From The Note at abcnews:
What started out as a simple dismissive email from Republican presidential hopeful Ron Paul rejecting a Donald Trump-moderated debate has turned into a full blown war of words between the two men.
The exchange got personal, with Paul questioning Trump’s financial competency, accusing him of mismanaging his finances, and Trump issuing a statement saying Paul was “willing to lie” and “either very jealous of Mr. Trump, stupid, or a combination of both.”
The exchanged started earlier today when Paul joined fellow presidential hopeful Jon Huntsman in bowing out of a Trump-moderated presidential debate sponsored by conservative website Newsmax.com and planned for Dec. 27 in Des Moines, Iowa.
Paul’s campaign chairman, Jesse Benton, distributed a scathing press release saying that Trump’s participation “is beneath the office of the Presidency and flies in the face of that office’s history and dignity.”
Like the past debates have been presidential and dignified!
Original movie poster
Benton called the choice of Trump as a moderator “wildly inappropriate” and said his presence at the debate will “contribute to an unwanted circus-like atmosphere.”
“Therefore, our candidate Ron Paul, the champion of the Constitution, has advised he will not attend,” Benton concluded.
Trump did not take the rejection well.
In a statement to ABC News, Trump called Paul “a clown-like candidate” who has “inconsequential poll numbers or a chance of winning.”
…snip…
Trump’s reply prompted another statement from the Paul campaign.
In it Benton suggested that if Trump wanted to be taken seriously by Republicans, he needs to quit the reality show “Celebrity Apprentice” in which he stars.
“If he gets his act together, President Paul might consider getting his advice on fixing our country’s financial situation,” writes Benton in an email to ABC station KTRK-TV in Houston. “We understand Donald has a lot of experience with bankruptcy.”
…snip…
“By making such an absurd comment, Mr. Paul is either very jealous of Mr. Trump, stupid or a combination of both,” said Michael D. Cohen, Executive Vice President and Special Counsel to Donald J. Trump
The statement denies that Trump ever went bankrupt, adding that he “used the laws of the country on a few companies that he owned, owned small pieces of or bought to his benefit.”
…snip…
The two have never really had much of a relationship. At the Conservative Political Action Conference earlier this year, Trump proclaimed that Paul had “zero chance” of getting elected president, which drew loud boos from the Paul supporters in the audience.
Paul shot back that he’s been elected in Texas 11 times — something Trump hasn’t even accomplished once.
Then they flung poo at each other.
In other news, according to a Tea Party site as well as Newsmax, both of which I refuse to link to, report that Michele Botox Batshit Bachmann and Rick Frothy Santorum have agreed to be at the debate and kiss Donald Trump’s nasty ass. Newt Gingrich was the first to agree to appear. Mittsie is till deciding if he should say yes and then change his answer to no, or vice versa.
HYSTERICAL RAISINS 
another last minute poster. how could i ignore this story? gotta have dinner. be back soon.
Why do you keep apologizing for last minute posters? It looks good. All of your posters look good. It’s a pleasure to read your posts and see your poster parodies.
thank you, ahab. i apologize, because i haven’t been able to spend the time that i used to on the posters, and i don’t ever want to shortchange the raisinettes. i appreciate the time you guys give me, and i don’t want you to ever feel like you wasted any of it.
I’m amazed at how fast you crank high quality posters out, manage to run a blog and still can leave plenty of comments on the blogs of others.
It would take me about a year to put out a poster like that and it would visually suck.
Thanks, Sedate Me. Of course, the elves
and the speedhelp. 😉the GOP reality show just keeps getting better –
i don’t know about better. it just keeps getting longer.
God help me, but I just got some respect for Ron Paul. I feel so … DIRTY! 😀
Ron Paul is a stopped clock, which means he’s right twice a day. Looks like it was that time again.
i would if he was standing on principle. he’s not. he’s got a long-running feud with trump, and they’re both acting like junior high-schoolers. if trump hadn’t declared ron paul’s campaign dead in the water, ron paul would have showed up at the debate. that said, he’s still correct. this is like a circus, and now they have a new ringmaster.
While I disagree with Ron Paul on a lot of things, I think he’s spot-on here. Trump is not an appropriate moderator choice.
Ron Paul is the one candidate that scares me. But, like you John, I have new found respect for the man.
thank you for NOT ignoring this story, nonnie.
i know how John Erickson feels ;).
Re: distributorcap “reality show” comment, during the 2008 election Sarah’s Shenanigans were like your regular trailer trash on Jerry Springer. But if these
eightseven dwarfs were a REAL reality show, they’d have voted Huntsman off the island for being too smart in Episode I.No, this is like a bowl-o-rama, where the gutter ball Trump accidentally took out pinhead Ron Paul (how is THAT for a mixed metaphor?!). Though on the surface, Ron is not to be so lightly ignored, surging ahead of Mittens in the latest poll . Still, standing up to The Donald, gives Paul a modicum of integrity, and that, as we know, is anathema marantha to today’s rethugs.
