Posts Tagged ‘Conspiracy Theory’

Donald Trump Picks a Fight with Ron Paul

Posted: December 5, 2011 in 2012 Elections, GOP Primaries
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Talk about the pot and the kettle… During an interview on “Fox and Friends” this morning, the Donald made the following comments:

“Ron Paul’s not going to win. He’s got no chance.

You have a better chance right now of winning, and you’re not running, and so he’s not going to win.

He’s a joke candidate.

Here’s a man who doesn’t care if Iran has a nuclear weapon that can wipe out Israel. He doesn’t care. He says ‘Let them do whatever they want. They can make their own nuclear weapons’.

It’s ridiculous, so he’s not going to win, he’s not going anywhere, he’s cutesy, he’s got some nice, little slogans.”

Keep in mind, this is coming from a guy who teased a possible presidential run based in large part on taking the birther issue to absurd new heights, was savagely mocked to his face for it by President Obama and Seth Meyers, withdrew from the race, and recently teased the possibility of entering the race as a third party candidate just as Newsmax announced he would be moderating their Republican debate on December 27. By the way, he made the Ron Paul comments during an interview to promote his new book.

I’m not for or against Paul or Trump, but the timing and substance of Trump’s comments – coming shortly after Ron Paul’s campaign chairman blasted the Newsmax debate – is disingenuous. Trump has a propensity to inject himself in the political debate to generate buzz or attention for himself and his brand, whether it be his TV show or his book. Ron Paul has been in public office for decades and run for president three times. Who’s the joke candidate here?

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The Story That Won’t Go Away

Posted: February 22, 2009 in 2008 Elections, Barack Obama
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obamabirthcertificate

A month after taking over leadership of the country, questions are still swirling among conservatives about Barack Obama’s citizenship. The latest to try to revive the issue, which was thoroughly investigated and debunked, is Alan Keyes – the man Obama defeated in 2004 when he was elected to the U.S. Senate.

This isn’t the first time Keyes has raised the issue of his former rival’s birthplace. After the 2008 elections, he filed a lawsuit against Obama, Joe Biden, the California Secretary of State, and the state’s 55 electors.

Keyes has not been a mainstream conservative for some time. He wasn’t even getting 1 percent in Republican primary polls in 2008, and defected to the Constitution Party, and promptly lost their nominating contest as well.

Most Republicans don’t believe this conspiracy theory. But it won’t stop an extreme minority from continuing to raise the subject and keep it alive. I have a feeling it will come up again when Obama runs for re-election in 2012, in a similar way that George W. Bush’s service in the Texas Air National Guard did in 2004.

Update: Senator Richard Shelby of Alabama caused a bit of a stir over the weekend in discussing the issue. The quote, attributed to him and if accurately reported by a local Alabama newspaper, leaves the citizenship issue unanswered.

Another local resident asked [Alabama Senator Richard] Shelby if there was any truth to a rumor that appeared during the presidential campaign concerning Obama’s U.S. citizenship, or lack thereof.

“Well his father was Kenyan and they said he was born in Hawaii, but I haven’t seen any birth certificate,” Shelby said. “You have to be born in America to be president.”

Shelby’s spokesman is saying the senator was misquoted. The paper’s editor and his reporter say they stand by their reporting and that the senator was quoted accurately.

Politico’s Ben Smith warns there may be video of this.