The centre ring is ready. Yawn.

The Republican “debate” on Fox “News” is ready to go, with the final clowns now selected to perform in Fox’s centre ring. Yawn. The only result will be that the clowns left out will end their campaigns sooner rather than later.

I’m not a fan of reality TV shows, especially not the celebrity survivor style ones like Fox’s show, so I won’t be watching. Why would I?! I already know the results: The rightwing media will gush about how awesome and wonderful and did we say awesome? each of their candidates are (apart from the ones they don’t like). Centre and Leftwing media will criticise all of the candidates, but if any of them actually say anything that isn’t totally and utterly batshit crazy, they’ll compliment it. And, the mainstream media will strive for “balance” by both mildly criticising, a teeny, tiny, little bit, and gushing with praise most of the time, all while treating even the most bizarre and irrational statements as if they’re actually legitimate. In the real world, where facts and being rational matter, people may see things somewhat differently.

We know that at one point or another, ALL of the clowns will lie, mislead, distort, smear, and/or defame. They need attention and money, after all, and none of them have anything good to sell. Still, ThinkProgress has thoughtfully provided a list of “11 Things You’ll Probably Hear During The First GOP Debate That Are Totally False”. I know there will be far more than eleven.

MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow reported today that Fox “News” made a surprise last-minute change to their criteria for selecting debate participants that makes it look rigged to get who they wanted on stage (video) to get who they wanted. Later in the same show, University of Virginia political scientist Larry Sabato, one of the acknowledged authorities on US electoral politics, suggested that the Republican Party used Fox to winnow down the field (Video), and that those excluded have to be assumed to have doomed campaigns.

So, no, I won’t be watching the Fox/GOP phony “debate”. I have FAR better things to do with my time than watch a bunch of puffed-up, self-important rich men I’d never consider voting for perform to please the most rabid and frothing members of their own party.

For the record, the ten clowns selected to perform are: Donald Trump, Jeb (just don’t say) Bush, Scott “Koch” Walker, Canadian-born Ted Cruz, Rand Paul, Marco Rubio, teabagger darling Ben Carson, Rev. Mike Huckabee, Chris “Bullyboy” Christie and John “WHO?!” Kasich.

Yawn.