~ LL
you know what happens in every reality show where people get a vote. a bunch of people who are totally devoid of talent keep getting voted through, because groups of people decide it would make the show interesting, or they hate the show and want to see it fail. that’s what this is like, except there really are no talented people in the mix.
The bikini segment should be entertaining.
i hope there are thorns on the roses.
So The Donald wants to piss off the legions of Paulturds on the Internet? LOL. I’m getting more popcorn.
my money is on the paulturds. how much support does trump have? gary busey and meatloaf?
swear to god, back when trump was pretending to be a candidate, a lady I know, whom I thought had half a brain, told me he would be the best president……I looked at her with such horror, she never brought it up again
you have more self-control than i do, sara, because i would have hit her with a chair.
I’d have done something worse. I’d have laughed my ass off at her.
i don’t know if she should be ridiculed or pitied. maybe both.
I know how he can trump the Trump. Get Vince McMahon to set up a New Years Eve Lumberjack Match: put them all in the rasling ring. they throw each other out one by one, last one wins nomination! $49.95 pay-per-veiw HD $10 extra.
you mean that’s not what they’re doing? 😕
Hmmm. I’m of two minds about that. On one hand, it would be GREAT entertainment. On the other hand, the sight of some of those candidates bare-chested in spandex shorts and boots would send me screaming into the night.
but think of the satisfaction to see them pounding each other with folding chairs! 😉
Not sure if that would work, Tex. I don’t think Trump has enough money to pay the viewers $49.95 to watch! 😀
“President Paul?” Really? Benton is the one who needs to get in touch with reality. I thought he was a Congressman. I didn’t realize he’d already won the primary and beaten the incumbent. Does that mean that the constitution has now been replaced by “The Architect” and we’re all living in a Randian nightmare?
But all of that aside, we now have confirmation that the media presentation of political debate truly is one big reality show. What, Ryan Seacrest wasn’t available? They had to get the biggest con artist of all time to host? All of the candidates should pretend they have some dignity and pass on this farce but look who we’re talking about; Batshit, Frothy and The Newtie. What about Rick “three things, um” Perry? It would give him an opportunity to not be the biggest buffoon on the stage.
ryan seacrest already emceed a debate. he was there as his alter-ego, anderson cooper.
Thanks to Ron Paul for saying what needs to be said on this matter. Of course Trump is doing it to promote himself … which makes the attendees even more pathetic.
if trump had said nice things about ol’ ron, he would be right up there with newtie, frothy, and botox batshit bachmann kissing trump’s ass. this wasn’t a matter of principle. it’s a junior high school-like poo fight.
Wow. Combover Man is quite the petty, petulant little tyrant, eh? The exchanges sound like derivatives of some high school slight. However, I applaud Ron Paul and his people for saying what needs to be said about Trump and the circus that follows him wherever he goes. I’ve not watched any of the debates, though and still, will not unless Huntsman shows up for one.
pretty amazing that a man as important as trump believes he is has the time for twitter fights.
Spot on with Trump’s petulance SDS. He often resorts to schoolyard tactics/bullying to get an edge or take down his opponent. For Instance, he didn’t care for a hard-hitting question John King asked him so he responded instead with a nasty comment on King’s faltering ratings. King flinched (as did I at home). It was completely uncalled for. He is the first to admit he can be a mean, vindictive SOB. I still find him interesting. I bet he finds a way to inject his own ‘platform’ into his moderation of the debate. It won’t be boring…lol!
I put my money on Ron Paul. He’s not intimidated by The Donald.
i put my money on the ron paul followers. they’re organized and relentless. trump might have bitten off more than he can chew.
Frank Cerabino (Palm Beach Post) recently wrote an amusing piece on Trump. It was one of the funniest articles I have read in a long, long time. He starts out:
“Donald Trump is priceless. Seriously, I mean it. It’s hard to put a figure on the gaseous cloud that is everything Trumpian.”
The article details Trump’s dissatisfaction with his ranking of 128th in Forbes magazine list of the 400 richest Americans. Cerabino goes on to say “After all, this is a guy who put an 80-foot flagpole outside of Mar-a-Lago in a town that permits poles no higher than 42 feet. So it doesn’t take a master psychologist to arrive at a conclusion that Trump operates under a size-matters imperative” followed by “Trump says his name is worth $3 billion – which is 15 times higher than the magazine’s valuation. In Palm Beach flagpole terms, this would be the equivalent of Trump putting up a 630-foot pole.” (Lols!)
