless trivia, Harold Stassen ran for the Republican nomination for President 12 times between 1944 and 2000.
Sw. mom-
Thanks for the video. 3 1/2 billion for foreign aid? It’s an outrage! I used to have a Stassen button, probably from 1952 (I think Dwight D. Eisenhower was a better candidate).
If President Obama is the Democratic Candidate, I may very well write in Harold Stassen.
http://ronwade.freeservers.com/Stassen.html I will buy you a button, HenMan.
HenMan, You could keep Harold Stassen’s memory alive by writing him in.
HenMan, i lived in Minnesota for awhile. Harold Stassen looks good except he died a few years ago.
Swarthmore mom-
You’re wasting your time trying to dope out the Republican nominee- it’s clearly Harold Stassen.
I’m not writing comments to myself… 🙂
Swarthmore mom wrote:
anon nurse, I was being a little sarcastic. lol
Yes… that much was clear to me, Swarthmore mom… thougth, sometimes, I can be a bit thick…
anon nurse, I was being a little sarcastic. lol
I know…
Swarthmore mom, Barring the unthinkable, Obama will almost certainly be the nominee, as you’ve consistently stated. (Thanks for the clarification… After I posted my comment, I realized what you were saying…)
http://campaign2012.washingtonexaminer.com/article/insider-outsider-divide-over-newt-gingrich/236596
anon nurse, I was being a little sarcastic. lol
anon nurse, No, many of the people on this blog insisted that there would be a good alternative to Obama.
I never did believe that a liberal savior was coming around the corner to rescue us from Obama. -Swarthmore mom
Did you mean to say “rescue us from Bush?”
OS, I always thought that would be the case.
The bad part is, we are increasingly backed into a corner where we will HAVE to vote for Obama because the alternative is unthinkable.
anon nurse, I never did believe that a liberal savior was coming around the corner to rescue us from Obama.
anon nurse, Newt says what these old white republicans want to hear. Talking about child labor is kinda like talkin about welfare queens.
How about “indelicate.”
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/12/05/1042660/-Updated:Occupy-Melbourne:Police-Take-Wearable-Tent-Leave-Near-Naked-Battered-Woman-Weeping-on-Grass
…that would be “indefinite detention.”
I, too, am inclined to believe that Obama would beat Gingerich, but then I don’t have the best track record when it comes to predicting what’s to come. I never could have imagined nearly a decade of George W. Bush, warrantless wiretapping, the Patriot Act, sneak ‘n peek searches, indefinition detention of Americans on American soil, militarization of the police, an emerging police state…