National radio, TV personality blasts Richardson

A national radio and television personality who owns a ranch in Northern New Mexico went off on a seven-minute rant against Gov. Bill Richardson on Thursday, calling him a “fat sissy,” and “fat baby,” and telling him in Spanish to “kiss my (you know what).”

Don Imus, host of the show Imus in the Morning, which airs on television on MSNBC but doesn’t air on the radio in the Las Cruces area, is mad because he claims Richardson and his staff were rudely unresponsive to a community request to turn an old schoolhouse in Ribera, near Imus’ ranch, into a community center. He said the governor’s office promised to consider it and has dodged the community ever since.

Imus claimed that Richardson was set to appear on his show Thursday but, after the host began talking about the schoolhouse earlier this week, Richardson’s people demanded an apology and, when it was not forthcoming, “the fat sissy canceled and he’s not going to be on now.”

“If he wants to run for president, he’s got to get his act together, stop being a fat baby about all of this,” Imus said.

Richardson’s campaign, through its communications director Pahl Shipley, released a statement to the Albuquerque Journal saying Richardson supports the renovation project “and has been working to secure the funds.”

He also said Imus “is eager and is using his position to advocate and his having some fun at our expense, and that’s OK.”

Imus called Richardson’s campaign staff an incompetent group not ready for the presidential primetime, and berated Shipley.

You can listen to part of Imus’ rant by clicking here. You can watch a video clip here.

Imus has often been a fan of Richardson and is known for rants that don’t last. I’ll also say this: Richardson isn’t fat. During his two visits to Las Cruces this week, several people remarked to me that the governor has lost what most estimated to be at least 20 pounds in recent months as he prepared for his presidential run.