I don’t watch reality shows, but I make an exception for The Celebrity Apprentice. Again, from a psychopathological standpoint the show is both fascinating and hilarious as participants underlying personality disorders start to emerge and clash with other participants (more often than not) narcissistic personalities. Just my humble opinion, but a reality show starring the presidential candidates along the lines of Celebrity Apprentice would offer a more comprehensive picture of leadership styles, reveal possible underlying neurosis (I offer Rod Blagojevich) and how they work under pressure. I’ve actually experienced awe and goosebumps judging high school debates due to the impressive intellect and persuasive mastery by one of the debaters. I have experienced neither awe nor goosebumps with any of the presidential candidates (supposedly some of our best and brightest). Trump’s flatulent moderating style should liven things up.
Link to Cerabino’s article:
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/cerabino-donald-trumps-more-than-worth-it-just-1993051.html
thanks, elizabeth, that article was hilarious!!
there are a few reality shows i watch (dancing with the stars, the amazing race, big brother, and this season of survivor–first time i’ve watched that), but i will not, under any circumstances, watch the apprentice. first of all, i despise trump. i can’t stand looking at him or listening to him. i did watch a couple of episodes when joan rivers was on. to me, it appeared that trump already had a deal who was to win the show in the end, and it didn’t really matter what any of them did. the premise of the show seems to be ‘who has the most rich friends i can milk for money?’ as well as advertising trump’s various ventures. it was really just an hour-long informercial/ego fest. i found the contestants neither smart nor compelling.
Yes, that is the format of the show, but all the money goes to charity. Each contestant chooses to represent a charity and if they win, the charity benefits. I suppose it makes the show a bit more palatable. Of course, you nailed it with Trump also using the show as a venue for his various ventures and pet projects. I loved watching Joan Rivers on Celebrity Apprentice. I can’t wait for her to come back to the Venetian…I’m getting front row seats!!
george clooney could romp across the screen buck naked, and that still wouldn’t make that show palatable enough for me to watch it.
I live on the Las Vegas Strip. I don’t gamble (as long as you don’t count the $20 I feed the video poker machine twice a year). The fact that Newt can rise to the top of the Republican pack emboldens me to up the ante to $40 per session. It just goes to show you anything is possible. I could win nonnie…I could win!!
maybe i should buy some lotto tickets.
Reality TV is a lethal brain toxin, so who better to have a Reality TV show than Donald Trump?
I still hate that bastard for ruining the USFL football league with his massive ego. Trump got tired of playing second fiddle to the NFL and was instrumental in moving their season to go head-to-head with the NFL, something that would almost certainly destroy the USFL but might earn a NFL franchise for himself in the postmortem.
I’ll watch just because the samba is coming up and that is a very difficult dance, especially for the men. Michele might get to coast through this round. I’ll be curious to see what the judges have to say about them.
What’s that? I got the wrong show?
😆 you’re so cute, bratty!
And yes, this amounts to my shameful admission that I watch Dancing With The Stars.
i watch it, too, bratty. we all have our secrets. 😉
Oh, good 😉 I have this horrible suspicion that Bruno would crawl all over the table for Mittsie. “Meett…that dance was full of love…and passion!”
i have to admit (admitt?) that i’d pay to see that.
I have to admitt I would too 🙂
ION TV? What the hell? I think I remember seeing it during a trip to Florida once. You know a US TV channel is insignificant when neither it, nor its programming, appears anywhere on the Canadian TV dial. I can order an Arab sports channel and a TV channel aimed at babies, but I can’t get ION.
Trump? ION? The Republicans are really scraping the bottom of the barrel now. What’s next, a debate segment on the Home Shopping Channel? “Brought to you buy the Trump Wig: Not only is it a fine hairpiece, it’s also the best mop on the market.”
As far as I can tell, ION TV exists to show ’70s B-movies. Then again, I don’t know much about it…I only get the channel when I turn off my satellite service. How’s that for obscure?
It used to be PAX-TV, and it used to run a lot of religious shit as well as some really lame game shows (a remake of Shop Til You Drop, for example). Now it runs reruns of shows in syndication for the most part and infomercials at night. The only reason I know is that it’s one of a handful of channels I can get on the TV in the other room that doesn’t have a cable box.
I heart you so hard right now for referencing a Simon Pegg/ Nick Frost buddy adventure…..BIG fan.
As for the whole Trump thing…….jeebus chicken chokers, but the Republican nomination hunt is turning into a really bad episode of Flavor of Love.
it really is like a very low-budget reality show. i can’t believe mittsie actually had the stones to say no to trump. i guess that’s one endorsement he can live without. then again, that’s one endorsement that won’t really help anyone anyway.
Jon Huntsman on sending his regrets to The Donald (per Think Progress): “I’m not going to kiss his ring, and I’m not going to kiss any other part of his anatomy. This is exactly what’s wrong with politics. It’s show business over substance.” I think Huntsman agrees with distributorcap!
every time huntsman says something that shows a bit of spine, he says something else that makes me wonder if he soaks his scrotum in ice water. if you believe in something, then say it, dammit! don’t tone it down to suit a particular audience and then change your mind again when you’re called on it. a real leader says what he really believes, and if his audience doesn’t like it, he convinces them with logic and facts.