If debate moderators were mean spirited, so was GOP

Republicans widely decried the GOP primary debate sponsored by the financial news network last week, saying the questions lacked substance and the moderators failed to adhere to agreed-upon standards. A week later, they wouldn’t look so unified.

The GOP campaigns were unhappy with the way the CNBC debate in Boulder, Colorado was moderated, and a few of the most memorable lines of the night were those critical of the moderators and the mainstream media in general.

Clinton’s camp wasted little time in turning McCarthy’s words into a national TV ad that, in one fell swoop, derailed McCarthy’s hopes of becoming the next House Speaker and changed the narrative regarding the Benghazi committee. And we enjoyed every minute of it, laughing and clapping along.

Since then, several campaigns have staged a revolt against the networks that will host the remaining debates, seeking to impose a more favorable format.

And when the candidates don’t like the next debate, they will make more demands. Their dissatisfaction echoes complaints from the 2012 campaign cycle, after which the RNC set out to change the debate process.

So much for the Republican field’s newfound camaraderie in the wake of the CNBC debate.

What about instead reporting directly WITHOUT snarky commentary the questions asked and the answers provided by the candidate?

Obama’s comments come after it was reported that the GOP is attempting to suspend their ties with NBC, which would put a hold on the debate planned for February 26 of 2016.

Time for debate by and for conservatives who will vote.

Cruz’s incisive mind was on full display here, as he methodically reproduced, without notes, the vacuous questions that had been asked to each candidate.

Ben Carson doesn’t like debates as they do not play to his strengths. When Republicans complained after the event was over, unsympathetic commentators responded that the candidates were “whining” about being asked tough questions. But getting all of the campaigns on the same page is proving hard.

In an interview, Carson’s campaign manager, Barry Bennett, said that the only divergence between the Trump and Carson camps regarding the debates was that, “They [Trump’s camp] don’t want more people onstage, because they think that would mean more people taking shots at him”, Bennett said.

RNC Chairman Reince Priebus did appoint a new chief negotiator to handle the details of the debates with the networks and to send the message that the GOP won’t tolerate a repeat performance of what happened last week.